Tuscan Reds
Vintage image sourced on Pinterest
As an American Millennial, Under the Tuscan Sun, Diane Lane’s post-divorce rediscovery of life and love cemented my idea of Tuscany as a region that’s essentially one big romantic idyll, so this theme feels apropos for Valentine’s Day today. For the Danes, you might feel this way about Toscana or Madklubben, both of which I watched while trying to improve my Danish language skills. Made in Italy is on my to-watch list, too, and even the Hallmark movie-esque La Dolce Villa, since I fully expect romance, heartstring tugs, abundant sunshine, picturesquely historic properties and food and wine galore.
This is the romantic idea of Tuscany that far-flung Italophiles have cultivated, and without having been there myself (yet), I’m unwilling to listen to anything that might change it. Sure, I’ve lived in Europe for years now and have visited other parts of Italy, so I know that the reality won’t exactly match the film ideal, but my experiences with Tuscany’s food, wine and people have only cemented the region’s draw.
If Tuscany tugs at your heartstrings (and tastebuds), too, I hope you’ll treat this tasting as an opportunity to share some of the region’s best-known red wines and foods with people you love - or could grow to love - too.
Stuff to know
Five out of six of these wines are Sangiovese-based, and for good reason. Sangiovese is the most-planted grape in Italy, and its spiritual home is Tuscany, where there are endless permutations of the grape, its clones, the conditions and soils in which its grown and the ways the wines are made. In no way are all Sangiovese-based Tuscan wines alike, so don’t worry, these wines will definitely not all taste the same.
The name Sangiovese supposedly refers to the blood of Jupiter, or sanguis Jovis, more directly translated to ‘the blood of Jove.’ While a mythological or religiously-based name makes a lot of sense for a grape variety that’s centuries old, this story is by no means confirmed, and Sangiovese also goes by a whole host of other names too, from Brunello to Prugnolo Gentile to Morellino. There are so many different clones of the Sangiovese grape variety that it might even be better classified as a “variety population,” rather than a single variety, according to Ian D’Agata in Native Wine Grapes of Italy.
You would think that with all of this proliferation, Sangiovese must be an easy-to-grow grape, right? Nope. Sangiovese is a pain in the ass. It’s a finicky, disease-prone grape that is exceedingly particular about pretty much everything. Americans, Argentinians and Australians have been trying to make high-quality Sangiovese-based wines in their respective countries for decades with limited success. Sangiovese and all of its permutations seem to prefer being at home in Italy…but still only in certain parts.
Beyond Sangiovese’s various names and clones, there are widely varied growing conditions to contend with, even in a single region. Tuscany, with all of its hills, soil variations and coastal influence, is an incredibly complex region. In Chianti Classico, snow is still a winter possibility, while further south, Montalcino is decidedly warmer, and Sangiovese (AKA Brunello) tends ripen more easily and consistently, even on north-facing slopes. Along the coast, in Maremma, where French grape-based Super Tuscans dominate, Sangiovese can get extra-extra ripe, sometimes to its detriment. All of this to say that there are Sangiovese-based wines that are delicate, perfumed and subtle, and there are blockbusters that wallop the palate. This tasting will let you experience Sangiovese’s range for yourself so you can decide what you prefer.
Unlike similarly finicky Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir, Sangiovese does well as a blending partner, which is why you’re seeing the words “Sangiovese-based” all over this tasting guide. In Chianti, Sangiovese was traditionally blended with both local red and white grapes, though today, French Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are allowed in some regional blends along with the more traditional native grapes like Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera.
Along the Tuscan coast, where Super Tuscans dominate, Sangiovese is more of a bit player. Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot dominate, with Syrah, Petit Verdot and other French varieties in the mix, too. However, there are some exceptions, like the famous (and Meghan Markle-beloved) Tignanello, produced in the Chianti Classico region, but breaking from DOCG rules by using French barriques and blending Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in the early 1970s, when white grapes were still required by law in Chianti Classico blends.
What to look for in this tasting
In general, Sangiovese-based wines tend to have high acidity, which can often feel tangy, like what you’d taste eating sour cherries. The tannins in these wines can be moderate or high, and are often sandy, grainy or chalky, making their presence easily known. Flavor-wise, there are cherries. Sour cherries, red cherries, black cherries, dusty cherries, which, ok fine, is really just a description I use a lot that isn’t actually a real thing. Aside from cherries galore, there can be other fruits like blood oranges, red currants and plums, dried and fresh herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary and mint, and flavors of leather, balsamic vinegar, cloves, tobacco, coffee, mushroom, truffle and tomatoes. Also clay pots and tomato leaves, which again, could just be my own interpretations.
Some Sangiovese-based wines are medium-bodied, with delicate aromas and minimal or no oak influence, while others are full-bodied with evident new oak aging and even significant proportions of the Cabernets in the blend, deepening the wine’s flavors and adding more black fruit and tannin to the mix.
