Chianti, Vino Nobile and Super-Tuscans

Clearly, though, owing to Tuscany’s diverse landscape and myriad vineyard exposures, altitudes and microclimates, it is hard to make blanket vintage statements. For example, 2007, a very warm vintage, is a major success in Chianti, where the usually cooler microclimate doesn’t always allow for optimal ripening of sangiovese, while wines from warmer Tuscan areas will not be as successful, as my numerous tastings of barrel samples and finished wines have already shown. In contrast, 2006 is typically much more successful in Montepulciano, as this is a warmer area than Chianti. In general, 2006 is a better year than 2004, another excellent recent vintage, because the earlier vintage was often characterized by high crop levels, and although many great wines were made, some betray an element of dilution.

The good news for wine lovers is that there have never been so many wonderful wines, especially from Chianti, that clearly showcase the merits of sangiovese, one of the world’s great grape varieties when it is grown in the right sites. I found countless examples of superb wines from the usual suspects, but it was especially encouraging to discover that many other estates never previously known for making sangiovese or sangiovese-based wines of great purity are now coming up with wines that flaunt the lovely sour red cherry, redcurrant, mineral and floral aromas that characterize high-quality examples of this variety. A typical sangiovese should not smell and taste only of dark fruits, tar, black pepper, cedar, graphite and anchovy, especially when it’s from cooler parts of Tuscany such as Chianti.