Sangiovese

  • Aromas and Flavors: strawberry, blueberry, bitter cherry, earth, olive, tobacco, faintly floral, violet or plummy character with a sometimes bitter finish
  • Medium high acidity
  • Seen in Central Italy as (Chianto Classico), Montalcino (as Brunello)and Montepulciano (as Vino Nobile) (a.k.a. Sangioveto or San Gioveto)
  • Sanguis Jovis, the Latin origin for the varietal name, literally means “blood of Jove”
  • It is probably indigenous to Tuscany, whose most famous wine is Chianti
  • Italian immigrants from Tuscany probably introduced the Sangiovese grape to California in the late 1800s
  • Sangiovese mainly found in blends
  • The basic blend of Chianti was established by Baron Ricasoli in the 1890s
  • The basic blend averages 70% sangiovese as the varietal base (along with 15% canaiolo [red], and 15% trebbiano [white] and sometimes a little colorino [red])
  • Currently, in Italy, the minimum amount of sangiovese permitted in Chianti is 90%. Other grapes that may be used now include the white grape malvasia Toscana (Still, the total white grapes used must not exceed 5% of the blend)
  • The fruit is slow to mature and late-ripening
  • Does not mature well if planted above an elevation of 1,500 feet
  • The hot, dry climate, such as Tuscany provides, is where sangiovese thrives
  • Sangiovese is the #1 varietal in Italy, 10% of the entire wine grape crop
  • Tuscan winemakers are now blending sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon and/or merlot have succeeded in creating some superb “Supertuscan blends”
  • In America, the best results for these “Supertuscan” blends have come from Napa, San Luis Obispo and the Sierra Foothills