Super Tuscans, on the other hand, are their own thing entirely. These wines are typically based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot, though sometimes Sangiovese is blended in as well. Many are full-bodied wines with high acidity, prominent grippy tannins and clear new oak aging, though there are some with less oak influence. These wines tend to have dark fruit and herbal flavors, often with a “green” aroma reminiscent of green bell pepper and a savory, leather-y finish.
The wines
#1: Chianti
Chianti, confusingly, is a separate region from Chianti Classico. The story goes that today’s Chianti Classico was the original, historic zone, and over the years, Chianti legally expanded to accommodate production in surrounding areas beyond the hills between Florence and Siena, especially back when Chianti was being mass-produced and sold in the raffia-wrapped fiaschi that would be used in practically every 1970s American apartment or Italian-American restaurant as candle holders.
As of 1967, Chianti Classico was legally defined as distinct from the enlarged Chianti DOC, and since then, the laws have changed a few more times, such that the two zones are now entirely separate, and both have been individually upgraded to DOCG status, the highest quality classification for wine in Italy.
In the 1960s, Chianti was only required to be 50-80 percent Sangiovese, with local red and white grapes making up the remainder in varying required amounts. Today, the minimum amount of Sangiovese has been set to 70 percent for most of the Chianti DOCG, and both local and international (French) grapes are allowed in varying amounts. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, in particular, are now allowed to comprise up to 15 percent of the blend, once considered almost sacrilegious.
There is a huge variety of quality in the 7 different sub-zones in Chianti, along with differing levels of aging, indicated by terms that go from Rosso to Superiore to Riserva, telling you which has the most time in barrel and bottle before being released for sale.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Stick with a Chianti, Chianti Superiore or Chianti Riserva from any of the sub-regions, like Chianti Rufina or Chianti Colli Senesi
#2: Chianti Classico
Chianti Classico. Key word here being “Classico.” Yes, it matters.
You can think of “Classico” as the OG Chianti. Once upon a time, Chianti wines could only be made in the lands between Florence and Siena. The lands of the black rooster, or so the legend goes. The legend being a story originating in the Middle Ages, during which Florence and Siena’s respective republics were at war. To settle a border dispute, the republics decided to allow two knights to ride toward the opposing city, agreeing that a border would be drawn where they met. The caveat being that the knights could leave at dawn, as signified by a rooster’s crow, no earlier. So of course the scheming began. Siena chose a white rooster, and treated it well in hopes that it would perform the best. Florence chose a black rooster, and starved it in a cage. The starving rooster crowed long before dawn in its desperation to be fed, so the Florentine knight made it almost all the way down to Siena before meeting his opponent. The majority of the Chianti zone in between became the territory of the black rooster, later a symbol of the Lega del Chianti that subsequently controlled the area.
If at all possible, please select a real-deal Chianti Classico for this one. Just look for the black rooster on the bottle.
Chianti Classico wines are primarily made from Sangiovese, though other local grape varieties are allowed for up to 20% of the blend, or 10% for Gran Selezione. The regulations for Chianti Classico production are stricter than those for Chianti, and they become even stricter for their Riserva and Gran Selezione wines.
To be clear, there are without doubt high quality Chianti wines being made outside the Classico zone, they’re just not Chianti Classico.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Chianti Classico Riserva, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
#3: Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino is a medieval walled town on a hilltop in central Tuscany, just 25 miles (40 km) south of Siena. The roughly square-shaped namesake wine region surrounds the town, with vineyards and olive groves fanning out in all directions toward the Tyrrhenian sea to the west, the Apennines to the east and Mount Amiata, an inactive volcano, looming in the south. Three rivers border the region, outlining the territory with just over 5,000 people living within.
Brunello di Montalcino is one of those examples of Italian grape varieties’ names changing from region to region. Brunellos are made from Sangiovese, but more specifically, a clone called Sangiovese grosso that’s distinctive to Montalcino. Before DNA profiling confirmed this though, the grape went by the name Brunello, hence Brunello “of” Montalcino.
Brunellos are different from other Tuscan Sangiovese wines not just in the clonal differentiation though. Brunellos undergo longer aging periods than Chiantis and Vino Nobiles. These wines are only released for sale 5 years after the grapes were harvested, even longer for Riserva wines. For at least 2 years of that time, Brunellos must age in oak barrels, though producers have flexibility to choose which type and size.
Wines have been made in Montalcino for more than 2,000 years, at least since Etruscans lived here in antiquity. But Brunello has only officially been around since the late 60s, in which time its global renown has been thoroughly established.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Rosso di Montalcino
#4: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
To the south of Chianti and east of Montalcino, Montepulciano has its own prestigious Sangiovese-based wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or “the noble wine from the village of Montepulciano.” In this part of Tuscany, Sangiovese goes by yet another name: Prugnolo Gentile.
