lots of good info in the responses above. This one in particular stands out as important to me.
When you shift into Sangiovese, I think you should make at least a few attempts at each Chianti & Brunello. The only other thing I think really should be considered is age. I think a young Brunello is very much an acquired taste, but a well aged Brunello seems to be loved by everyone. If you are trying relatively young wines, I recommend trying a given Sangiovese over many hours, so you can get an idea of the changes as well.
personally, I think there are some regions in Italy where you gotta spend a little time to understand them. having a single “token” Barolo isn’t gonna help you, any more than a single Burgundy doesn’t let you understand burgundy. at the very least, there is a big difference between the two soil types in Barolo, Serralunga vs La Morra. Or even within the same producer of Barbaresco, Produttori, the 11 crus they produce can be very different. not to mention, aged Nebbiolo is a totally different beast and experience compared to the young stuff. then you get into the fact that a classic producer probably produces Barolo, langhe Nebbiolo, Barbara, dolcetto, freisa…
everyone already mentioned how different Sangiovese can be, and thats not even taking into account Chianti vs Chianti Classico, vs CCR, vs individual areas in chianti.
all this gets around to the fact that I think learning about Italian wine is hard to do as a general overview. I would suggest region deep-dives instead, starting with the classics: Piedmont (at least Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, dolcetto), Sangiovese (Chianti and brunello), Veneto, and Sicily. the lists of producers people have above have great examples!
When looking for the wines, I heartily suggest going for the 2013 or 2016 vintages when available and avoiding 2014 whenever possible. There are some places that break the above rule (like Barbaresco making sound wines in 2014) but as a whole 2013 and 2016 were top vintages in Italy while 2014 was anything but.
2015 is much more variable, so in many cases you’d need to know the producer if you want to be sure. I haven’t had enough 2017 and 2018 yet to decide if there is any consistency through the regions.
This may be true if you’re exclusively looking for classically styled, long-term agers, but I think 2015 is a good bet for someone wanting to get a feel for the wines. It is a warmer vintage . My experience with '15 Chianti and Brunello is that they drink very well now, with a ton of opulent fruit. The '16 Chianti’s and CCRs I’ve had are a bit more reserved, a bit higher in acidity, and will likely be the “better wines” with time. I think this may be true of Barolo as well, where it may be even more clear that '16 is the “better” vintage, but the '15s are likely to show well early. I have no view on the vintage comparison of other regions (Campania, Sicily, etc.), although I would bet the Sagrantinos from '15 would be terrific, as that grape LOVES hot vintages.
2012 was definitely a good vintage in many places, but not as uniformly great as 2013 or 2016 throughout the country. My suggestion was just to have a vintage you don’t have to memorize specifically for certain regions.
2012 in Tuscany and Piedmonte are often pretty great, but less so when you go south from Tuscany.
First, thanks for all the great recommendations! I’ve been tasting my way around Italy and thoroughly enjoying it. I’d love to further explore Super Tuscans / Bolgheri / Italian Bordeaux blends. For my tastes, these hit the sweet spot at a lower price point and don’t seem to need two decades like value-oriented Bordeaux.
Any specific recommendations at the under $50 mark? I’ve been happy with ‘16 Argentiera Donoratico ($25) and Antinori Toscana ($13) and looking at ‘18 Guado al Tasso il Bruciato ($28).
Thanks in advance to anyone who has a favorite in this category!
Candialle makes some wonderfully pure wines in a very classic style and their Ciclope Rosso is a very serious Super-Tuscan that emphasizes the “Tuscan” part more than the “Super” part.
You should definately try Sapaio’s ”Volpolo” (around 25$), Ornellaias ”Le Volte” (20-25$) and Grattamaco’s Bolgheri Rosso (around 25$ ).
If you find Grattamaco’s other wines for under 50$ I would recommend trying them. Beautiful vineyards, was there a couple of years ago.
