Sangiovese: Lord of Tuscany
Dateline: 06/13/97
I recently went to a guided tasting of Sangiovese, directed by Andreas Merz, Vinum's correspondent for Italy. He began by saying that Sangiovese is not a noble grape, and as the other members of the panel frowned and the audience muttered, said why:
- It has a hard time ripening. This means that even vineyards with perfect exposures give inconsistent results, with good years and bad years.
- Because it has a hard time ripening, it's difficult to vinify, and its tannins are frequently harsh or green. This is especially true of wines from vineyards with less than optimum exposure.
- Again, because it has a hard time ripening, the resulting wine's color is frequently not as deep or strong as one might like.
- Many producers have planted Sangiovese in areas that are unsuited to the grape, or have used Sangiovese clones that have not adapted well to the terroir they are planted in.
All this means, he concluded, that there's lots of poor Sangiovese-based wine out there. On the other hand, when Sangiovese is planted in the right places, cultivated and harvested in the right way, and vinified correctly, something magical happens. "It's a lot more interesting to taste a series of good Sangiovese-based wines than it is to, say, taste a series of Cabernets," he said. "Cabernet is a primadonna, who is little influenced by Terroir – she's true to herself." Sangiovese, on the other hand, is strongly influenced by Terroir, with much variation from one area to the next.
My reactions to his comments? To a certain degree he's on the money. Sangiovese is a difficult grape to work with, and perhaps its most serious problem is its variability -- some clones give superb results, while others produce tannic rinsewater. This problem is compounded by Sangiovese's susceptibility to variations in terroir -- as Paolo de Marchi points out, vines of the same clone will produce radically different grapes within the same vineyard if there's a variation in the composition of the soil (this is much more probable than you might think in a geologically complex area). This all means that though good Sangiovese has the finesse of the most noble of grapes, producing great wine from Sangiovese is not the (relatively) sure-fire proposition one might expect from a noble grape -- the producer has to experiment, planting test plots of various clones and then select the ones that work best with with his various parcels of land.
One important thing to consider is that nobility can be acquired -- the French have been breeding Cabernet and Merlot for quality for hundreds of years, whereas the Italians just began emphasizing quality over quantity 20 years ago. I've tasted some of Paolo de Marchi's sample wines produced from Sangiovese clones bred for quality, and if they prove to give consistent results from vineyard to vineyard, Sangiovese will become one of the noblest grapes on earth. And now, for the wines we tasted:
Il Poggione 1993
This is a Brunello di Montalcino, but that's
about all I can say – it was a barrel sample and there's no telling how it
will evolve once it's in the bottle. As it stands now, it's austere and
tremendously tannic, with little fruit on the nose. Since the bouquet develops
in the reducing environment of the bottle, this will change, and if it develops
enough to balance the tannins the wine should be quite good, and perhaps even
magnificent. Time will tell.
The winery is located in the southern part of the Montalcino zone, which is warmer, and produces wines that are generally more powerful and more strongly structured, but with less interesting bouquets than those produced in the northern part of the zone. The winery is in the process of replanting the vineyards, increasing density so as to be able to harvest less from each vine, and selecting clones that produce more polyphenols, to increase color and bouquet.
Castello di Cacchiano 1995
Chianti Classico, from the
southeastern part of the region. The bouquet is complex and pleasant, with
blackberries and blackcurrants on the nose, overlain by vinous notes and a very
delicate hint of vanilla. On the palate the wine is full and well balanced, and
nicely structured, with tannins that have a pleasant burr to them. They're dusty
on the finish, which is clean, with hints of cherry and nice acidity. Superb.
As Andreas noted, the tannins of Sangiovese are sometimes problematical; Tuscans have long been aware of this, and when Baron Bettino Ricasoli developed the formula for Chianti Classico in the 1850s he included Canaiolo "to give the wine smoothness and grace." At Castello di Cacchiano they use about 10% Canaiolo, and put about 5% of the wine in barriques for 15 months.
Rodano Viacosta 1993
Chianti Classico, a Riserva this time. The
wine is a deep pigeon blood ruby, and is spicy on the nose, with elegant fruit
and blackcurrants overlain by some vinous notes. On the palate it's dry, and
somewhat austere. It's also quite young, and though the tannins are well rounded
they still need time. The finish is clean. Most of the wine spends time in
barriques, which helps to account for the intensity of the color and the
spiciness of the nose. About 20% goes into large botti.
The vineyards are located in Castellina, the western side of the Chianti Classico region, and are relatively low – about 250 meters above sea level. The terroir is rather unique, the winemaker told us – absolutely stone free. In the past the vineyard was a hodgepodge, with all sorts of things, including some Barbera, but it has been replanted with Sangiovese. Yields are also down, from 150+ quintals per hectare in the 1970s to 70 today. The quality of the wine reflects this.
