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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Michele Biancardi, Primitivo Puro, IGT Puglia, 2022
Medium Bodied
As the name implies, 100% Primitivo Primitivo. Such a seductive wine – flamboyant colour;...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeBIA322
GrapeNero di Troia & Primitivo
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Loosely translated as “the soul of black”. 100% Nero di Troia, given a year in very large...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeBIA418
GrapeNero di Troia
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Taliano, Roche dra Bossora, Roero Riserva, 2018
Medium Bodied
Named after large ravines which score the Roero hills (Roero lying just across the river Tanaro...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAN218
GrapeNebbiolo
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Taliano, Barbaresco, Ad Altiora, Montersino 2018
Medium Bodied
Ad Altiora implies aiming higher. This is from 100% Nebbiolo grown in the calcareous Bris...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAN518
GrapeNebbiolo
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Azienda Agricola Boasso, Barolo, Serralunga d'Alba 2018
Medium Bodied
From several sites owned by the Boasso family in the commune of Serralunga, in the south of the...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV14.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeBOA318
GrapeNebbiolo
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Azienda Agricola Boasso, Barolo Gabutti, 2018
Medium Bodied
From the Gabutti vineyard below the cellar, a south-east facing site on calcareous marl at...
OriginItaly
RegionPiedmont
ColourRed
ABV15%
Bottle75cl
CodeBOA418
GrapeNebbiolo
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Col di Lamo, Brunello di Montalcino, 2017
Full Bodied
From two organically farmed plots on sandstone and clay, with some of the alberese, the...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCDL317
GrapeSangiovese
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A barrel election of the vintage. Soft bricky tone. This opens out spectacularly, flamboyantly...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCDL416
GrapeSangiovese
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Talosa, Rosso di Montepulciano, 2021
Medium Bodied
85% Sangiovese, with 10% Merlot and 5% Canaiolo, given eight months in old Slavonian vats: ripe...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAK121
GrapeSangiovese, Merlot & Canaiolo
