Tuscany

Fiorini Chianti is a tasty, medium bodied Italian wine with refreshing red fruit flavours, bright acidity which adds to its structure and makes it taste great with tomato based food.

It's a traditional style of Chianti made from 90% Sangiovese with the balance being the Tuscan grapes, Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo, and a touch of French Cabernet Sauvignon, which adds to the structure. All of the grapes come from the Chianti DOCG and the wine is aged in a combination of new and old barriques and large older oak.

Once regarded as a renegade wine, Antinori Tignanello has been a trend setter from the start and was the first Sangiovese to be aged in barriques, the first contemporary red wine blended with untraditional varieties (specifically Cabernet) and one of the first red wines in the Chianti Classico region that didn?t use white grapes. Today it is a blend  of Sangiovese (68%) with the balance being Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Complex floral aromas lead into structured dark fruit, mocha and spice flavours in a wine with a medium body and beautifully balanced long finish. 

The history of Tignanello 

Tignanello was the first Sangiovese on the record to be aged in barriques, the first contemporary red wine blended with non traditional Tuscan grape varieties (specifically Cabernet Sauvignon) and one of the first red wines in the Chianti Classico region that didn?t use white grapes in the blend. All up, a big call. 

Piero Antinori first discovered the use of non indigenous grapes, and more specifically, those used in Bordeaux through his uncle Marchese Mario Incisa della Rochetta who had a vineyard at Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri, and was making a wine using grapes better known as Bordeaux classics, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot et al. 

At first, this was for his own personal consumption, however was released in 1968 as the legendary Sassicaia.

Piero went off and forged his own path in Tuscany making wines from the local Sangiovese but also a select few made from Bordeaux grapes. This wine is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc - and as these wines are prohibited in Chianti, the wine is an IGT and not a DOCG. 

Here's a great little red blend from Antinori, which is a gorgeous expression of the insanely beautiful Tuscany region, but which is made from an interesting mix of Italian and French grapes. Sangiovese leads the way here with small quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, all grown in Tuscany. 

Antinori's winemakers describe this wine as firm bodied on the palate, supple with  velvety tannins and a long, savoury aftertaste.

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is one of Italy's great reds and comes from Montalcino, a hillside town that's about 42 kilometres from the city of Siena, 150 kilometres from Florence and is 567 metres above sea level. 

Brunello di Montalcino must legally be aged for five years prior to its release in bottle, so when looking at the great wines from this small township, it's important to take that into consideration. 

The name Brunello comes from the Italian word Bruno, which means brown. It was given to the grape variety that Brunello di Montalcino is made from; it's a 100% varietal wine, meaning it is made entirely from only one grape variety. And until 1879, that grape was thought to be a distinctively different variety than the main grape in Tuscany, namely Sangiovese. 

In 1879, it was discovered that the Brunello grape is, in fact, a clone of Sangiovese which happens to produce particularly powerful, velvety smooth reds in this little highly prized hillside appellation. So, Brunello is one of Tuscany's few red wines that is made 100% from the Sangiovese grape and it is one of Italy's great red wines. 

Tasty Tuscan rosso with ripe lush red berry flavours in a soft, smooth and succulent, blend, made mostly of Tuscany's great Sangiovese with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon to add structure and a commanding presence. Affordably delicious wine for drinking now and over the next two years. 

It's named after the Villa di Remole in Tuscany, which has been owned by the Fresobaldi family for over 700 years. 

The wine is aged four months in stainless steel and two months in bottle, prior to release.

Altitude adds character to this beautiful savoury Chianti Classico from a hillside vineyard in Gaiole; 500 metres above sea level where cool nights preserve freshness. Hand picked grapes were fermented in stainless steel and the wine was aged for 12 months in barriques and stainless steel. 

Flavours run a broad spectrum of flavours from ripe black berries, cherry, wood and spice into a beautifully complex wine with lovely length and excellent potential for further aging in your cellar or dark, cool corner. 

This complex and affordable Chianti Classico is a full bodied, ripe and powerful wine made from a blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, each grape contributing depth, body and balance to the wine. 

This brand was traditionally produced by a well known cooperative with over 60 different grape growers contributing to the blend but the brand has now been acquired by Tenute Piccini, which employs the highly respected consultant oenologist, Riccardo Cotarella.

THE CHIANTI CLASSICO APPELLATION

Chianti Classico is the heart of the wider Chianti production zone and its wines are distinguished by a trademarked black rooster on their labels. The wines of Chianti Classico are higher in quality and noticeably so in taste than wines labelled Chianti, which come from a broader area in Tuscany. The wines taste better because the vines are planted on hillsides with a higher degree of  iron rich soils and a greater diurnal temperature range, which provides more powerful, riper fruit flavours, which are balanced by higher acidity thanks to the cooler night time temperatures. 

The Sangiovese grape must make up 80% of all wines labelled Chianti Classico compared to 70% Sangiovese for wines labelled Chianti. 

Chianti was first defined as a wine producing sub region within Tuscany in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, whose wanted to protect the integrity of the wines and prevent fraud. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was formed in 1924 with the distinctive Black Rooster trademark chosen to feature on the labels. 

Smooth, fruity Italian red blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah grapes. This Tuscan wine is a lovely introduction to the great world of Italian reds in the Antinori stable; a family company that has been continuously producing wine back to the 1300s.

What the critics say...

"It's delightfully fruited and fragrant on the nose with dark plum."

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

If you're looking for Italy in a glass, here it is - a complex Chianti Classico (90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot) from  a hillside vineyard in Tuscany called Poggio Teo. This 10 hectare site is situated about 400 metres above sea level where its vines gain maximum sunshine and benefit from cool nights, both of which enhance this wine's deep velvet smooth mouthfeel and complex, dry savoury aromas. Fleshy black plum flavours and a soft textured mid palate are followed by a lingering flavoursome finish. 

A great wine for drinking now (must be decanted to show at its best) and to save for another five to six years. 

A great Italian red from one of the oldest family owned wineries in the world, which has produced wine since the 1200s. This expressive Chianti Classico is dense and complex with piquant spicy aromas, firm impressive tannins and the energy of a great red from one of the world's classic wine regions.

"Impenetrable dark ruby. Deep, concentrated marasca cherry and cherry liqueur with a minty, oaky note and a hint of cinnamon. A concentrated cherry-fruit palate layered with minty oak notes and lots of sandy tannins building up on the tangy finish. Will disappoint no one."

16.5/20 ? Jancis Robinson Purple Pages

Iconic big, full bodied red from the hillside town of Montalcino, which is a small enclave of big wines close to the Tuscan coast. Brunello di Montalcinos by law have to be 100% Sangiovese; the great red grape of Tuscany. Maceration and ageing times are long and result in wines that can be kept in a cool dark cellar for 10+ years, evolving beautiful into even more savoury, velvety reds over that time. 

This lovely smooth wine has a powerful structure with aromas of spice, balsamic and ripe dark fruit.

Dry, light and floral with aromas of apples, citrus and tropical fruit in a smooth, soft white wine. 

Italian Pinot Grigio is dry and medium bodied, suiting a wide range of foods and an enjoyable white on its own with good friends. 

Sangiovese blended with Merlot in a wine with a vibrant ruby colour and flavours of raspberries, cherries and spicy clove aromas.

Drink now and decant? or keep for three to four years