Vino's Wine
Director Charles Scicolone is traveling in Italy for the next few weeks.
Please check back soon for his Wine Opinion.
In 1839, when Count Giorgio Gallesio published the last installment of his
landmark work La pomona italiana, a
survey of Italy's
fruit trees and fruits, he had devoted an entire chapter to Uva Sangioveto.
He was referring to a variety that we know today as Sangiovese, a grape used
in some of Italy's
greatest and most collectible wines. (See his drawing of "Uva
Sangioveto" right.)
"E' un'uva tutta toscana," wrote the Count. Sangioveto "is an
utterly Tuscan grape. It is perhaps the most precious of grapes in this
country, a land so dear to Bacchus."
Today, Sangiovese is the most widely cultivated grape variety in Italy: more
than 11% of the country's acreage under vine is planted with Sangiovese and
more than 30 DOCs use Sangiovese as the primary variety. The most famous
appellations are, of course, Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano, Carmignano (Toscana), and Sangiovese di Romagna (Emilia-Romagna). But
Sangiovese is also grown as far north as the Veneto,
where it is used in Bardolino, and in the Marche
along the Adriatic, where it is the primary
grape used in Rosso Piceno. It is even planted -- a surprise to many -- in
certain parts of Southern Italy.
The grape's name most likely derives from a Tuscan dialectal term, sangiovannina,
meaning a vine that buds early (perhaps akin to the Italian giovane or
"young"). Others believe that the name refers to the giogo
or "yoke" formed by the Apennine mountain range that separates
Toscana and Romagna to the north. A more
recent theory proposes the ancient Etruscan sanisve, a term that meant
"father" or "ancestor," possibly a reference to the
"wine of the father" or master. (The folkloric etymology, sangue
di Giove, or "blood of Jove," has long been dismissed by
Italian scholars.)
The earliest known mention of Sangiovese dates back to the late sixteenth
century when agriculturist Gianvettorio Soderini praised Sangiogheto
for its ability to produce copious amounts of wine. But it was not until the
early eighteenth century that Sangiovese clearly emerged as a grape use for
the production of superior wine. In a 1716 edict, Grand Duke of Toscana
Cosimo III de' Medici created Italy's
first officially sanctioned appellations, Carmignano and Chianti, among
others. (Many believe erroneously that Cosimo was trying to protect
winemakers in Chianti from imitators but the exact opposite is true: he owned
vineyards in Carmignano.)
By the mid-nineteenth century, Italy's Iron Baron, Bettino
Ricasoli had already begun to make long-lived Sangiovese in Chianti Classico.
And by the end of that century, the first Brunello di Montalcino would be
produced, an appellation considered by many to be one of Sangiovese's finest
expressions.
For those of you who read our weekly newsletter, you know that Sangiovese is
one of our wine director Charles Scicolone's favorite grapes. He has often
praised Sangiovese as the ideal "food wine": while it makes for a
tannic wine, it also has a bright acidity, thus making it perfect for a wide
variety of foods. Charles also likes to remind us that, when grown at proper
altitudes and vinified in the traditional manner, Sangiovese can age
beautifully.
A few years ago, while in Chianti Rufina, Charles and owner Nicola Marzovilla
discovered some traditional-style, barrel-aged, declassified Chianti from the
1979, 82, and 88 vintages. The Villa di Vetrice estate bottled the wine for
us and we now sell it under their Grato Grati label. The 1988
paired perfectly with some wild boar stew that Chef Patrick Nuti served with
creamy polenta the other night at I Trulli.
Whether you call it Sangioveto or Sangiovese, Sangiovese Grosso or Sangiovese
Piccolo, Brunello or Prugnolo Gentile, Morellino or Uva Tosca (the different
names and clones used across Italy
are seemingly endless), there's no denying that this grape has conquered the
world. Just think of how many producers of Brunello appear in the myriad
end-of-the-year "Top 100 Wine" lists. Italy had not yet been unified
when Count Gallesio wrote his book (unification would come only a few short
years after the last installment of his survey was published). If he were to
revisit his work today, perhaps he would write: "Uva Sangioveto...
un'uva tutta italiana."
The wines below represent just a handful of the appellations where
Sangiovese is used as the primary grape.
POGGIO
ALLE GHIANDE ROSSO 2003 CASTELLO DELLE REGINE (UMBRIA)
(click
here to order)
$12.00
ROSSO
PICENO MALVANO 2002 ENZO MECELLA (MARCHE)
(click
here to order)
$14.00
CHIANTI
RUFINA RISERVA 2001 TRAVIGNOLI (TOSCANA)
(click
here to order)
$18.00
CHIANTI
RUFINA RISERVA 1990 VILLA DI VETRICE (TOSCANA)
(click
here to order)
$34.00
CARMIGNANO
RISERVA 1996 VILLA DI CAPEZZANA (TOSCANA)
(click
here to order)
$46.00
GRATO
GRATI VECCHIA ANNATA 1979 VILLA DI VETRICE (TOSCANA)
(click
here to order)
$50.00
BRUNELLO
DI MONTALCINO 2000 LA FORNACE (TOSCANA)
(click
here to order)
$60.00
