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.
Filter Wines
Wine Type
Style
Grape Variety
Country
Region
Grower
Dietary Requirement
Organic / Biodynamic
Vintage
Buy 12
Save £28.74
100% Sangiovese grown on sandstone and clay, given two years in oak; the first in small French...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeTAK220
GrapeSangiovese & Merlot
Buy 12
Save £16.74
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
Buy 12
Save £29.94
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
Buy 12
Save £19.80
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
Buy 12
Save £23.76
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
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
Buy 12
Save £69.30
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
Buy 12
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
Buy 12
Save £17.94
Michele Biancardi, Uno Piu Uno, IGT Puglia, 2023
Medium Bodied
From halves of Nero di Troia and Primitivo. Because the grapes come from the very edge of their...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeBIA123
GrapeNero di Troia & Primitivo
Buy 12
Save £22.97
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
Buy 12
Save £79.80
A barrel selection of the vintage. Soft bricky tone. This opens out spectacularly, flamboyantly...
OriginItaly
RegionTuscany
ColourRed
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCDL416
GrapeSangiovese
Buy 12
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
