Sangiovese

Gauggiole comes from a single vineyard in the north-east of the Castiglion del Bosco estate and is vinified exclusively in concrete barrels. Bright, lively red. On the nose, fresh red berry fruits with delicate herbal notes. Well structured in the mouth with cool red fruit flavours like cherry, floral nuances of violet and peppery notes on the finish. Well balanced on the palate with fine tannins and good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

While the Chianti Classico Ruspoli Annata shows the accessible, fresh side of Lilliano, the Riserva reveals the depth and maturity that lie dormant in the estate's best parcels. Selected only in outstanding years and from the Tenuta's best vineyards, it represents the potential of the Sangiovese grape on the chalky Alberese soils of Castellina in Chianti. The 2020 vintage is considered exceptional in Tuscany: balanced temperatures, moderate rainfall and a long, warm autumn allowed the grapes to ripen perfectly. The cuvée of 95 per cent Sangiovese and five per cent Merlot is fermented in small stainless steel and cement tanks after selective hand-picking before the wine matures for 14 to 15 months in large French oak barrels – a conscious decision in favour of traditional ageing, which gives the Sangiovese structure without dominating it. A further six months of bottle ageing round off the development.

In the Middle Ages, Arezzo and Florence fought over this area. In 1254, it passed to the Dal Borro family, who regained the castle and the title of Marquis in 1644; in 1903, Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy acquired the estate, and in the mid-1950s it was inherited by Duke Amedeo of Aosta. Today, a light sparkling wine is produced here from Sangiovese, made from red grapes: harvested by hand into 10-kilo crates, fermented in steel tanks, aged on the lees for 18 months following bottle fermentation, and released as an Extra Brut with 5.2 grams of residual sugar per Liters. The vineyards are organically farmed. The year 2023 began mild and dry; spring brought rain, summer saw heatwaves, August was cool, and autumn was warm.

Cellole Gran Selezione impresses with its usual elegance and sophistication. Its masterfully balanced flavour profile of wild berry and blackberry with cassis, blueberry and candied rose is fantastic. On closer inspection, the wine reveals orange peel, rosemary and iron ore. It is a silky and elegant wine with some firm tannin, lots of bright fruit and a hint of crisp acidity. Undoubtedly a great wine with great potential! SUPERIORE.DE

A commitment, not a compromise: whilst other Chianti producers have long since turned to international grape varieties, Castellare di Castellina remains true to the authentic formula. No Cabernet, no Merlot – just Sangioveto and Canaiolo, as tradition dictates. The grapes for this Riserva ripen in a natural amphitheatre near Castellina, on limestone and galestro at an altitude of between 350 and 400 metres. Fifteen months in French oak, followed by a further fifteen in the bottle – enough time to develop character without obscuring the wine's origins.

Medium ruby red. Opens with ripe fruit notes of redcurrants, wild cherries and dried raspberries, then grilled herbs and liquorice in the background. This Rosso is more powerful and opulent than many of its competitors, almost reaching the intensity of a Brunello. Nevertheless, the aromas are more precise than one would expect from a young red wine. The delicate tannin has reached a certain stage of maturity and finds a lively ally in the well-proportioned acidity, which keeps the flavour development going for all eternity. SUPERIORE.DE

A declaration of love for Tuscany – that is how the Ferragamos describe their purest expression of the variety. The Vigna Polissena vineyard lies on schist soils with perfect drainage, a terroir tailor-made for Sangiovese. James Suckling once compared the wine produced here to the finest Brunellos. The must rests on the skins for twenty-two days before being transferred to Allier barriques – a third of which are new. For eighteen months, the wood shapes the structure without overshadowing the wine's character. A further six months in steel give the wine time to find its feet.

Castiglioni, a hamlet near Radda in Chianti, was first mentioned in 1078, having been founded by the monks of the Badia a Coltibuono. Karl Egger, an entrepreneur from Austria, and his family had been visiting Tuscany for decades and fell in love with this very spot. They restored the village, including its old chapel, and established the Tenuta di Carleone in 2012. The vines are situated in the historic heart of the Chianti Classico region on Alberese and Galestro soils, and the cultivation is certified organic. The 100% Sangiovese ferments in stainless steel, concrete and open vats, without added yeasts and with a maceration period of 40 to 60 days. It is then aged for 18 months in steel and concrete before being bottled.

