(2025) Emilia-Romagna’s version of a Super Tuscan? That's according to Laithwaites for this Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese blend that is £17.99 as part of a mixed dozen. The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 11 months and, having left the grapes on the vine for a month later than normal, it has an almost Amarone touch. Chocolaty, spicy, a prune-like (but most definitely not stewed) character has sweetness and intense blueberry richness. The palate too has an Amarone intensity of dried fruits, spices and mocha, and that hit of sour cherry acidity. The barrel ageing has added softer, vanilla and cocoa touches in a big, bountiful wine with enough structure to offset the fruit sweetness.

(2024) It's fair to say I probably enjoyed this a little more than the fruity and pert Fiano in the same range, that feeling just a little bit too 'manufactured' for my tastes. This Sangiovese from Emilia-Romagna comes across as more straightforward and honest, plenty of cherry and red berry aromas, a hint of spice and smokiness, and a decent balance of acidity gives it freshness. Tannins also add a touch of rustic grip on the finish to make it quite a satisfying, if not terribly distinctive Sangiovese of good quality. Watch the video for more information.

(2016) A gentle, very nicely approachable wine, this is Sangiovese from Emilia-Romanga, and a fine expression of Sangiovese at its most Pinot-like, all tobacco and cherry, a touch of light gaminess, and mellow to the core. In the mouth it is medium-bodied and fresh, so nicely walking the line between sweet fruit openess and really quite a tight structural framework.

(2009) This 100% Sangiovese cuvée has a bold crimson colour and equally bold, creamy and ripe cherry-fruited nose. On the palate it has a medium-bodied but rich texture, with the softness and again creaminess of cherry fruit to the fore, but backed up with nicely bloody, gamy nuances and touches of sweet earth and tobacco. The finish is really quite long, with good acidity and refined tannins honing the edges of the sweet fruit. A lovely little wine this at around 10 Euros.

(2009) A sniff of this immediately brought Amarone/Ripasso to mind, and indeed on researching I see that it is indeed fermented on the sun-dried skins from Ferrucci's cuvée 'Domus Caia' (see below). There are notes of raisins and stewed or baked prunes and plums, with a little violet and spice lift. On the palate this has quite a keen edge, with tart cherry acidity and a lot more zip about it than I thought it might have. It is dense and powerful, though with just 13% alcohol, with firm tannins and plenty of spice and grip.

(2009) Spending about six months in oak tonneaux gives this wine a nicely cedary and pencil-shaving character as well as refined black berry fruit. There's just a touch of game too, in a subtle but complex nose. On the palate the impression of intelligent restraint and classical Sangiovese elegance structure continues, with a supple tannic edge and plenty of juciy cherry acidity sweeping through the ripe red fruit of the mid-palate. Finish with tang and savoury appeal, a very nicely made wine.

(2009) There is a freshness and cherry-ripe appeal on the nose of this wine, with a touch of something violetty and floral and a little vanilla softness. On the palate it is nicely balanced, with that bittersweet tension between ripe, cherry and bramble fruit and the edgy spice of the tannins and highish acidity. This makes the wine lively and firm on the finish, with a crisp, savoury appeal.

(2009) Dark and vinous, there are notes of cherry and crushed blackberry and blueberry to this wine. On the palate the fruit strikes more sweetly than the nose suggests, with and intense kirsch-like fruitiness before a really dark and liquoricy bittersweet twist begins to grow on the mid-palate. Sinewy and even verging on the austere, but in a good way making this a food-friendly, savoury wine that seems honest and forthright with grippy tannins and good acidity.

(2009) This IGT is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. There's a distinctly meaty, bloody character on the nose, with spices and tobacco. On the palate this is a powerfully, almost aggressively tannic wine, with the sweetness of the very ripe, blackcurranty fruit slightly overpowered by spices and liquoricy tannins which just shorten the finish slightly.

(2004) Valloni is a highly-regarded producer of this wine, from the white Pignoletto grape and the DOC of Colli Bolognese. Pignoletto can be made sparkling and passito, but this is a dry, aromatic wine. The colour is pale, pale gold with a hint of green. There are light, fresh, straw and pear aromas and nuances of honeysuckle. It is quite rich and thick on the palate, with pear fruit and a grippy peach-skin note. There's a robustness and intensity, and just a hint of a rather astringent note, that suggests a touch of over-extraction possibly in such a delicately-flavoured wine. Good length, and some personality here.