Tuscany as a region seems to have entered the psyche of Americans and refused to leave.  There are so many factors which contribute to the popularity of Tuscany and its centrality in how Americans think of Italy and Italian wine.  The region is pinned to the map by the important cities of Florence and Siena, with Rome just a bit farther south.  It offers picturesque rolling hills, dotted with stone villas (that seem to have inspired many a Napa winery), towering cypress and olive trees, and vineyards as far as the eye can see.  Combine those indelible images along with the historical fiaschi (plural of a fiasco, which initially were straw-wrapped bottles, not a group of small disasters), which seem like a cultural echo for modern wine drinkers, even if they have never imbibed from this classic bottle shape.  Finally, the wine regions themselves, which are some of the most famous in Italy: Chianti and its higher quality Classico brother, Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano, the "Super Tuscans of Bolgheri and Maremma...and the list goes on. 

Chianti Classico, Brunello and Vino Nobile all share a common base in that the majority (or all) of the wine must be made from Sangiovese.  The grape has a long history with mentions going back to at least the 1700s.  It is naturally vigorous, and if left to its own devices, can produce pale, high acid, and relatively dilute wines.  Yet, when well-located and carefully “cultured,” Sangiovese can sustain long aging, achieve wonderful complexity, and produce world-class wines. 

The Chiani Classico region is the coolest of these esteemed regions and tends to offer the most open textured and perfumed wines, though the region is very large and style can vary dramatically.  Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was one of the first four DOCG, or guaranteed denomination of origin, wines in Italy; being distinguished in 1980. It offers sandier soils and lower elevations where warmer temperatures offset the late-ripening nature of Sangiovese.  Brunello is the youngest of these regions with the wines of the Biondi-Santi winery nearly the sole example from 1888 until after World War II.  It is the warmest of the three regions and tends to produce the most powerful wines.  Both Montepulciano and Montalcino produce wines labeled Rosso, with shorter aging requirements and generally lighter body.  Interestingly, Rosso di Montalcino may represent up to 30% of the production in a typical vintage, while Rosso di Montepulciano is usually less than 5% of that region’s production.

On poorer limestone, clay or shale soils, like the famous galestro of Montalcino and with limited yields, the wines can have impressive structure and long aging ability.  Sangiovese lacks a specific anthocyanin (or natural red, purple, or black pigment) and has two others which degrade relatively rapidly within 2-3 years.  As such, the wines do tend toward a paler color than, say, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.  This lack of pigment, which can bind or polymerize to tannin chains leads to Sangiovese’s characteristic snappy dryness in the finish of the wines. 

The best wines of each region are mandated to see extended aging in oak.  Chianti requires one year for Anatta wines, two years for Riserva and 30 months for Gran Selezione, all counted from the January following harvest.  Vino Nobile must be aged for two years and Riserva for three years, while Rosso requires only 4 months of age.  Brunello must be aged for four years (with a minimum of two in wood) while Rosso requires only one year of aging prior to sale.  Historically the oak used for aging was large format botti, typically much larger than Bordeaux-style barriques and usually made of Slavonian oak sourced from what is now Croatia.  Some producers favor smaller barrels for greater oak influence.

I find it instructive to learn more about a region by tasting as broadly within an appellation as possible. I was lucky enough to taste from two historic Tuscan estates, both of which produce wines across the range of regions; San Felice and Carpineto.  I’ll give you a bit of history and background about the wineries followed by tasting notes for some of the wines which stood out in recent tastings.

San Felice is located in a village of the same name in the southern part of Chianti closer to Siena.  Winemaking in the area dates back to Etruscan times.  It was family owned from 1700 until 1968, when the current owners bought the estate.  San Felice produces wines from four different estates; San Felice in Chianti, Campogiovanni in Montalcino, Bell’aia in Bolgheri, and Perolla in Maremma.  They produced the first ever Super Tuscan wine in 1968, a 100% Sangiovese, as in that era Chianti wines were required to be a blend and include a minimum of 10% white grapes. They currently grow a “vitiarium” with more than 270 native Tuscan grape varieties/clones planted therein.

Carpineto was founded by 2 families in 1967, starting in Greve in the northeastern part of Chianti closer to Florence.  Carpineto produces wines from five different estates: Dudda and Gaville estates in Chianti, Gavorrano in Maremma and one site each in Montalcino and Montepulciano.  They claim to have produced the first ever 100% Sangiovese wine in Montepulciano in 1998 from the Poggio Sant'Enrico vineyard.

