My recent trip to Tuscany reminded me of how many fine red wines are produced in that region. Here are just a few that I have enjoyed both in Tuscany and at home.
Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2018 Riserva made from 100% Sangiovese Tenuta Di Nozzole. The estate is located in the village of Greve in the heart of the Chianti Classico region. The vineyard is at 300 meters. Harvest begins on the 10th of September. The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and crushed. Fermentation takes place with the skins in temperature controlled steel tanks and the maceration lasts for 15/20 days. The wine is racked into stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation. Aging is for 16 months in large Slavonian oak vats with a minimum of 3 months in bottle before release. This is a classic, traditional wine with hints of red berries, cherry, raspberry, violets and a touch of cedar. I have been enjoying the wines of the Folonari family for many years.
Insoglio del Cinghiale Toscana IGT 2019 made from 33% Syrah, 14% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. The wine is made by Tenuta Biserno but the majority of the vineyards are in a different location called Campo Sasso (Upper Maremma) just further down the hill from Tenuta di Biserno. The soil is mostly sand with a small amount of clay. 40% of the wine is aged in second passage French oak barrels. The oenologist are Michel Rolland and Helena Lindberg. The wine has hints of blackberries, strawberries, with peppery notes and a touch of vanilla.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015 made from 100% Sangiovese. Silvio Nardi. This Brunello is a blend of the finest grapes from the Manachiara and Castel del Bosco estates with a northwest and southeast exposure at 350 meters. The soil is a composition of jasper and shale. The grapes are hand picked and sorted and only 70% of the grapes are used to make the wine. Fermentation and maceration takes at least 24 hours, depending on the parcel, at a controlled temperature. The wine is aged for 12 months in new and used Allier French oak barriques and then for 18 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. Then it remains in the bottle for 12 months before release. This is a full bodied wine with hints of red berries, leather, tobacco and a touch of spice.
Chianti Classico 2019 Lilliano made from 90% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. After the quality-selected clusters are destemmed and pressed, the must is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for 18-20 days at a controlled temperature with programmed punch-downs and daily pumpovers. Maceration fermentation takes place in concrete and small stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature for 18-20 days depending on the vintage. The wine ages for about 12 to 14 months in large casks of French oak and partly in concrete. After maturation, the final blend is assembled, bottled and aged in glass for a minimum of 3 months. This is a wine with hints of red fruit, cherry, violets and a touch of cassis.
Chianti Classico Gran Selezione D.O.C.G.”Vigna di Corno” Castello di Radda 2015 made from 100% Sangiovese. The grapes come from the single vineyard Il Corno (the vineyard) at 400 meters. The age of the vineyard is about 20 years. The soil is a clayey-calcareous type rich in texture. Harvesting is done by hand in 20kg boxes by selecting the grapes first in the vineyard and then on a sorting table at the winery. Harvest is in the beginning of October. The grapes are crushed and destemmed before fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks of 50hl. Maceration is for 4 weeks or so depending on the ripeness of the grapes. Malolactic is in 5hl new tonneaux and the wine spends about 5 months on the lees. Aging continues in the same tonneaux for another 20 months, then in bottle for at least 12 months before release. The wine has hints of blackberries, spice, cassis, with a touch of cedar and a note of violets.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG 2015 Cecchi made mostly from Sangiovese. The vineyard is at 350 meters and the soil is of medium consistency, calcareous Pliocene. Guyot training system. Traditional temperature controlled red wine vinification with the skins and fermentation and maceration lasts for 15 days. The wine is aged in small oak barrels for 24 months and remains for 3 months in bottle before release. This is a full bodied wine with hints of cherry, blackberry, violets and a note of leather and a touch of prune.
Carmignano 2017 Capezzana by Contini Bonaccossi Villa di Capezzana. Made from 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The elevation is 180/220 meters and the soil is clay, limestone, schist and marl. The age of the vines is 20/40 years and the training system is guyot cordon spur. There are 4,500 vines per hectare and they use organic farming practices. Fermentation is with native indigenous yeast. There is a 13 day extended maceration period. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French tonneaux. Aging: 60% in 2nd and 3rd or 4th passage French oak tonneaux, 10% in new French oak tonneaux and 30% in 5/30 year old untoasted Allier or Slavonian 24 HL barrels for 12 months. The wine is aged for another 12 months in bottle before release. This is an elegant wine with hints of red berries with a note of blueberries and a touch of violets. I have a long history with this estate going back 40 years. This is a wine that can age. In 1985 I had the 1925 which at the time was labeled Chianti Montalbano.
Bruno di Rocca IGT Colli Toscana Centrale 2015 Montefili made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Sangiovese from vineyards planted in the early 1980’s. The soil is galestro and the training system is spurred cordon. Vinification is in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeast. Aging for a minimum of 28 months in tonneaux for the Sangiovese and for the Cabernet Sauvignon in barriques (350 liters). The wine spends a minimum of 12 months in bottle before release. It is difficult to make this type of wine where the Cabernet Sauvignon does not dominate but this is a soft elegant wine.
Chianti Colli Senesi 2017 “San Nicola” Az Agricola Campochiarenti, San Gimignano, Tuscany, made from 85% Savgiovese and 15% Canaiolo, Colorino, Foglia Tonda and Mammolo. The exposure is south, southwest along a hill at 180/230 meters. The soil is composed of silt and sand with a little clay. Harvest is by hand. Fermentation is in glazed cement basins of 90hl at a controlled temperature with pumping over and delestage. Maceration lasts for 12/15 days in order to obtain the highest extraction of color from the skins. The wine is naturally clarified, without adding any chemical products. Aging is in 20hl oak barrels for at least 9 months. The wine is bottled and stored in the cellar until release. The wine has hints of red berries, spice, tobacco and a touch of jam with a long finish and a very pleasing aftertaste. This wine will age.
