Doga delle Clavule Vermentino 2013
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2021-
James
Suckling
The Doga delle Clavule estate consists of 192 hectares (475 acres) in the region of Maremma. 41 hectares (101 acres) are planted mainly with Sangiovese, locally called Morellino and few hectares of Merlot, Alicante, Syrah and Vermentino. The name “La Doga” means “barrel stave” in Italian and it means “creek” from the old dialect used in this part of Tuscany. The name was chosen because in the past there used to be a creek crossing the property. “Clavule” means vines in latin. The estate is owned by Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini, who also owns Altesino, Borgo Scopeto and Caparzo.
Maremma is a part of the Tuscan wine growing region. It is a region, almost due south of the town of Montalcino, only about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Tyrrhenian sea.
Maremma, only a two hour driving southwest of the city of Florence, covers an area that roughly corresponds to the coastal province of Grosseto. An extensive and largely undeveloped territory that stands in stark contrast to the compact Montalcino or Chianti Classico areas.
A fantastic, aromatic white grape that grows with great success in Sardinia, Tuscany and in lesser proportions on the island of Corsica. Somm Secret—Vermentino is thought to be genetically identical to Liguria’s Pigato grape and Peidmont’s Favorita. It comprises a large proportion of the whites in southern France where it is called Rolle.
One of the most iconic Italian regions for wine, scenery and history, Tuscany is the world’s most important outpost for the Sangiovese grape. Tuscan wine ranges in style from fruity and simple to complex and age-worthy, Sangiovese makes up a significant percentage of plantings here, with the white Trebbiano Toscano coming in second.
Within Tuscany, many esteemed wines have their own respective sub-zones, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The climate is Mediterranean and the topography consists mostly of picturesque rolling hills, scattered with vineyards.
Sangiovese at its simplest produces straightforward pizza-friendly Tuscan wines with bright and juicy red fruit, but at its best it shows remarkable complexity and ageability. Top-quality Sangiovese-based wines can be expressive of a range of characteristics such as sour cherry, balsamic, dried herbs, leather, fresh earth, dried flowers, anise and tobacco. Brunello, an exceptionally bold Tuscan wine, expresses well the particularities of vintage variations and is thus popular among collectors. Chianti is associated with tangy and food-friendly dry wines at various price points. A more recent phenomenon as of the 1970s is the “Super Tuscan”—a red wine made from international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, with or without Sangiovese. These are common in Tuscany’s coastal regions like Bolgheri, Val di Cornia, Carmignano and the island of Elba.