Carpineto (Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany, Italy) 2018 ($26, Opici):  This wine arrives in the glass with an almost translucent, rusty, dried blood ruby color.  Scents of almond-inflected red Amarena cherries, roasted meat, and a subtle woody/resinous tone combine to offer an already complex nose from such a relatively young wine.   In the mouth, the wine opens up and offers a darker, black cherry fruit character with just medium-plus body framed with gently drying, dusty tannins.

Carpineto (Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy) 2021 ($29, Opici):  This wine is darker in color and aroma than the Chianti Classico Riserva 2018.  It features plump, ripe plum and mulberry fruit backed by additional density and concentration, and finishes with a firmer, mineral tinged grip of tannins.  This could drink well as a young wine with a fatter cut of grilled beef or lamb, but I would prefer to wait and start drinking it in 3-5 years.

Carpineto (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy) Vignetto Poggio Sant’Enrico 2012 ($74, Opici):  Surprisingly dark in the glass, with a nearly opaque deep ruby color.  Combining an excellent quality base with bottle age has this wine signing a contract for greatness, crossing all the “T”s and dotting all of the “I”s.  Complex layers of aromas of mixed dark berries, woodsy forest floor, elegant toasted elements from the time in wood, and the emerging tertiary notes of dried fruit leather and earthy hummus get the dopamine receptors ready for a taste of something delicious.  On the palate, the wine continues to shine with elegant balance between power and finesse, lingering long on the finish with brightening black raspberry and rich toasted wood.  A final impression is that this wine could be a great introduction to the wines of Tuscany for drinkers of New World wines who prefer riper and fuller flavors.  My impression was confirmed when I shared a bottle with a group recently, one of whom drinks Napa Cabernet nearly exclusively; she exclaimed, “I would like more Italian wine if it all tasted like this!”  Drinking beautifully now and with room to improve a bit from this already high mark with additional cellar age.

San Felice (Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, Tuscany, Italy) 2019 “Il Grigio da San Felice” ($50, Total Beverage Solutions):  As a reminder to readers, Gran Selezione Chianti wines may only be made from estate grown grapes from the Chianti Classico region, be made of 80% Sangiovese (90% as of the 2027 vintage) and be aged for  minimum of 30 months, 3 of which in the bottle prior to release.  This introduces itself with incredibly bright red fruit aromas of strawberry, almondy kirsch and resinous rosemary/pine notes, and continues to the palate where it shows a full body.  Its rich texture is silkier than many competing wines and it offers a powerful style.  This should be an ideal match to roasted lamb or grilled beef.

San Felice “Vigorello” (Tuscany, Italy) 2019 ($77, Total Beverage Solutions):  The varietal composition of this first ever Super Tuscan wine has changed dramatically since its introduction in 1968. That first vintage was 100% Sangiovese.  This 2019 is a blend of 35% Pugnitello, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.  My tasting notes are cryptic, as if I were reduced to monosyllables:  “Balsamic.  Toasty.   Rich.   Dark.  Acid-driven. Good for a Cab drinker.”  Reading back through them and thinking of the other wines I tasted, including their 100% Pugnitello red, I would sum this wine up as an alternate universe version of red Bordeaux, albeit an alternative which happens to be from Italy.  It has luscious dark fruit compounded with sweet, toasty oak and buoyed by freshening acidity.  The balance is spot on, making it immediately accessible, though this should have a long life ahead of it.

San Felice (Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy) 2018 “Campogiovanni” ($69, Total Beverage Solutions):  Fruit for this wine was grown in the southwest of the Brunello district, itself the warmest and driest portion of what is already the warmest and driest region in Tuscany.  It was aged only in large 50-55 hectoliter botti (more than 20 times the size of a typical barrique), so there is only minimal oak influence here.  The nose is marked by cherry compote with a hint of brandied cherries, resinous herbs, and a dusty soil note.  Firm in texture and savory in the mouth with structure framed by ample acidity, this is a wine which clearly requires additional aging.


What is it about Tuscany that sticks in people’s minds?  I think that it must be that the wines offer such a clear and unique flavor profile that tasting them can virtually transport the taster to those picturesque rolling hills.