Sangiovese

In the late 1970s, Paolo Panerai brought together four separate "poderi" – small farms whose soil was so hard and stony that no one could work it with oxen, only by hand – to form a single vineyard. The Tuscan farmers called such unyielding land "I Sodi". The farms surrounded an old hamlet, dominated by the church of San Niccolò – hence the full name. In 1977, Panerai produced the first vintage. In 1988, "I Sodi di San Niccolò", with its 1985 vintage, became the first Italian wine ever to be included in Wine Spectator's Top 100 – a success that was repeated in 1989 with the 1986 vintage. To this day, it remains one of the few Super Tuscans produced exclusively from indigenous grape varieties – proof that Sangioveto needs no crutches from Bordeaux. Its origins lie in genuine research: the first experimental vineyard in the Chianti Classico region, established in collaboration with the Universities of Milan and Florence, as well as the San Michele all'Adige Institute, to identify the best clones. 2022 marks the 45th harvest of this historic wine.

When Paolo Panerai realised his vision of a great Tuscan red wine made exclusively from indigenous grape varieties at the end of the 1970s, hardly anyone suspected that this wine would make history. As early as 1988, the Wine Spectator catapulted it into the international wine elite with sixth place in its first Top 100 – a triumph for a Supertuscan that deliberately eschewed Cabernet and Merlot in favour of the genetic purity of Tuscan vines. The name itself tells of the terroir: "Sodi" is what Tuscan winegrowers call those hard, stony soils that were too heavy for teams of oxen and had to be laboriously worked by hand. Here, on calcareous Galestro soils between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, around the medieval church of San Niccolò, the vines fight for every drop of water – 85 per cent Sangioveto, the original, small-berried form of Sangiovese, and 15 per cent Malvasia Nera, an almost forgotten grape variety – an almost forgotten grape variety that was abandoned in many places due to its low yields – result in a cuvée of unnerving power and unmistakable race. The 2021 vintage perfectly embodies this philosophy: After 18 to 25 days of maceration in steel tanks, the wine matures for up to 30 months in barriques, two thirds of which in new wood, before resting for a further twelve months in the bottle.

Pian dell'Orino's Rosso di Montalcino 2021 impresses with bright and crisp fruit that is impossible to resist. If a Rosso can taste this good, we can look forward to great things when the 2021 Brunello wines come onto the market. The fruit is bright, firm and pure. Wonderfully tactile mouthfeel with spicy flavours of red cherries, herbs and sassafras. The youthful, crisp finish, which highlights notable but polished oak nuances, is pleasantly persistent. A real plus point is the balance of this wine, it is an absolute beauty. SUPERIORE.DE

For three years, the team at Tenuta San Giorgio got to know their vineyards. Not as an end in itself – but because they needed to know which plots had what it takes to produce a Riserva. The Brunello Disciplinare is clear on this point: the Riserva must be the exceptional, not the standard. It was not until 2018, after three years of careful observation and selection, that the answer was clear enough to take the first step: the first vintage of Ugolforte Riserva was put into the barrels. Climatically, 2018 was not an easy year in Montalcino. But in oenology, it is often the case that the most challenging vintages produce the most elegant wines. Selection of the best grapes from the best plots, fermentation in oak vats and concrete tanks with long maceration periods, 30 months in 30-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels, bottled in November 2021, released in January 2024. A Brunello that was shaped over six years before leaving the estate.

A debut is followed by confirmation. The second vintage of Ugolforte Riserva shows that 2018 was no fluke – and, at the same time, that every vintage speaks its own language. Whereas the 2018 was fresh and vertical, the 2019 is deeper, spicier and more full-bodied. A different character, the same origin. Castelnuovo dell’Abate, south-east of Montalcino, 250 to 400 metres. Views over the Val d’Orcia. The complex soils – clay, tuff, galestro, red soils – and the temperate Mediterranean climate, cooled by a constant breeze. Organically farmed since the estate’s first certified organic vintage. Hand-harvested with careful selection in the vineyard, fermentation in oak vats and concrete tanks with long maceration periods, followed by 30 months in 30-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels. The same philosophy: minimal intervention, maximum expression of the terroir.

