Etikettarkiv: Sangiovese

Italian red wines

Savory Sangiovese from Marche

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This red organic wine from the region of Marche, in the middle of Italy, is a very nice pairing to especially Italian food like pasta, pizza, cheeses with complex notes as well as most meat dishes… just think of any Italian dish you fancy 🙂

This wine is made from 100 % Sangiovese, which is the most planted grape variety in Italy, with slightly acidic fruity notes as well as herbs and spices. Il Segreto Sangiovese 2019 (nr 73684 at Swedish Systembolaget) is produced by Poggio Fiore in Marche, a region bordering the Adriatic Sea south of Emilia-Romagna.

It has a deep ruby color and on the nose you find black cherries, vanilla from oak, as well as chocolate and coffee. On the palate the balance between acidity and tannins is good, adding also herbal notes and cinnamon.

This wine is, as mentioned already, very easy to combine with food! One suggestion is Oven-roasted pork fillet with mushroom sauce. Try also Roast lamb with potatoes gratin! I give this wine 83 points since it is balanced with typical tasting notes and easy to combine with food dishes and well worth its price!

Italian red wines

Istine Chianti Classico is classy

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This red wine from Tuscany in Italy is made from 100% Sangiovese, and since 2016 the producer Istine is certified organic. It has very pleasant notes of dark cherries, slightly sour which is typical for this style, as well as sage and cinnamon. The maturation in Slovenian oak for one year adds notes of vanilla, chocolate, tobacco and cloves.

The balance between the high acidity and firm but integrated tannins, as well as the pronounced flavours make this wine very good to match with the typical Italian cuisine – like pasta, pizza, prosciutto and fantastic cheeses! It costs 159 SEK and has nr 2309 at Systembolaget, and the well-integrated structure and classy finish makes this a very price-worthy wine, and it gets 86 points!

Italian red wines

Typical Chianti worth its price

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There are quite a few Italian green wines to choose between – and I myself am fond of the typical slightly sour cherry taste from the Chianti wines. The Gratena Chianti Fattoria Di Gratin 2013 is a DOCG wine (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), and I find it well worth its 95 SEK at Systembolaget here in Sweden.

Chianti DOCG, from Tuscany in central Italy, is Italy’s most exported wine. The grape variety used is Sangiovese (but up to 20 % of other varieties are permitted in the blend). The Sangiovese grape is best known for its sour red cherry fruits, not so aromatic in its character, high in acidity and rather astringent tannins – and this Gratena Chianti shows much of this! I give it 81 points – especially considering its price! It also has quite a long finish with lots of fruits. There are also notes of oak, strawberries and a bit of chocolate. Alcohol 13,5 %.

This wine is best when combined with food with quite a lot of taste – like red meat of lamb dishes – since the tannins are rather astringent and need something in the food to digest it with. But pork or game dishes would also be very good, as well as a rich salmon dish.

Time to relax 🙂

Gratena

Italian red wines

Bio Fantini with notes of liquorice

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My aim is to try as many green wines as possible, to write my opinion about them and give them my rating. If you have a taste similar to mine, I hope that this could give you some guidance in your choice of quality green wines at good price. 🙂

I have now tried a bio Fantini Farnese 2013, which is a red IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) from the Abruzzo area in Italy. It is made from the black grape variety Sangiovese (the same used for Chianti).  Typical for this grape is that it is not as aromatic as Cabernet Sauvignon for instance, but high in acidity and with a typical slightly ’sour’ red cherry fruit character. It normally gives wines with rather astringent tannins and earthy aromas reminding of tea leaves.

This wine gets 85 points.  On the nose I sense red cherries, herbs and a bit of liquorice.

On the palate I taste cherries, slightly sour, with some herbs as well as liquorice. The acidity is quite high, and the tannins are there but not so astringent. The alcohol level is 12,5 %.

This wine is quite good, and the liquorice notes add something. I would say that it is worth its price (75 SEK at Systembolaget, nr 2344).

Combine this wine with food like barbecued pork and lamb dishes!

Enjoy 🙂

Fantini