Ep. 1742 Sangiovese By Russ Lorber | Italian Grape Geek

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to the Italian GreatGeek Podcast. Join us as we explore personal stories of travel and tasting with Italy's must know grape varietals. Chart your own course with my Italian GreatGeek Journal. Your personal tasting companion to accompany the series available now on Amazon. With thanks to Clangelo and partners for their generous support with this project. Hi. This is Russ, and I'm back to talk about the last of the five grapes that I'm covering, which is the San Jose grape. So when I found out I was writing the San Jose chapter, my first thought was I'm going to make somebody upset with this because there's no way somebody's going to read this and either feel left out or feel like I missed something. So it was a responsibility that I took very seriously as the most important Italian wine grape, but it is also a variety that over the last number of years, I've gotten back into exploring. So I was really in a way also very excited to write this chapter because of all the possibilities that there are with Sanjay. It's pretty likely that the first Italian red wine that I ever had was a chianti. And so that would have been my first experience with it. I honestly can't sit here and tell you what that was like. But I can tell you more about my more recent experiences with the grape, which is that it is amazingly diverse. It's very good at expressing terroir. And depending on where it comes from, it can really exhibit a lot of different types of characters. And I've it's over the last number of years going beyond Kianti Kianti classico and Brunllo De Montalcino is exploring versions made in the town of Montepulciano in the south of Tuscany, where you have the the really interesting Roso Dimontopulciano, Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, and then down in the Marima area with the Moralino Conzano, d o c g, one that we don't see as much here in the US market, but really make some interesting examples. And so, personally, over the last few years, have just had a lot of fun exploring what the possibilities are with this grape, and then even examples from up in Emilia Romagna or the rosso Picchino wines of Marque where it's used as a fifty fifty blend component with the multiple channel grape. It really shows you how diverse this grape can be. Although for me, my characteristic marker on a San Jose would be a tomato leaf type of an aroma. Again, how we sense wine is very personal. That to me, is something that I will almost always get from a wine that includes Sanjay. Again, probably the most important grape in Italy. It grows in every region in Italy, except Valley Dalsta and Tarantino Alto Adi Jay but we see it most prominently in Tuscana, Marquis and Amelia Romagna. Most important production area is in Tuscany, but interestingly genetic evidence indicates that the grape probably originated somewhere in Southern Italy, and it has a parent relationship with really many great varieties in Italy, including some varieties in Sicily. The Sanchez traveled around Italy, it developed many clones and biotypes, and the great girl really has to take great care to select a biotype and a clone that works well in their particular climate and soil. References that we see DeSangiovese go back to the sixteenth century and the name may refer to Sanhuis Jovi, which is the blood of Jupiter or San Giovanni, which is a reference to San Giovanni or Saint John whose celebration day is the same day as the summer solstice. I mentioned earlier Sanjay is a grape that's really good at expressing terroir, and it can grow in a variety of conditions. Although it doesn't do well in volcanic soil, it does really well in soils that contain more limestone. And the limestone really seems to bring out the aromas and the wine. Sanjay is a grape that's high in acidity and tannin, and it requires a long growing season so that we end up with a well balanced structure in the wine. Generally speaking, cooler climates create fresher and brighter expressions of San Jose while warmer climates, for example, Marima or Montalcino will create fuller and riper expressions. Relative location can be really important even when you're within an area like Chianti Classicico or Montalcino, and this is one of the things that makes San Jose amazingly fun is just the ability to taste different examples made from relatively close proximity and see how diverse they can be. One technique that winemakers are known to do is use a cold soak before fermentation, and that helps bring out the aromas of the wine. The taste of the wine and the aromatic characters really depend on where it comes from, but generally speaking, it's ruby in color with the red cherry fruit character in violet or herbal aromas. And for me, again, there's that tomato leaf characters. And as you get the more developed examples, so, for example, a Chianti classico reserve, or a brunello de Montalcino or Avino Nobile, do not to pulliano, you will start to get some of those more developed characters like earthiness and leatheriness and even sometimes a tar type of a character. It's often aged in large barrels, but some examples can be aged in Baricks. It's almost always a dry red wine, although there are also rosado examples that are made. In brunello di Montalcino, DOCG, it's required to use one hundred percent Sanjay in other whereas in other areas, it's typically blended at least at the eighty percent level. Traditionally, in multiple channel and Kianti, the blending partners would be Kanayolo, Mamalo, or Malacianara, but there are also blends that can use international varieties like Cabernet sauvignon and Malo. Benchmark producers would include Antinori Funtoli, Frresco Baldi, Castalo di Fonto Rutoli, Geradona, Sassato Levy, and Castellate de Castelina. There are many great producers out there, and I'm really sorry if I missed you. Food pairings for sangiovese can include eight cheese like Pacarino Romano or parmigiano regiano. A classic tomato sauce will always go well with sangiovese so either in pasta or pizza, and then more aged examples can be paired with grilled or roasted meats and sausages. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. Until next time.