20 Facts About Sangiovese

At least fourteen Sangiovese clones exist, of which Brunello is one of the best regarded.

Young Sangiovese has fresh fruity flavours of strawberry and a little spiciness, but it readily takes on oaky, even tarry, flavours when aged in barrels.

Evidence for this latter theory is the proliferation of seedless mutations of Sangiovese, known under various synonyms, throughout various regions of southern Italy including Campania, Corinto nero which is grown on the island of Lipari just north of Sicily and Tuccanese from the Apulia region in the heel of the Italian boot.

In Campania, among the many seedless mutations of Sangiovese still growing in the region are Nerello from the commune of Savelli, Nerello Campotu from the commune of Motta San Giovanni, Puttanella from Mandatoriccio and Vigna del Conte.

The Sangiovese Grosso, according to Molon, produced the highest quality wine, while the varieties in the Sangiovese Piccolo family, which included the majority of clones, produced wine of a lesser degree of quality.

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Sangiovese has shown itself to be adaptable to many different types of vineyard soils but seems to thrive in soils with a high concentration of limestone, having the potential to produce elegant wines with forceful aromas.

Advances in understanding the quality and characteristics of the different clones of Sangiovese has led to the identification and propagation of superior clones.

Additionally, Sangiovese has shown itself to be a "sponge" for soaking up sweet vanilla and other oak compounds from the barrel.

Traditional Sangiovese emphasize herbal and bitter cherry notes, while more modern, Bordeaux-influenced wines have more plum and mulberry fruit with vanilla oak and spice.

In general, Sangiovese has a more difficult time fully ripening in the Chianti region than it does in the Montalcino and Maremma regions to the south.

Sangiovese grown in the Maremma is capable of developing broad character but does have the potential of developing too much alcohol and not enough aroma compounds.

In France, while some producers in the Languedoc are now experimenting with the variety, Sangiovese has a long history on the island of Corsica where it is known as Nielluccio.

Additional plantings of Sangiovese can be found in Israel, Malta, Turkey and Switzerland.

Today the style of these Californian Sangiovese tend to be more fruit-driven than their Tuscan counterparts with some floral notes.

In Washington State, one of the first commercial plantings of Sangiovese was at Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley AVA.

Small amount of Sangiovese is grown in South Africa with 63 hectares reported in 2008, mostly in the Stellenbosch and Darling regions.

Different regions will impart varietal character on the wine with Tuscan Sangiovese having a distinctive bitter-sweet component of cherry, violets and tea.

Sangiovese based wines have the potential to age but the vast majority of Sangiovese wines are intended to be consumed relatively early in their lives.

New World Sangiovese has so far, shown a relatively short window of drinkability with most examples best consumed with 3 to 4 years after harvest with some basic examples of Argentine Sangiovese having the potential to only improve for a year after bottling.

Sangiovese that has been subject to more aggressive oak treatment pairs well with grilled and smoked food.