Italian Red Wines
The complexity of Italy is remarkable: so many different grapes, most autochthonous (i.e. native to Italy) and many only grown regionally.
The two key quality red grapes are: Sangiovese, grown all over Tuscany and beyond, and best known for Chianti, and reds made at Montepulciano and Montalcino; and Nebbiolo, the top red of Piedmont, best known for the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco.
Beyond that there are splendid red grapes which can thrive in southern Italy’s heat, from Nero d’Avola and Negroamaro to Aglianico and Primitivo; and the lighter reds of Italy’s north, from Dolcetto to the west; and east of Milan Corvina and Rondinella, the grapes for Valpolicella and Amarone.
The success in the 1970s of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grown on the Tuscan coast at Bolgheri persuaded many in Tuscany and further afield to plant these varieties, plus Syrah; but more recently growers seem to be pulling back from producing these so-called "Super Tuscans".
Italian wine production is marked by two strong and mutually supportive initiatives: the Slow Food movement, which started in Italy, and which celebrates small-scale, artisanal cellars; and a widespread adoption of organic cultivation. Several of our growers, including Di Filippo, Il Palagione and Fiorano farm organically.
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Style
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Talosa, Chianti Colli Senesi, 2022
Medium bodied
Talosa is principally a producer of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. This comes in part from the...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAK322
GrapeSangiovese
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Col di Lamo, Rosso di Montalcino, 2022
Full Bodied
This wine sells out so quickly in Italy that we have missed the last vintages, but this has...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCDL122
GrapeSangiovese
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Le Lupinaie, Ciliegiolo, Rosso Maremma, 2023
Medium-Bodied
For years we have hunted for a Ciliegiolo – this grape is, according to the latest genetic...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeLUP323
GrapeCiliegiolo
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Le Lupinaie, Morellino di Scansano, 2022
Medium-Bodied
It's not just English people who long to live on a farm in Tuscany - in 1991 Aldo...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeLUP122
GrapeSangiovese
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MAGNUM Le Lupinaie, Morellino di Scansano, 2022
Medium-Bodied
It's not just English people who long to live on a farm in Tuscany - in 1991 Aldo...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Magnum150cl
CodeLUP922
GrapeSangiovese
Azienda Agricola Boasso, Langhe Nebbiolo, 2021
Medium-Full Bodied
Given one year in barrel. Youthful tone. Scent of red berries with vanilla. Juicy strawberry...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeBOA721
GrapeNebbiolo
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MAGNUM, Azienda Agricola Boasso, Langhe Nebbiolo, 2022
Medium-Full Bodied
The Boasso family’s cellar, in the little hamlet of Gabutti, faces the hilltop village of...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14%
Magnum150cl
CodeBOA822
GrapeNebbiolo
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Azienda Agricola Boasso, Langhe Nebbiolo, 2022
Medium-Full Bodied
Given one year in barrel. Youthful tone. Scent of red berries with vanilla. Juicy strawberry...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeBOA722
GrapeNebbiolo
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Taliano, Blagheur, Nebbiolo d'Alba, 2021
Medium Bodied
A Blagheur, in the local half-French dialect, is one who exaggerates. But this is no bluffer...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAN321
GrapeNebbiolo
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Rocca, Negroamaro, Salento, 2022
Medium Bodied
Well-made example of this masculine southern grape, aged part in stainless steel and part in...
OriginItaly
RegionPuglia
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeROD222
GrapeNegroamaro
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80% Montepulciano and 20% Sangiovese, aged in old French oak barrels. By far the best vintage...
OriginItaly
RegionMarche
ColourRed
ABV14.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeFIO320
GrapeMontepulciano & Sangiovese
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Begali, Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Siora, 2021
Medium-Bodied
From local grape varieties, about 30% of the bunches dried for twenty days, so halfway to an...
OriginItaly
RegionVeneto
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeBEF721
GrapeCorvina, Corvinone & Rondinella
