Sangiovese, an Overview

Sangiovese is Italy’s most widely planted wine grape variety, counting for more than 10% of the nation’s total vineyard plantings. Its origins are said to date back to the Etruscans, a plausible theory given that Central Italy is its natural home. Sangiovese is found mainly in Tuscany, Umbria, Le Marche, Emilia-Romagna and Lazio, less significant plantings are also found in other regions such as Campania and Lombardia.

Sangiovese tends to produce wines of notable tannic structure with pronounced natural acidity and cherry fruit aromas, ranging from fresh to very ripe, depending on where it is grown. The variety is sensitive to climate and soil types; it also tends to naturally mutate and therefore many different clones of the variety exist. Grown in the right conditions, Sangiovese is capable of producing complex long-lived wines to rival the very best in Italy, with Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino the most famous examples.  

Some studies have suggested that there are two main families of Sangiovese, Sangiovese Grosso, of which Brunello is a member, and Sangiovese Piccolo, found in other areas of Tuscany. Recent studies, however, suggest this division into only two families is an over-simplification and does not account for the many existing clonal variants of the variety. Synonyms for Sangiovese include Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano, Morellino in Tuscany’s southern coastal Maremma region, and Sangiovese di Lamole in the Greve area of Chianti Classico.

In the past, insufficient importance had been given to clonal selection as a way of obtaining better quality wines. Today, this has all changed, with prolonged and in-depth studies carried out by producers in conjunction with research institutes to identify the variety’s best clones and to then plant these where climate and soil conditions are most favourable.

Sangiovese is a late-ripening variety and as such needs long, warm summers, particularly so in the cooler, higher altitude vineyards of Chianti Classico and Chianti Rufina. Many producers in past years had made the mistake of planting Sangiovese in vineyards with poor exposure to sunlight, and in vineyards at marginal altitudes. In such cool growing conditions, Sangiovese tends to produce dry tannic wines with accentuated acidity and a lack of colour.

These characteristics also manifest when Sangiovese is cropped too heavily. The thin-skinned Sangiovese grape suffers in humid and wet conditions, particularly if these occur towards the end of the growing season, making it vulnerable to grey rot. The variety prefers the calcium-rich clay soils that are widely found in Central Italy, known as Galestro in Tuscany.

In many well-known Sangiovese-based wines, the addition of complementary varieties has been permitted. In Chianti, Sangiovese was traditionally blended – according to the famous formula stipulated by Barone Ricasoli – with Canaiolo and the two white varieties, Malvasia del Chianti and Trebbiano Toscano. The addition of these white varieties is no longer permitted in the Chianti Classico blend.

Other international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah have also been legally added as blending options. The Carmignano denomination in Tuscany’s Prato region has traditionally permitted the addition of Cabernet Sauvignon to Sangiovese, which was a quirk of history. The by-now famous “Super Tuscan” wines, many of which have become international icons, are based on blends of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Marche’s Rosso Piceno denomination requires up to 50% of Sangiovese in the blend, while Rosso Conero permits an addition of up to 15% Sangiovese. Tuscany’s iconic Brunello di Montalcino, on the other hand, is by law an unblended Sangiovese.

Outside of Tuscany, Sangiovese plays a leading role in the region of Emilia-Romagna, where it rivals Lambrusco as the most widely planted red grape variety. Traditionally, Emilia-Romagna has been an underperforming region,  Cooperatives with their privileging of quantity over quality have historically been the dominant force in the region’s wine production, but a new wave of small producers focusing on quality and regional character is now emerging, their wines are fresh and pure fruited, all be it with less forceful tannins than their Tuscan neighbours.