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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Wine Type
Style
Grape Variety
Country
Region
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Dietary Requirement
Organic / Biodynamic
Vintage
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Save £20.34
This is a new wine from this organic estate near the southeast corner of Lake Garda. 80% of...
OriginItaly
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeLET722
GrapeCorvina & Merlot
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Save £22.32
The principal wine here. It’s a very superior Bardolino, for two reasons: a high - 80% -...
OriginItaly
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeLET623
GrapeCorvina & Rondinella
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Save £31.80
I Fabbri, Chianti Classico, Terra di Lamole, 2020
Medium bodied
"Delicious, all-the-boxes-ticked Chianti Classico. New leather, sour cherries, liquorice...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeIFA220
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Save £19.14
Fiorano, I Paoli Sangiovese, Marche IGT, 2023
Light to mid Bodied
This is fast becoming one of our best-loved reds: light and fresh, but with plenty of ripe red...
OriginItaly
RegionMarche
ColourRed
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeFIO123
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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Save £22.74
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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I Fabbri, Chianti Classico Riserva, 2019
Medium Bodied
"Mid ruby with orange tinges. Peppery, concentrated and a little brooding on the nose....
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeIFA319
GrapeSangiovese
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Save £28.74
I Fabbri, Chianti Classico, Lamole, 2021
Medium Bodied
Susanna Grassi’s Chiantis are so graceful. Her vineyards, in the Lamole subzone of Greve, are...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeIFA121
GrapeSangiovese
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Save £19.14
Michele Biancardi, Primitivo Puro, IGT Puglia, 2022
Medium Bodied
As the name implies, 100% Primitivo. Such a seductive wine – flamboyant colour; a flagrant...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeBIA322
GrapePrimitivo
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A barrel selection of the vintage. Soft bricky tone. This opens out spectacularly, flamboyantly...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCDL416
GrapeSangiovese
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Save £55.80
Col di Lamo, Brunello di Montalcino, 2019
Full Bodied
From two organically farmed plots on sandstone and clay, with some of the alberese, the...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCDL319
GrapeSangiovese
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