In 1975 – two years after Riecine's first Chianti Classico – John Dunkley decided that some vintages and some grapes deserved more than the usual treatment. The Riserva was born. Since then, it has only been produced when the selection allows: the finest vineyards, the oldest vines, two stages of selection – in the vineyard and on the sorting table – before the grapes enter the cellar. The vines used for the Riserva are between 25 and 45 years old. After selection, the must is transferred to unglazed Nomblot concrete vats. There, the must is initially kept cool with dry ice for four to five days before spontaneous fermentation begins – slowly, in a natural way. After fermentation, the wine spends a further ten days on the skins, with the cap submerged. Then comes the centrepiece: the entire Riserva production is transferred into a single large oak cask from Grenier. Untoasted – no toasty aromas, no vanilla, no foreign character. Just the neutral, breathable structure of the wood. 22 months. Then back into concrete tanks for natural stabilisation and clarification. Finally, three months in the bottle.

Love is madness. And madness, says Francesco Illy, always creates something magical. This statement is not only the inspiration behind the name of this wine – it explains the entire Podere Le Ripi project: in 1997, a nature photographer bought a wild stretch of Tuscan countryside near Castelnuovo dell'Abate, planted it according to biodynamic principles, surrounded himself with a young, ambitious team – and created one of the most unconventional Brunello producers in the appellation. "Amore e Magia" comes from the eastern side of Montalcino, where Monte Amiata protects the vineyards from harsh weather like a silent guardian and sends cool downdrafts through the vines at night. The soil here is ancient and salty – oceanic clay and limestone from a time when these hills were still the seabed. You can taste it. A vibrant, iodine-rich minerality that carries the wine from within. Fermentation with wild yeasts in open vats, 50 days' contact with the skins – no intervention, just consistency. Then three years in large oak barrels, followed by cement. No new oak to overpower the wine. No compromise to smooth it out.

In 2011, Giampaolo Motta created a manifesto of love for both his daughter Carla and that unruly Tuscan diva called Sangiovese. After two attempts that proved unsatisfactory, the breakthrough came in 2011: the birth of a wine that comes exclusively from plot number 6 – a unique terroir of grey slate and sand that rests like a mysterious treasure in the golden Conca d'Oro of Panzano. What Bordeaux romantic Motta and his famous Oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt have achieved here is a completely new interpretation of a single-varietal Sangiovese wine. "This wine is made by the soil, not the vineyard," philosophises Motta – a subtle but crucial distinction between terroir and mere geography.

Thirty years. Thirty Tuscan harvests. When Sean O'Callaghan arrived in Tuscany in 1991 – a native Briton, influenced by his viticultural studies in Geisenheim and trained as a cellar master at Schlossgut Diel – he had a vision: not to tame Sangiovese, but to understand it. At Riecine, he spent a successful quarter of a century trying to unlock the secrets of this stubborn grape variety. Today, at Tenuta di Carleone in Radda in Chianti, the winemaker has become a true "whisperer". And the Uno 2021 marks his thirtieth harvest in this region – a quiet anniversary that looks inwards, not outwards.

Pacentis Vecchie Vigne is still one of the most modern wines of the sun-drenched appellation in southern Tuscany. Its fruit comes from old vines that are between 35 and 50 years old. You can taste the richness and smoothness of its dark fruit and the lush blackberry. However, the wine also offers hints of exotic spices, spicy tobacco and even a hint of talcum powder or buttered popcorn that comes from the oak (it is aged for 24 months in French barriques). An unmistakably creamy and rich mouthfeel in the drink through to the long final. SUPERIORE.DE

The Sangiovese grapes for this wine come from the vineyard of the Empire of His Royal Highness, the Count of Turin, Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, who planted it in 1935. The soil is a mixture of clay and gravel, rich in marl and rock, which gives the grapes a spectacular minerality. The temperature fluctuations during the day play a decisive role in developing the finest flavours, which are elegant and complex. The wine, bottled in numbered bottles, is not filtered in order to preserve all the typical varietal notes and characteristics of Sangiovese. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Le Ripi's top Brunello come from a 4-hectare vineyard near Castelnuovo dell'Abate on the eastern side of Montalcino, not far from the Lupi e Sirene vineyard.