Otto’s list is excellent! Very concise and encompassing. Hard to really contribute anything after that. One other thing I find interesting is to try some of the more global grapes like Cab Sauvignon & Merlot, but from varying regions across Italy, to give you a bit of an understanding of the terroir, while messing with varying levels of Sangiovese blended with Cab & Merlot can also be enlightening. I think this is especially true if you are coming from more of a Bordeaux or Napa background.
I have had a very good experience so far with 2015. I recall you mentioning this once on a thread about Amarone, but do you feel the same for Brunello and 2015?
I agree with the others that this is a great list. I’ve got a few comments to add:
Dry Lambrusco, Refosco, Schiopettino are very hard to find here in the US. Consider subbing in Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and/or Barbera, both good pizza wines that get great distribution here in the US.
A number of these wines can be tannic and shut down when young. Most of them have “younger sibling” type wines that are often more approachable young. I’m not saying you should avoid the big wines, but I’d want to get specific recommendations from someone who knows that a specific wine is drinking well, and don’t sit on that wine too long. The list is below, with the alternative wines
Brunello di Montalcino (Rosso di Montalcino)
Sagrantino di Montefalco (Rosso di Montefalco)
Taurasi (Aglianico del Vulture)
The pair of Barolo/Barbaresco has a similar relationship with Langhe Nebbiolo, but I think you won’t have much trouble asking around and finding a Barbaresco from 2016 that is drinking well now.
There is actually a Refosco on wine.com right now. Tenuta Luisa Refosco 2016. I don’t know anything about it, but just ordered one.
For 2016 Barbarescos, I’m overwhelmed by the Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco. I’ve already opened 2 and will have at least 2 more in 2021, but I bought almost 4 cases.
I don’t have much experience with Brunello 2015, since I don’t care that much about Brunello. However, I really haven’t been a fan of 2015 in Tuscany, since what I love in Sangiovese is savory fruit and high acidity - the 2015s that I’ve tasted have been lower in acidity, sweeter in fruit and often too high in alcohol. It was a very hot vintage and thus not really one I care for.
Sounds weird if no dry Lambrusco is around there. Schioppettino I can believe, since it’s not that widely grown, but I find it odd if there is no Refosco to go around.
Barbera is a rather poor replacement for Lambrusco or Friuli reds, since that’s a Piedmontese thing and I’ve got Piedmont already covered with Nebbiolo - pretty much The Piedmontese red variety. My idea was to give a wide-encompassing sweep of the country, not focus much on one specific region at this phase. I can get behind Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, but if you don’t take Valentini and Pepe into account, that’s often a very generic and uninspiring style of wine. A soft, simple and fruity little red that’s good for a pizza wine, but rarely anything beyond that. It’s certainly good to taste some to get the idea, but it really isn’t on my list when trying to come up for definitive Italian wines.
And yes, I do agree that a number of the reds are going to be tannic, there’s no way around that - after all, that’s Italy we are talking about! If one wants to get a good picture of the country, I think it’s good to take a look at the big players and not their down-toned younger siblings. After all, if one were to check out different wines from the US, it would be odd to hear “Nah, Napa Cabs are going to be too tannic and shut down; go for Beringer Central Valley Cabernet instead, that’ll give you good enough picture of California!”.
Sure, these wines are not going to be that approachable, if they are young, but I think that is going to give one a more honest picture of Italy than going for the inexpensive entry-level reds instead. And who knows, maybe one might actually find some older bottlings?
Although I must say that Aglianico del Vulture can be a good alternative to Taurasi. However, around here, it is much easier to find Taurasi than Aglianico del Vulture - and most Aglianico del Vulture wines can be as tough and tannic as any Taurasi!
That’s fair. I actually love the 2015s for the sweeter fruit and the 2013s for the savory, but both have been great for my taste. I have had a tougher time gaging the aging potential on the 2015s though.
I would suggest trying Italian wines made with one grape variety at a time made as clean and natural as possible (malolactic and aging in steel or large neutral casks). That way you can start to understand your preferences out of huge number of alternatives you have.