The regions · Italy

Tuscany: the land of Sangiovese, from Chianti to Brunello

Tuscany is the region in central Italy where Florence and Siena are, and where Sangiovese rules. From it come Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the reds of Bolgheri and an old white, Vernaccia. That's a lot of names on the label, but almost all of them tell the same story: the grape is the same, what changes is the patch of land.

Where it is and what the place is like

Tuscany lies in central Italy, between the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west and the Apennines to the east. It's hill country: the vineyard shares the hillside with olive trees, woods and rows of cypress, that postcard landscape. Chianti Classico, for example, covers about 71,800 hectares between Florence and Siena, in towns like Greve, Radda, Gaiole and Castellina in Chianti.

Each corner has its own way. Montalcino, about 40 km south of Siena, is a single hill, with vineyards from 120 to 650 meters of altitude and about 700 mm of rain a year; Monte Amiata, at 1,740 meters, shields it from hail. Bolgheri, on the other hand, is on the coast: vineyards from 10 to 380 meters, wind on at least 250 days a year and an average of 15.5 °C.

The region's grapes

The lady of the house is Sangiovese, a red grape that shows up in almost every Tuscan appellation. The Chianti consortium describes its wine as dry, slightly tannic (tannin is that grip on your gums) and smelling of violets and little red berries. In Montalcino, people called the grape Brunello, and the name became the wine's. In Chianti Classico, it can share the bottle with local grapes, like Canaiolo, Colorino and Ciliegiolo, or with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

On the coast, it's a different conversation. In Bolgheri, the red is usually the Bordeaux blend, the mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, sometimes with Syrah and Petit Verdot. Among the whites, Vernaccia reigns in San Gimignano, Vermentino has spread across the coastal hills, and Trebbiano and Malvasia become Vin Santo.

What wine comes from there

A bit of everything comes out of here, but the strong suit is dry red. There's the everyday red, fresh and fruity, to drink young; there's the red with time in a barrel, that can take years of aging, like Brunello, which the consortium says lasts 10 to 30 years in the right cellar. There's fresh white, rosé and Bordeaux-style blended red. And there's Vin Santo, the region's dessert wine: made from Malvasia and Trebbiano partly dried before fermenting, and aged in small oak barrels.

What the label says

In Italy, the ladder of origin has three rungs. IGT (Typical Geographical Indication) is the broadest: in Tuscany, IGT Toscana covers the whole region and accepts any grape authorized there. DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) already has a defined zone, grapes and way of making the wine. DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) is the top rung, with tighter rules and a numbered state seal on the bottle. According to the Regione Toscana, there are 11 DOCGs, 41 DOCs and 6 IGTs. Riserva means more waiting time before sale, and each appellation sets how much.

The names that show up most around here, and where they are within Tuscany:

• Chianti DOCG: a big zone, across six provinces (Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena), with at least 60% Sangiovese. It can carry the name of a subzone: Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Senesi, Colline Pisane, Montalbano, Rufina, Montespertoli or Terre di Vinci.
• Chianti Classico DOCG: the historic heart between Florence and Siena, with the black rooster on the neck or on the back label. It calls for at least 80% Sangiovese and has three rungs: Annata (12 months of waiting), Riserva (24 months) and Gran Selezione (30 months, grapes from the winery's own vineyards and at least 90% Sangiovese).
• Brunello di Montalcino DOCG: pure Sangiovese, only in the town of Montalcino. It reaches the shops on January 1 of the fifth year after the harvest, with at least two years in wood; the Riserva waits one more year. Rosso di Montalcino is the younger sibling, also Sangiovese only, sold from September 1 of the year after the harvest.
• Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG: in the town of Montepulciano, with vineyards from 250 to 600 meters, at least 70% Sangiovese and two years of aging (three for the Riserva).
• Bolgheri DOC: in the town of Castagneto Carducci, on the coast. The great Bordeaux-blend reds live here.
• Morellino di Scansano DOCG: in the hills of the province of Grosseto, in southern Tuscany, with at least 85% Sangiovese. Maremma Toscana DOC is the appellation that covers the whole province of Grosseto.
• Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG: the white from the town of towers, with at least 85% of the Vernaccia grape, which also gets a Riserva version.

What it pairs with

Sangiovese was made for the Italian table, and the Brazilian table has a lot of it. A young Chianti goes nicely with pizza, Sunday pasta, lasagna and meatballs in tomato sauce: the grape's acidity talks to the tomato sauce. A Brunello or a Chianti Classico Riserva asks for something stronger, like beef ribs, pot roast, lamb, aged cheese. Vernaccia goes with grilled fish, salad and chicken. And Vin Santo closes the night with biscotti to dip in the glass, the Tuscan way. All suggestions: liked another pairing? Go with that one.

The black rooster and the borders of 1716

In 1716, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de' Medici, signed a decree marking the limits of the zone where Chianti wine was made, between Florence and Siena. That same year, another decree created a team to oversee production and trade, because counterfeit Chianti was already heading to England. For the Chianti Classico consortium, that's when, for the first time, the link between the wine and the place gained the force of law.

The black rooster goes back further: it was the symbol of the Lega del Chianti, created by the Republic of Florence at the end of the 14th century. In 1924, 33 producers founded Italy's first wine consortium in Radda and chose the rooster as their mark. Over time, Chianti spread across much of Tuscany, and the word Classico came to set the original apart: DOC in 1967, DOCG in 1984 and its own appellation, separate from Chianti, in 1996.

The grapes in the labels from here

Across the 1,216 Tuscany labels in the search, the grapes that show up most. The number is how many labels use each one.

Top rated from Tuscany

Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.

• Soldera Case Basse Sangiovese ToscanaItaly · red · Sangioveserating ★ 4.8
• Masseto ToscanaItaly · red · Merlotrating ★ 4.8
• Soldera Brunello di Montalcino RiservaItaly · red · Sangioveserating ★ 4.8
• Biserno LodovicoItaly · red · Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdotrating ★ 4.7
• Antinori Tenuta Tignanello 'Solaia'Italy · red · Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangioveserating ★ 4.7
• Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di MontalcinoItaly · red · Sangioveserating ★ 4.7
• Antinori Tenuta Guado al Tasso MatarocchioItaly · red · Cabernet Francrating ★ 4.7
• Ornellaia Bolgheri SuperioreItaly · red · Merlot, Petit Verdotrating ★ 4.7

See the Tuscany labels in the search →