Chianti Classico Riserva Castello di Volpaia is a dark, powerful wine. Black cherry, smoke, liquorice, incense, mocha, menthol, lavender and leather give this virile, brooding Riserva plenty of character. The palate is very aromatic with sweet red cherries, cedar wood and nuances of blood orange, yet very powerful and multi-layered with terrific depth and structure. A dream for Sangiovese lovers. SUPERIORE.DE

Monica Raspi remembers: "I took my first steps as a winemaker in the Omino vineyard. The grapes grown here produce the wine that is the absolute benchmark for my very personal interpretation of the Sangiovese grape."

This Riserva is only made available each year in very small quantities to hand-picked specialist retailers and top restaurants. Brilliant ruby red colour. Fine raspberry and floral notes dominate the spicy nose. Very juicy on the palate, tannins and acidity are well integrated. Riecines Riserva has length and suppleness right through to the long fruity finish. The elegance and fine melting texture are impressive. Once again, this is Sangiovese at the top level that Riecine is known for! SUPERIORE.DE

1172 – the year in which Volpaia is first mentioned in documents. A small, fortified borgo on a hill north of Radda in Chianti, built as a border fortress between Florence and Siena. Today it is a jewel of peace and beauty and one of the most historic wine villages in Tuscany. Here, where soldiers once stood guard, the Stianti-Mascheroni families now press their grapes within the medieval walls. The bottles mature in the vaults of old churches and almost every cellar contains a tank of organic wine. An entire village dedicated to viticulture. So complete that it becomes poetic again. The Riserva is made from 100% Sangiovese from vineyards between 400 and 600 metres above sea level. One of the highest wineries in the region. Up here, where the air is thin and the nights are cool, Sangiovese develops the elegance and minerality that makes Volpaia so distinctive. Sandstone, clay and sandy-loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton. Manual harvest in the second half of September, temperature-controlled vinification, then 24 months in French and Slovenian oak barrels.

Talentis Riserva is a barrel selection that is aged for 36 months in a combination of 25 and 20 hectolitre oak barrels and a small amount in tonneaux. Pian di Conte 2019 is a classic, stately wine with lots of dark fruits, dried blackberries, spices, tobacco and mentholated herbs. The palate is polished and elegant with sweet plums, cherries and blackberries on the attack. These sweet fruit nuances are followed by spicy cedar wood and campfire flavours, as well as fine tannins and an almost endless depth. SUPERIORE.DE

Here it is, the impressive first Gran Selezione from Riecine, showing more grace than muscle and delivering a Riecine-typical and very precise Burgundian interpretation of the Sangiovese grape.

Gualto 2016 not only reflects the extremely aristocratic exceptional vintage, but is also one of the best Riservas from 2016. On the nose, very clear and straightforward after cherry, herbs and crushed rock. Full and supple on the palate, its texture is elegant and fine, the tannins only come to the fore in the second step and are excellently balanced. This wine will only reveal its true greatness in a few years, but it already offers an extremely tasty and engaging character. For a Riserva, it has a surprising amount of fruit and an elegance that makes it one of the most charming representatives of its kind. This wine (no more than 4,000 bottles were bottled) should not be missing in any well-stocked wine cellar! SUPERIORE.DE

Some wines bear the name of their creator and thus a silent commitment. Gualto is Gualtiero Ghezzi's personal signature: a strict selection of the best exposed Sangiovese Grosso plots near the Castello, at an altitude of over 300 metres, from sandy limestone marl soils with fossil inclusions. Matured for 36 months in oak barrels and a further two years in the bottle – the fact that this Riserva is being released while 2020s are already on the shelves elsewhere is not an oversight, but an attitude. 2019 was the year that rewarded such patience. Spring rains created the water reserves for a warm but never excessive summer. A radiant September with large day-night fluctuations brought full phenolic ripeness – slowly and without haste. International critics are celebrating the 2019 Brunello vintage as one of the most important since 2010 and 2016.

Ugolaia is a 1.7-hectare, south-west-facing plot with a view of the sea, where the temperature fluctuations between day and night are considerable. The estate's oldest vines grow here on red iron soil.