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108 GOURMET TRAVELLER

PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

Sangiovese is still the star player in Italy’s centre, but

it’s not the only game in town, writes MAX ALLEN.

Pulling power

A

s vineyard pests go, cinghiale,

wild boar, would have to

be the most unusual. And

delicious – especially turned

into a ragù and served with wide strips of

pappardelle and a glass of Chianti, made

from the very same sangiovese grapes the

porcine pests were trying to pilfer.

It’s divine retribution, really. The

name sangiovese famously means “blood

of Jove”, which gives you a good idea

of how highly esteemed the grape is in

Chianti and Montalcino and Bolgheri

and the other wine regions of Tuscany

where it’s the prime red variety.

This is some of the most classically

beautiful wine country anywhere in the

world: red-tiled medieval rooftop villages

perched on hilltops; horizon lines of

pencil pines against the setting sun;

perfectly manicured hillside vineyards;

(and, if you look very carefully, shin-

height electric fences to keep out

the cinghiale).

Sangiovese comes in many forms

here, from simple, light, cherry-juicy

quaffers produced by large

wineries across Tuscany,

to the more precise and

elegant wines of Chianti

Classico, to the fuller-

bodied, tannic, long-lived

Brunello di Montalcino,

and the more rustic,

earthy Vino Nobile

di Montepulciano.

Tuscan wine has been

through a dynamic process

of reinvention over the

last half-century. The

revolution began with the

release of Sassicaia, a wine

made not from sangiovese

but from the French grape,

cabernet sauvignon. This

led to a wave of so-called

Super Tuscans across the

region: red wines produced

from other international

varieties such as cabernet

and merlot, sometimes

single varieties, sometimes

blended with sangiovese. During the

1980s and ’90s, Super Tuscans were all

the rage, but in recent years the pendulum

has swung back to sangiovese, and more

and more producers now take pride in

focusing on the traditional Tuscan grape.

Tuscany may be the most famous

wine region in central Italy, but it’s

far from the only one.

Sangiovese is also grown in Emilia-

Romagna, to the north, and it produces

lovely red wines. But the best wine to

drink with an antipasto platter laden

with regional specialities, such as slices

of prosciutto and chunks of well-aged

Parmigiano-Reggiano, is Lambrusco.

Forget any bad memories you may

have of cheap, sweet Australian-made

“Lambrusco”. The realthing, drunk

with relish by the locals here, is usually

dry, often pale-pink rather than deep-

purple in colour, with a fabulous tangy

freshness and savoury quality.

They grow sangiovese in Umbria,

too, and the Lazio region around

Rome, and in Abruzzo to the east. But

the wines made from this grape rarely

match the best of Tuscany – or the best

made from other red varieties indigenous

to each region.

In Umbria, for

example, the sagrantino

grape produces famously

intense red wine: deep,

dark purple in colour,

and with fabulous,

tongue-gripping tannins.

In Abruzzo, the

montepulciano grape

(not to be confused with

the town bearing the

same name in Tuscany)

makes some of Italy’s

best-value red wines, full

of flavour and fruit, with

supple tannins and a

fleshy texture.

And when in Rome,

it makes sense to drink

red wines made from

the local cesanese

variety: the grape’s

earthy flavours are

wonderful paired with

a plate of braised trippa

alla Romana.●

Top drops of

the region

NV Paltrinieri Radice

Lambrusco di Sorbara,

Emila-Romagna $28

Old-school Lambrusco:

savoury, rustic, tangy, and

a cloudy pale-pink colour.

Imported by

godotwines.com.au

2016 Damiano Ciolli Silene

Cesanese, Lazio $36

Medium-bodied,

undergrowthy, wild

berry-flavoured red made

from the cesanese grape.

Imported by

trembathandtaylor.com.au

2015 Poggerino Chianti

Classico, Tuscany $40

Consistently brilliant,

cherry-juicy Chianti from

one of the best in the region.

Imported by

trembathandtaylor.com.au

The streets of

Castellina in

Chianti, Tuscany.

WINE