If you’re familiar with the sangiovese grape, no doubt your first – and perhaps only – association with it, regionally speaking, is Tuscany, where it produces Chianti, Vino Nobile and Brunello. Here the grape is found in a wine from the neighbouring and much lesser-known region of Umbria. And a serious and rare example it is, crafted with the meticulous care of cellar-worthy and similarly priced Brunellos.
Pressed from grapes grown on a prized hillside vineyard, it is matured for 12 months in oak and many years in bottle prior to release. Unusually concentrated and gutsy, the wine displays great depth and intriguing savouriness, with notes of leather, plum, cherry and licorice. At almost eight years of age, it remains in sound and sturdy shape, with furry tannins that seem to want to get under the tongue. Those tannins also would seem to bode well for at least six more years of good evolution in a cellar. Pair it with big steak or something comparably substantial and meaty. Limited supplies at the price below at select Ontario Vintages stores, various prices in Alberta.
- Year: 2010
- Region: Umbria
- Varietal: Sangiovese
- Food pairing: Steak
- Price: $46.95