Winemaker Notes
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Just south of the Bolgheri DOC, Val di Cornia inhabits a small, rugged promontory, jutting into the Tyrrhenian Sea, and is planted to reds like Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet, which are typically blended (see Tuscan Blends) and the white varieties of Vermentino and Ansonica (synonymous with Sicily’s Inzolia).