I’ve always loved Italians; they do the family thing so well! There’s never any question of where their priorities lie. Blood is thicker than water after all and so when I think of the Sangiovese grape, I think of a big, Tuscan family, with four boys and a girl.
So, let’s meet those youngsters....
Morellino, the little lady, is gentle and approachable. She’s always up and ready to go before her bigger brothers and is often ignored as the boys jostle for attention. She’s a forward little thing though and bright as a button. Her time will soon come to shine.
Chianti, the younger brother has just started at big school. Still a bit all over the place and unruly at times, he can be very good or very, very bad. There’s a lot of the rustic, country boy in him and he often needs a good meal to soften his edges.
Chianti Classico, the middle brother, is straight down the line. Well behaved and studying classics, he is the model student, displaying all the characteristics that his school would be proud of.
Chianti Classico Riserva Like the middle brother, but about to graduate. He has spent more time assimilating information in the school’s dark wood-walled library and he’s now ready to sit his exams.
The fourth brother however, has always been a little different:
From his father’s first marriage, Brunello struck out on his own, working the vineyards in the next town. You can see the family resemblance, but Brunello is broader, more tanned and smouldering than his brothers in Chianti (check out Jesse Metcalfe above!). Get close and you can smell earthiness, leather and tobacco. He’s well built and complex. It takes time to get to know him.
All the wines above are based on Sangiovese, with occasional, tiny pinches of others to liven them up. In Chianti, the grape's still called Sangiovese (it's just named after the region to confuse you!). On the Tuscan coast however, they call it ‘Morellino’ and inland around Montalcino, it’s called ‘Brunello’. It’s all the same family, with subtle differences depending on location, but their common features are savoury cherry and dried herb flavours that goes deliciously with food.
Tasting Tour
Start in Tuscany and work your way up the family:
Morellino di Scansano - Soft, bright red fruit, made for earlier drinking. Less well known, but one to watch.
Chianti - Rustic, sour cherry and dried herbs from picked in various locations all over the region.
Chianto Classico - Richer, dark cherry, cocoa and dried herbs. From the best, ‘Classic’ part of the Chianti region.
Brunello di Montalcino- Spicy cherry & herbs with earthy mineral, violet and tobacco flavours. It's got a 6 pack!
Try ‘Riserva’ versions of all of these for more dark spice and heavier structure that comes from ageing in oak.
While you're at it, you could also try the posh country cousin: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Italy is the real home of Sangiovese, but some of the relations have flown the nest! Look for them in small pockets around Australia, Argentina & California, all with that unmistakable Italian accent, but with the definite stamp of their own country.
Sangiovese literally means ‘Blood of Jove’! Just what else did this Jove get up to, I wonder?
I’m off to unwrap a Brunello...
WB x
