Sangiovese

The grape of Chianti, Sangiovse’s dominance in Central Italian red wines is pretty much unparalleled. In other words, it’s kind of a big deal. Back in the day poor old Sangiovese’s reputation was in tatters, mainly due to it being so over-grown…turns out you can have too much of a good thing, and sadly a lot of winemakers didn’t really do it justice. However, thankfully for us in the 1980’s they really picked up their game, there was a little Sangiovese revolution if you will, and voila – it now produces some of the world’s most sought after wines.

​What am I getting?
If Sangiovese had a dress sense it would be plaid shirts and beat-up boots, think a little earthy and a lot rustic. The renowned Chianti Classicos are very much in this stream; they are savoury wines with cheeky hints of dark chocolate and smoke. Having said that, there are also Sangiovese wines that put their fruitier foot forward, so think cherry, plum and cloves.

What can I drink it with?
A sneaky trick with Sangiovese wines is to pair them with herbs and tomatoes to bring out fruity flavours of the wine…genius? I think so. Because of the high tannins this wine complements roasted meats well, but for vegetables you’ll need to use them with butter and oil in order to soften that tannic taste.
 
I want it!
Frankly, you’d be silly not to.
Let’s not go crazy…
Chianti Poggio Galiga 2015 Grati (medium, Italy) £9.99 per bottle
All out…
Brunello di Montalcino 2011 Castello Romitorio (medium, Italy) £39.00 per bottle