Variety: Â 65% Sangiovese; 15% Sagrantino; 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Merlot
Region: Â San Marco – Italy
Cost: Â $22 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Â Deep ruby red with purple tints. The bouquet abounds in fruits of the forest, cherries and plums and enjoyable toasted aromas. In the mouth it is generous, warm, and beautifully balanced. Pair with flavoursome first courses like risotto, tagliatelle, ravioli, rare red meat, and mature hard cheese.
My Review: Â I’ll admit to having been a bit excited when I was offered to try this and another bottle of wine. First of all because Italian wine always has a special place in my heart, and also because it presented the opportunity to try a new grape for me – Sagrantino. While this bottle has only a small percentage, the other bottle I received is 100% Sagrantino, a new experience for me.
But let’s focus on the wine at hand.
In the glass the wine showed dark ruby red colors for me, without any purple tints that were listed on the tech sheet. On the nose I caught cherries at first, which over time rounded out into some toasted aromas, but nothing overwhelming. In the mouth the wine was bright and dry, with more of the cherry notes jumping out on my palate.
Paired with a dinner of ravioli (spinach and cheese) in red sauce with some sausage thrown in, the bright cherry notes of the wine were a nice balance to the meal. In fact, if there’s one word I would use to describe this wine, it’s Balanced. It’s not terribly nuanced, which isn’t a bad thing, but it manages to find a nice balance between being a good wine to pair with food, while also being very sippable.
My wife and I debated the value of the wine – she wasn’t sure it was worth the roughly $25 that is the suggest SRP, and while I don’t necessarily agree with her, I also think that if you find it for less than $20, it’s absolutely worth a buy, especially if you’re looking for a good weekday wine that will be good with something tasty if not fancy.
Editor’s Note: I received this wine as a free sample for review.
