SANGIOVESE

Sangiovese is a red wine grape variety widely grown in Central Italy and the Tuscany region where it is the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.

It is a high yielding, late ripening grape that performs best on well-drained soils and planted to south-facing hillsides. Since the 1980s the quality of Sangiovese-based wines has rocketed upwards and they are now some of the most sought after in the world. It produces wines with pronounced tannins and acidity, though not always with great depth of colour, and its character can vary from farmyard/leather nuances through to essence of red cherries and plums.