Sangiovese 2008

Tasting Notes: “Red cherry fruits in a spicy savoury spectrum” - 88 points James Halliday

Matching with Food: Try with bruschetta and pizzas.

The recently released Bluemetal Sangiovese 2008 is now available. A delicious, aromatic wine with an intense colour, spicy characters and gorgeous flavours of strawberries and plums. It is medium bodied and just cries out for food matches such as pizza, pasta and chicken dishes. It’ll repay some short-term cellaring but will probably be at its best over the next couple of years.

Sangiovese is one of the classic red grapes of Italy. The name derives from the Latin words sanguis Jovis, literally meaning ‘the blood of Jove’, and the grape is grown extensively in Tuscany where it’s the principal variety used in the region’s famous Chianti table wine. Sangiovese now grows in many other parts of the world and it’s become a very popular grape in Australia where it’s sometimes blended with other red varieties.  

There are a number of different clones and they all benefit from a sunny, dryish climate to deliver their best qualities. The fruit is fairly late ripening with quite a thin skin, so the colour isn’t as deep as in some other red wines. Sangiovese generally produces a medium-bodied, fruity wine with a fair amount of natural acidity and firm tannins, especially in cooler areas. The dominant flavours are strawberries, blueberries and dark plums, often with floral violet, cinnamon and clove characters. With bottle age, it develops savoury, tarry and toasty notes. Because of its highish acid and tannin levels, Sangiovese makes a deliciously dry and refreshing rosé that goes perfectly with many foods, and you may already be familiar with the Bluemetal version which is extremely popular with our many cellar door visitors and wine club members.