Fattoria dei Barbi, Rosso di Montalcino DOC (Tuscany, Italy) 2017

 This is an elegant red wine from Maremma made from 100% Sangiovese grapes.  The grapes, which come from young vineyards, yield an elegant but somewhat lighter and less tannic wine than a classic Brunello.  Once an unhealthy, marshy place, the Maremma became a wine region only after Tuscany’s Grand Duke Fernando I de Medici (1549-1609) drained it during his reign.  Rosso de Montalcino (like the region’s more celebrated and expensive Brunello) is always made from 100% Sangiovese but it is required to be aged in oak only six months and may be released after only one full year of ageing (Brunello is traditionally aged 3 years).