Chianti Rufina Montesodi 1994
The wine has a nice deep pigeon
blood ruby red color, and an extremely elegant bouquet with complex spicy notes
laced with fruit and saddle leather. On the palate it's full, but not
tremendously so, well rounded, and with nice fruit, though there is also a fair
amount of acidity. The tannins were relatively less pronounced (in part a
function of the barriques, which also contributed to the bouquet), and the
finish was tart, with citrus notes.
Chianti Rufina is produced in the mountains north east of Florence. The wines have more powerful bouquets than their cousins from Chianti Classico, in large part because the temperature drops off sharply after dark. They also tend to be slightly more rustic (though no less pleasing, especially if served with something that requires a flavorful wine, say a roast), and age well. The one severe handicap the region suffers from is late harvests – since the Apennines act as a heat sink, keeping temperatures down, the grapes ripen slowly and are more of a target for autumn rains.
Poderi Boscarelli Riserva del Nocio 1994
The wine is lush,
astonishingly so, with a full, enveloping bouquet with stewed cherries, black
currents, and a wonderful feeling of warmth. It's just as full on the palate,
with rich fruit flavors and silky tannins that integrate beautifully, and leave
with a clean dusty finish. The wine is from a small vineyard, just ten hectares,
of which only five are really good for Sangiovese – in the space of 50
yards vines of the same type can produce radically different grapes. Yields are
low, on the order of 45 quintals/hectare, and it shows. 75% is aged in small
botti, and 25% in 600-liter tonneaux. A spectacular wine, the best
Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano I've
tasted.
Morris Farms Morellino di Scansano
The wine has a delicate
bouquet, with spice, hints of vanilla, stewed cherries, plums and cherry jam. On
the palate it's lush, and very fruity, with dusty chewy tannins; in all complex
and well balanced. The finish is quite clean. Worth seeking out.
Morellino di Scansano is from the Maremma, in southwestern Tuscany, where they call Sangiovese Morellino. The vineyards are only 17 km from the coast, and as a result, the climate is mild, and neither too hot nor too cold. It does tend to be dry during the summer however. This wine wine gives a good indication of how vinification is changing in Tuscany: It was initially made without barriques, but in 1993 the producers decided to try using some in addition to botti. Now they're up to 60% barriques, which is evident in the nose.
Monsanto Chianti Classico
The wine has a delicate bouquet,
which was still somewhat closed to begin with. As it opened, stewed cherries and
hints of spice emerged, as did typical Sangiovese overtones. On the palate it's
lush, with rich cherry fruit, and full, with chewy, slightly dusty tannins. The
finish is tart, with notes of cherry and hot brick; it needs more time to
develop. This was, with respect to some of the other wines, slightly more rustic
(but very good).
Monsanto is another Chianti Classico, located on the eastern border of the Chianti Classico zone, at relatively low elevations. Fabrizio Bianchi, the vintner, was one of the first to break the rules set forth in the DOC and vinify Sangiovese by itself (in the 70s); he caused a stir then and his wines are still spectacular now, though they have become more traditional (relatively speaking) as others have begun to use cabernet, and push the use of barriques to extremes. The estate continues to work primarily with Sangiovese, and is planting more of the clones that were present on the land when Mr. Bianchi bought it.
Atlas Peak
The bouquet is odd, with spice and boiled cherries
(not of the maraschino variety) on the nose, as well as apple juice. On the
palate it's lush and very fruity, but virtually tannin-free, and the finish is
rather tart.
This is a California Sangiovese the organizers included as a means of comparison, and to be quite frank, had we not been told it was a Sangiovese we probably wouldn't have guessed it. Though there is something faintly Sangiovese-like about the nose, it bears little resemblance to its Italian cousins. This is all the more surprising since we were told the clones planted in California came from the vineyards of Il Poggione.
So, the bottom line:
Good Sangiovese is amazingly variable, and there
are lots of gems awaiting you. To close, a general note on style:
- Brunello di Montalcino tends to be a towering, complex wine with considerable austerity. Not the sort of thing to drink every day, but wonderful given the proper occasion.
- Vino Nobile di Montepulciano tends to be rich, complex, and somewhat lusher than other Tuscan wines -- it makes my husband think of Marylin Monroe made wine. This sensuality is likely due to the use of a grape called Mammolo, rather than Canaiolo, to temper the Sangiovese.
- Chianti Classico is the most variable Tuscan wine, in large part because of the size and variability of the region. Lots of microclimates and terroirs, so you really do have to taste about and select what you like.
- Chianti Rufina is a bit wilder and more rustic than Chianti Classico, though it can be extremely satisfying. It also tends to have complex, interesting bouquets, because of the large day/night temperature variations caused by the nearby mountains.
- Morellino di Scansano is less well known than other Tuscan Sangiovese-based wines. The area has still not realized its full potential, which is extremely high.
Happy tasting!
Elisabetta