At the dizzying heights of Lamole, one of the highest-altitude appellations in Chianti Classico, the Sangiovese grapes for this exceptional Riserva thrive at altitudes of between 470 and 655 metres. The historic terraces, built from local Macigno del Chianti – that characteristic sandstone which stores the sun's heat during the day and releases it again at night – create a unique microclimate for this certified organic wine. Lareale brings together grapes from two of Lamole's finest vineyards: "Il Prato" and "Le Masse". 95% Sangiovese, complemented by five% Canaiolo Nero, results – following visual berry selection and a two-week maceration – in a Chianti Classico of remarkable elegance and austerity. Over two years' ageing in oak barrels lends the wine additional complexity and structure.

Bright ruby red colour. Warm, balsamic bouquet of black cherry, some plum and blackcurrant syrup, then firm, complex and spicy on the palate, the fruit beautifully present and with a wonderfully long finish with notes of leather and sweet tobacco. The well-structured tannins perfectly round off the overall picture of a serious red with personality and character. The 20/24-month ageing in French oak barrels (25-35 hl), followed by a further year in the bottle, enriches the aromatic complexity of the wine with a clear focus on balance and elegance. SUPERIORE.DE

They could hardly have come from more different places: Caroline Pobitzer grew up in South Tyrol, in a Renaissance castle, and was the guardian of a 600-year-old wine cellar there for decades – the oldest and largest in Europe. Jan Hendrik Erbach came from Karlsruhe, studied viticulture and oenology and gained experience in France. In 1997, the two of them jointly founded Pian dell'Orino – a small estate of just under six hectares of Sangiovese, right on the border of Montalcino's most famous address: the Tenuta il Greppo of the Biondi-Santi family. Not a bad neighbour. Biodynamic since 2003, Demeter-certified since 2018. 22 different Sangiovese clones on seven plots, lunar calendar for pruning, nettle and camomile tea for the soil. Jan and Caroline work on an area that only allows for around 17,000 bottles a year – for all the estate's wines combined.

Gauggiole comes from a single vineyard in the north-east of the Castiglion del Bosco estate and is matured exclusively in concrete vats. Bright, lively red colour. Fresh red berries with delicate herbal notes on the nose. Well-structured on the palate with cool red fruit flavours such as cherry, floral nuances of violet and peppery notes on the finish. Well-balanced on the palate, with fine tannins and good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

The first vines were planted in 1952 on the ridge that today gives the wine its name. Poggio Lombrone – the hill overlooking the Ombrone Valley. Seventy years later, some of these vines are still standing. Their yield is low, their concentration exceptional. Whoever says cru means exactly that. The vineyard lies at 300 metres, the soils are tufaceous clays and calcareous marl slate – maremma terroir in its wildest and most concentrated form. Long fermentation in open wooden conical fermenters with manual punching down, complete malolactic fermentation, then 18 months in 30-hectolitre oak barrels, followed by at least 24 months in the bottle.

The south-eastern tip of Montalcino – near Castelnuovo dell'Abate, at an altitude of 350 to 380 metres, surrounded by oak forests and olive groves – is known for Brunello of extraordinary elegance. On this marl-limestone soil with layers of clay, where sea breezes and the cool nights of Monte Amiata speak the same language, the Spina family has spent four decades quietly building up a vineyard that produces more from a few hectares than some do from twenty. The Rosso di Montalcino is Sesta di Sopra's finger pointing: what is possible when Brunello is still waiting. Fermentation in temperature-controlled steel tanks, maturation in French barriques – more accessible and fresher than its big brother, but with the same roots, the same limestone, the same signature. The difference lies in the timing, not the ambition.

Pure Sangiovese from western Tuscany is not comparable with the interpretations from Montalcino or Chianti Classico due to its cultivation near the coast, but this somewhat different facet is in no way inferior to the aforementioned. Saturated, light ruby red colour. Intense and complex bouquet of cherries, lilac and broom, densely woven on the palate with black cherries, spices and grilled herbs, the whole framed by a terrificfreshness and lightness. A supple and elegant wine whose well-balanced acid wire not only provides the necessary structure, but also the framework for a wonderful further ageing phase. SUPERIORE.DE

Val di Cava – the valley of the quarries. A sober name for one of Montalcino's most precious addresses. The Abbruzzese family estate is located in the Montosoli area to the north of Montalcino – one of the coolest locations in the entire appellation, at around 350 metres, with a soil of galestro, limestone and clay, which gives the Sangiovese elegance, freshness and structure all in one. Bramante Abbruzzese bought the estate here in 1953. His grandson Vincenzo has turned it into one of the quiet legends of Brunello viticulture. The philosophy of the estate is clear and uncompromising: exclusively Sangiovese from its own vineyards, large Slavonian oak wood for ageing, no intervention that obscures the purity of the grape variety. The Rosso di Montalcino comes from the younger vines of the four single vineyards Filai Lunghi, Lago, Cipressi and Nova – the same Galestro-rich soils as the Brunello.

