(2024) Sangiovese spends around four months on the lees in stainless steel, then into French oak barriques for 12 months, 20% new oak. Cherry dominates the aromatics, but the oak has given a lovely tobacco and vanilla roundness, a warming chestnut character in the background too. Once again that touch of lift to the aromas. The palate has a creamy ripeness to the tannins, which along with the oak-enriched red fruits that are also ripe and fleshy, gives the wine a chocolaty texture. The juicy plum-skin grip of the acidity balances the finish with a welcome touch of bitterness.
(2024) An organic certified partner to the regular Roggiano Morellino, this is just redolent of ripe, juicy cherries. There's a savoury edge that emerges, slightly cedary, smoky and meaty, moving on to the palate where that plump cherry ripeness reasserts. There's a delightful axis of ripe tannins and pin-sharp acidity here, adding a bittersweet, grown-up firmness to the fleshy mid-palate fruit.
(2024) From an organic estate just outside the Brunello di Montalcino appellation, this is 100% Sangiovese, fermented and aged in French oak for 24 months. I find the paler colour of this eight-year-old wine to be attractive, maybe just a hint of amber on the rim. On the nose there's a developed character, moving into an autumnal phase with dried leaves, truffle and a little chestnut. It's Sangiovese in a Burgundy mould, with a little sour cherry added. The palate has that same briary, mushroom and truffle softness, the tannins are resolved and elegant and the balance of the acidity is very good, giving this clarity into the gently spicy finish. The opposite of blockbuster, it's a lovely wine of individual style.
(2023) A blend of 80% Sangiovese, with ancient indigenous Tuscan varieties including Abrusco, Pugnitello, Malvasia Nera, Ciliegiolo, and Mazzese making up the remaining 20%. The wines was aged for 24 months, 50% in large Slavonian oak casks , 50% in 225-and 500-litre French oak. Some lovely bloody and earthy, leathery notes here, but not at the expense of fruit. That is sweet on the nose and infused with tobacco and perfumed, incense and fresh cherry notes. Lovely mouthfeel, medium-bodied and juicy, then a very strict tannin and acid axis shears through the flesh of the mid-palate. This is so grippy at this stage, and needs time - perhaps five years - but has great concentration and structure.
(2021) So if you thought it remarkable that a 10-year-old wine was on offer, how about an 18-year-old super-Tuscan for less than £20? From a biodynamic estate owned and run by Château Giscours of Margaux, it's a blend of Sangiovese with Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Once again there's a mellow maturity to the colour, and the nose doesn't offer much other than a hint of truffle, olive and sweet damp earth, maybe a little cedar in there too. On the palate it is a different matter: I very much enjoyed its deep-set, rich fruitcake character, beautifully integrated oak and palate riven with a cherry-ripe acidity and taut tannin structure. It drinks really well, finishing on tobacco spice, coffee and black fruit, and is a bit of steal for a mature wine of such quality. Drink over the next couple of years.
(2020) This Tuscan red sees Sangiovese blended with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, grown in the coastal Maremma, with only around 10% spending time in oak. It's something of a fruit-bomb this - not at all overblown, but filled with a buoyant, creamy blast of ripe, fleshy cherries and blackcurrant that soars from the glass, backed up with just a hint of pencil-shaving finesse. In the mouth that joyous explosion of ripe but nicely savoury fruit comes through, all supple and smooth black fruit flavours, but a chocolaty tannin and bright cherry skin acid axis offers a lovely counterpoint. Approachable, delicious, and it put a warm smile on my face.
(2019) From Lodovico Antinori’s estate in the Upper Maremma, only 40% of this blend of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot spent a short time in French oak barrels. What a beautifully perfumed wine this is, crushed raspberry and incense floating from the glass, a touch of darker blackberry and a hint of spice. On the palate it combines plush, sweet and dense, ripe fruit with great agility, a breezy freshness to the acidity and the oak adding just a sheen of nutty breadth to the crisp, fruity finish. Delightful. Watch the video for more information and food matching ideas.
(2018) Mainly Sangiovese with small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this is fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks, before spending around two years in a mix of old 500-litre barrels and concrete. What a lovely nose, bloody and gamy, and yet suffused with ripe summer berries, elegant tobacco spice adds another layer. In the mouth this is really juicy, the black and red fruits combining to give both some lusciousness and freshness, more of that gamy character and cherry-pit acidity into the spicy, long finish. Wine-searcher shows no UK stockists for this particular vintage at time of review, though 2013 is available.
(2018) Aged in large oak barrels for two years, this 100% Sangiovese Riserva is certainly a Chianti Classico on the opulent and lush side of the spectrum, the tobacco and cocoa rich notes overlaying juicy plum and cherry, with a fine graphite character adding sophistication. In the mouth it's a fleshy and generous style, like a big bowl of super-ripe black cherries that you just can't help dipping into time and again. There is a spicey framework of tannin, and of course good cherry acidity being Chianti, but this mouth-filling wine is mostly about unabashed hedonism. Drink over the next five years or so.
