Sunday 12 August 2012

Sangiovese - Australia V Italy

About three months ago I was sent a huge amount of Sangiovese from Australian and Italian producers and here are the results. I have tasted through all of them but are still in the process of writing up my notes but there are a few things that stuck out in my mind. Sangiovese has moved into the mainstream for Australian consumers and for total plantings around the country.  As it is now a household name, the quality has risen from poor to now being good to very good.  The areas that stands out the most are Beechworth, King Valley, Bendigo, Heathcote and McLaren Vale but the bigest surprise comes from Margaret River.  Carpe Diem has produced two beautiful wines in a more savoury style, that needs a bit of extra bottle age to show its best.  Each of the Sangiovese based wines from this producer follow the Italian train of thought so they are blends with Sangiovese taking the centre stage. The list of the top 6 Sangioveses in the country are listed below.

The top 6 Sangiovese wines in Australia

Castagna La Chiave 2009
Castagna Un Segreto 2009
Coriole Vita 2009
Pizzini Rubacouri 2005
Sutton Grange Giove 2009
Vinea Marson 2010

Coriole provides Sangiovese in the form of a full bodied wine with a little Cabernet in the blend, while Castagna La Chiave sits at the opposite end of the spectrum.  All of these 6 wines should be tasted if you are into top class Australian Sangiovese.

On the other side of the coin. The wines from Italy have dropped in price, due to the strength of the Australian dollar, and the quality of the Italian wines has risen.  This rise in quality resulted from a perception that the majority of wines from the country were very rustic or dirty due to extended maturation in oak barrels, up to ten years, and sloppy winemaking practises.  Italy has changed its whole philosiphy and is now turning out some of its best wines made from a large variety of indiginous grapes that are unique to the area. The country prides itself on producing wines that pair well with food in a meduim bodied savoury style which is everything that consumer is moving towards at the moment. Watch out for quality imports competing with the Sangiovese based wines from Australia.

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