Varietal of the Month: Sangiovese

 

Sangiovese derives its name from the Latin  —Sanguis Jovis— meaning “the blood of Jove”. A mainstay of Italy, it’s a medium-bodied dry red wine with a range of flavors that include red cherry, black plum, sun-dried tomato, cigar box, black tea, smoke, anise, and thyme; great acidity and a nice level of spiciness typify it. Medium to high tannin make it a versatile wine, suitable for pairing with all things tomato based, especially pizza; but also great with hard cheeses and rich savory roasted meats, or even pork chops. 

 

Here are capsule reviews of Sangiovese wines you may find along the Wine Road.

 

 

ACORN 2019 Sangiovese, Russian River Valley

The ACORN 2019 Sangiovese from Alegría Vineyards in Russian River Valley is composed of 98% Sangiovese, 1% Canaiolo Nero and 1% Mammolo Toscano. I don’t know how those small amounts of amounts of Canaiolo Nero and Mammolo Toscano figure in the equation, but the result is nothing short of magical. The wine is rich and juicy with a delicate dusty rose on the nose. It’s full of bright tart cherry and cranberry with grounding notes of thyme, coffee and mocha. It’s savory and supple with soft fine-grained sandy tannins. Nice acidity with a long juicy, spicy finish with a hint of tomato leaf and caper. It literally makes my mouth happy to drink it. Pair with Pasta alla Norma or eggplant parmagiana.

 

ABV 14.1%

$45

 

Colagrossi 2018 Sangiovese, Mendocino County

The 2018 Colagrossi Sangiovese from Mendocino County is a meaty delight that hits all the right notes in terms of fruit, acidity and tannin. On the nose, notes of clove, aniseed, vanilla and cherry cola. On the palate it opens with bright red fruit, and tart cherry then settles with savory earthy notes of tobacco and balsamic. Great acidity and balanced sandy tannins carry the fruit flavors to a soft pleasing finish. Pizza is a natural choice for this wine or pair with sausage calzone or a simple charcuterie. 

 

ABV 14.6%

$38

   

Peterson 2018 Sangiovese, Dry Creek Valley 

The Peterson 2018 Sangiovese from Dry Creek Valley is shimmering earthy ode to the Tuscan varietal. On the nose, notes of sandalwood, amber, sweet tobacco and black cherry. On the palate it opens with tart cranberry and red currant followed by deep savory notes of thyme, sage and dried tomato. Marvelous balance of acidity and fine knit tannins is sure to activate the pleasure center of your brain. Spicy and lithe, pair with lasagna and the poetry of Dante.

 

ABV 14.6%

$30

 

Trentadue 2021 Shoestring Sangiovese, Alexander Valley

 

The 2021 Trentadue Shoestring Sangiovese from Alexander Valley has the earmarks of classic Chianti, with medium body, sandy tannins and food-friendly acidity. On the nose, sandalwood and dusty rose petals with a hint of black pepper and marjoram.  The palate is full and bright with flavors of maraschino cherry, dried strawberry and red currant and cassis. Still young this wine will develop nicely over the next several years, but it’s absolutely tasty and enjoyable right now. Pair with tomato tart or pasta Bolognese.

 

ABV 14.5%

$38

 

Masthead Sangiovese From Lodi-- A Wine Blogger Collaboration

Last year at the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi, the highlight of the opening reception was the Masthead Sangiovese. I adored this wine from the moment I first tasted it and kept asking how I could get more.

Luckily I was sent a sample bottle of the Masthead Sangiovese ( in October of 2016) and I opened it in November. Made by four bloggers, the wine is a beautiful mouthful of dark fruit with harmonious tannins, bright acidity and a delightful blend of spice and earthiness.

The wine is 100% Sangiovese blended from two lots of Mohr-Fry Ranch,  Block 433 in Lodi California. As I mentioned above, I was wowed by this wine when I tasted it in Lodi at the Wine Bloggers Conference and was very happy I was able to try it again away from the WBC chaos and enjoy it over the course of an evening. The particular evening I opened the wine was election night 2016, which had a chaos of its own of course, but I tired to ignore that slow motion train-wreck.

For me this wine will always be the bright spot in a dark day in history. Unlike election day that started out with promise and quickly deteriorated, the Masthead Sangiovese never let me down and continued to open up and reach new heights of flavor and complexity over the course of the evening.

What a brilliant idea it was to bring wine bloggers together to craft this wine.

UPDATE: While I tasted this almost a year ago it sometimes takes a jolt to get me to post to this blog and that jolt came by way of the recent news that Masthead received 90 points from Wine Enthusiast! I’d like to say you heard it here first that it was a worthy wine--but that’s what I get for procrastinating on this post!

In any event -- Cheers to Melanie Ofenloch of Dallas Wine Chick, Cindy Rynning, of Grape-Experiences and Peter Bourget and Nancy Brazil of Pull That Cork for a job well done.

You can read the full story of how the wine was created on their respective blogs via the links above.

File this post under #BetterLateThanNever