Montepulciano - the place, not the grape - is a medieval town that sits high up on a limestone ridge, a big advantage back when guarding the town from invaders was a critical reality. For much of its history, Montepulciano and its “king of all wines” was far better-known and prestigious than the Brunellos from Montalcino to the west. In 1980, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was even the first wine to receive DOCG status, Italy’s highest wine classification. But in the 1990s, Brunello’s rise seemed to parallel Vino Nobile’s fall from popularity, and these wines still haven’t quite recovered. For years, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano has fought off a reputation for having become a poor man’s Brunello.
Luckily, all things change, and producers in Montepulciano are no longer trying to ride Brunello’s drift, but are instead reviving their own Sangiovese-based beauties, often less bombastic than Brunellos, but riper and fuller-bodied than Chiantis. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines are required to be made up of at least 70 percent Sangiovese (AKA Prugnolo Gentile), with other local grapes like Canaiolo in the mix.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, Rosso di Montepulciano
#5: Morellino di Scansano
Along this southern stretch of the Tuscan coast, Sangiovese goes by yet another name: Morellino, “little dark one,” thought to be a reference to dark morello cherries.
Scansano is a little village in Maremma, a region best known today for its Super Tuscan wines. But like most of Tuscany, Sangiovese was first here, and wines have been made from the grape here for centuries, at least since Etruscan times.
Though it has hundreds of years of history, Morellino di Scansano has only recently received renewed attention and growth, having received its DOCG - Italy’s highest wine classification - in 2007. Morellino di Scansano wines today must be made up of at least 85% Sangiovese (AKA Morellino), with other local red grapes allowed for the remainder of the blend. Since these wines are the southernmost Sangiovese-based wines in this Tuscan tasting, you can expect to find power, richness and full-bodied style.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Morellino di Scansano Riserva, Morellino di Scansano Rosso
#6: Super Tuscan
Super Tuscan doesn’t sound very Italian, does it? That’s because it’s a phrase created by an American wine writer in the early 80s to define a then brand-new category of wines made with French grape varieties and techniques, usually from Bordeaux, but in Tuscany. These top quality wines fell outside the Italian DOC system, so at first, they were labeled with the least prestigious appellation category: Vino da Tavola.
These wines had been produced for a decade before the Super Tuscan name was coined, specifically starting with a single wine: Sassicaia, quickly followed by other now-icons: Ornellaia, Tignanello, Solaia, Le Macchiole and Masseto.
Luckily, you don’t have to splash out for a Super Tuscans icon to get the experience. There are now a plethora of Tuscan wines made with French grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. New DOCs have even been created that legally require French grapes in the blends in Bolgheri and Maremma.
What to ask for: Ask by name
Alternative(s): Bolgheri Rosso, Bolgheri Rosso Superiore, Maremma Toscana, IGT Toscana, IGT Costa Toscana
Tasting tips
The eats
If you’re hosting this tasting in a warmer climate or at a different time of year than my Danish February, by all means, serve up all the tomato-y goodness, from Panzanella salads with drizzles of viscous balsamic vinegar to Caprese salads with their thickly sliced red and white banners accented with green basil like the Italian flag. If you, like my husband, are more excited about Tuscany’s famous Florentine steaks, serve up some Bistecca alla Fiorentina. And if you can get outside and grill, a top-your-own grilled pizza party would be a delight.
On the other hand, if you’re the kind of host who prefers to cook before the guests arrive, and if it isn’t tomato season in your neck of the woods, serve up a classic tomato sauce that makes the best of last summer’s canned goodness, or slow-roast the freshest tomatoes you can find to pull out every bit of flavor. I can highly recommend Meryl Feinstein’s James Beard award-winning Pasta Every Day cookbook for classic tomato sauce recipes and other hosting go-to’s, like her casual Bolognese or the meatiest meatless ragù, for the vegetarians among us. I promise that creating one of these sauces is not all that much more work than a store-bought marinara, and they offer a lot more flavor. Pasta-wise, dried is always an option, but don’t sleep on hosting a collective pasta-making gathering either, Pasta Grannies-style.
Charcuterie-wise, aim for Tuscan classics like Prosciutto Toscana, Mortadella, salami, Pecorino toscano, marinated artichokes, olives, grapes, dried apricots and the snack-iest Italian breadsticks, Grissini, or the little crispy rings of Taralli, my favorite study snack when I lived in France.
The prep
Most of these wines are easy to find, though some may take a bit more hunting. I recommend giving your guests at least two weeks to find their wines, depending on where you live.
There is a wide range of prices for all of these wines, so it’s up to you as the host to decide if you want to set a price range or let your guests determine what they’re each comfortable spending. If guests are finding the wines’ prices to be prohibitive, you can invite them to split their assigned wine’s cost with a friend or partner, widening the tasting group.
A note on the tasting order: The wines are listed in the order of which should be included first, so that even if there are just 4 wines in the tasting, you’ve got a well-rounded experience ahead. However, I’d suggest switching up the order in which you taste the wines, regardless of how many wines make it in the final cut, as follows:
Morellino di Scansano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Chianti
Chianti Classico
Brunello di Montalcino
Super Tuscan
Sources
D'Agata, Ian | Native Wine Grapes of Italy