In the treasure troves of time, where ancient wisdom meets modern vision, Petruna Anfora is born – a tribute to the origins of viticulture and at the same time a revolutionary expression of pure Sangiovese. The hand-picked grapes for this extraordinary experiment in clay and time come from the unique single vineyard Casa al Coltro, where slate soils at an altitude of 350 metres force the vines to achieve the utmost concentration.

Federico Giuntini-Antinori runs the area's most traditional estate, whose family tree can be traced back to the 15th century. Rufina is the northernmost district in Chianti, where the vineyards grow around the Villa di Selvapiana and in the vineyards of San Martino a Quona, Pian de' Marroni and Cerbognole. Mainly Sangiovese with small additions of Canaiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera are harvested between the end of September and the beginning of October, partly by hand. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in steel tanks at 28-30°C with a 25-day maceration period. Maturation lasts 12 months in 25-litre French oak barrels and concrete vats.

Cultus is Latin for "cultivation, care and veneration". The name says it all: this wine honours tradition by reinterpreting it. Where the house's classic Riserva relies on tried and tested structures, Cultus dares to take a longer breath. Forty days of maceration instead of the usual three weeks, Sangiovese supplemented by the historical companions Colorino, Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo – all from massalselection of the estate's oldest vines. The vineyards are located at an altitude of 250 to 330 metres, on clayey loam over limestone, organically farmed since 1995 and certified since 2003. The 2019 vintage brought ideal conditions: early budding in the warm spring, balancing rainfall into the summer, then perfect ripeness.

1976 was Paolo De Marchis's first year at Isole e Olena. He was 25; at that time, Chianti Classico was a wine that hardly anyone thought had a future, and the two medieval hamlets – Isole and Olena – were what his father Francesco had bought in 1956: two dilapidated farmsteads in the hills west of Castellina. Paolo stayed. For almost fifty years. What he made of this estate changed the history of Chianti Classico. He was one of the first to vinify Sangiovese separately, one of the first to bring the hillside terraces back into cultivation, and one of the first to take Sangiovese seriously as a single-varietal wine. His Cepparello – first bottled in 1980 – became one of Italy's benchmark wines. Emanuele Reolon, the new technical director at Isole e Olena, sums it up as follows: "Paolo brought the Piedmontese style to Tuscany. He treated Sangiovese like Nebbiolo." At the time, that was revolutionary. Today, it is dogma.

In 1970, Caparzo produced its first Brunello, at a time when there were just thirteen wineries in Montalcino – one of the appellation's historic estates. What continues to set Caparzo's Brunello apart to this day is the provenance of its Sangiovese grapes: The estate is one of the few in Montalcino to own vineyards spread across various geographical zones throughout the entire appellation. Rather than drawing from a single terroir, this Brunello combines the microclimates of four vineyards into a complex whole: "Caparzo" itself in the north at 220 metres, sandy-clay Pliocene sediments; "La Caduta" in the south-west at 300 metres, loose, stony sandstone-schist; "Il Cassero" in the south at 270 metres, Pliocene sediments with a sandy, stony and schistose matrix; and "San Piero-Caselle" in the east at 250 metres, sandy-clayey.

As early as 1716, Grand Duke Cosimo III included Valdarno di Sopra in his edict, alongside Chianti Classico, Carmignano and Pomino; the appellation itself was not established until 2011. Il Borro lies on the right bank of the Arno between Florence and Arezzo, and it is here that the Sangiovese matures in an ancient form of ageing: clay amphorae. The vines are organically cultivated on the estate, and the grapes are harvested by hand into 10-kilo crates. Fermentation takes place in the amphorae, where the cap of pomace is stirred by hand five to six times a day; the wine remains on the skins for eleven months. It is then aged for twelve months in the bottle. In the 2021 vintage, rain at the end of August ensured full ripeness, following a mild winter, a cool spring and an average summer.

In Montalcino, the name Ginestreto stands for something special: a Rosso di Montalcino that is more than just the "little brother" of Brunello. Fuligni has been producing this wine for years with a care that has long since earned him a reputation of his own. The Sangiovese Grosso comes partly from younger vines and partly from classified Brunello vineyards – a deliberate selection that gives the Ginestreto the balance between youthful freshness and structured depth that characterises it. The vinification follows the Fuligni philosophy: hand-picking, careful selection, separate vinification of the different parcels. Part of the wine matures for around six months in French Allier tonneaux, the rest in stainless steel – a combination that harmonises fruit and structure.