Chianti Montalbano 2019 Artimino 1596 made from Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. The vineyards are at 110 meters and the soil is silt and sand with a good percentage of clay. Guyot is the training system for the older vineyards and the rest cordon spur. The gapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 22°C for 16 /18 days with a daily skin maceration process and frequent pumping of the must over the skins. After the first fermentation, the wine matures in stainless steel tanks for at least 6 months, 2 of which are on the lees. The wine is then refined in bottles for 3 months. The wine has hints of red berries and violets.
Chianti Colli Fiorentino Darno Tenuta San Vito made from 90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo. Harvest takes place in October. Traditional red wine vinification with 10 to 15 day maceration on the skins with daily pumperovers for several days followed by malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in glass lined tanks and stainless steel followed by some bottle aging. The wine has hints of red berries, cherries and violets.
Castello di Mugazzena “Gargatura” IGT Toscana 2017 made from 100% Syrah. The soil is clayey sandy terraced alluvial deposits. Training system is unilateral spurred cordon. Manual harvest. Grapes are destemmed and sorted. The grapes are pressed and then pumped into conditioned steel tanks where the juice ferments at a controlled temperature. There is pumping over, punching down and delestages. At the end of the alcoholic fermentation the wine is left to mature in contact with the skins between 10 and 30 days. The wine is separated from the vinaccia and it is pressed. Malolactic fermentation is complete two weeks after. The coarse lees are removed and the wine is pumped into French oak barrels, where it ages from 12 to 18 months. The wine has hints of blueberries, black cherry and a note of black pepper.
Puglia in Rosé 
Nero di Troia IGP “Petrata” Made from 100% Nero Di Troia. Temperature controlled maturation in stainless steel. The wine has black fruit aromas and flavors with hints of blackberry and blueberry.
Murgia Rosè IGT made from Bambino Nero and Malvasia Nera. Fermentation is in temperature controlled steel tanks. The wine has hints of red fruit, raspberry and strawberry and a note of spice.
Primitivo Gloria Del Colle Riserva “Fanova” made from 100% Primitive from the Castellana Grotte and Acquaviva Delle Fonti area. The training system is the Apulian goblet. The vines are at 33/350 meters. Harvest takes place the third week of September. Fermentation is in steel tanks at a controlled temperature for 15/20 days. Aging in big French durhast barrels for about 12 months and another 12 months in bottle before release. This is a wine with hints of sour cherry, blackberry, prunes and a touch of spice.
The Charming Estates of Europe, a special project that links the flavors of wine from Italy and France and of fresh fruit from Greece and introduce them to the United States and Canada. The event was called The Charming Taste of Europe.
The organizer and speaker of the event was Susannah Gold and it was held at 
Pecorino Superiore 2020 Abruzzo DOC Poderi
Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Ragu di Maiale — We had homemade square spaghetti in a rich pork ragu, a local specialty.
Trebbiano D’Abruzzo 2019 Riserva “Marina Cretic” 
Cerasuolo
Patate Maritate — Potatoes with cheese, sausage and herbs.
Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2019 Francesco Cirelli (BIO) made from 100% Montepulciano The soil is clay and limestone and the training system is guyot. Harvest is at the end of September and the beginning of October. Harvest is manual. The grapes are destemmed and gently crushed and there is a 12 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in amphora with indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 12 months in amphora. The wine has hints of red fruit, cherry and a touch of strawberry.
Brodetto alla Vastese — Our next course was a variety of seafood in a flavorful sauce.
Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Riserva DOC 2017 “Ruberò”
Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Riserva 2015 “Casauria”
Cuveé Brut Metodo Classico (Champenoise) Tenuta Montauto made from 100% Sangiovese from a 15 year old vineyard at 200 meters on the coast south of Grosseto in the Maremma. The soil is clay and skeleton rich. There are 4,000 vines per hectare and the training system is spurred cordon. The grapes are picked at full maturity by hand and harvest takes place after first week of September. The grapes are gently pressed to obtain a yield of 50%. Fermentation takes place using the cold techniques to enhance the aromas. Sugar 4.5 g/l.
Franciacorta DOCG Satèn Brut “1701”
Reggiano Lambrusco NV “Concerto”
Champagne Vilmart & C. “Grand Cellier” made from 70% Chardonnay and 30%Pinot Noir. Aging for ten months in used oak casks prior to blending for the second fermentation. The wine spends two years on the lees before disgorgment. It has hints of pear, apple, a touch of brioche and a hint of hazelnut.
Roses de Jeanne Champagne “Côte de Béchalin”. Cedric Bouchard. 100% Pinot Noir from the 1.5-hectare lieu-dit of Val Vilaine. The production is very limited. This is a single-vineyard, single varietal, and single vintage, zero dosage Champagne, organic farming, low yields and harvesting at the right moment. Only free run juice is used and fermentation is in stainless steel with indigenous yeast. There is no filtering, fining or cold stabilization. The wines are bottled with no dosage under less pressure. This is full-bodied Champagne with hints of fruit, spice, lively acidity, a touch of pear and ginger, a note of dried flowers and a long and lingering finish.
Champagne 2014 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils made from 100% Chardonnay from 20% Cramant Grand Cru, 38% Chouilly Grand Cru, 32% Cuis 1er Cru and 10% Vertus 1er Cru. The soil is mostly chalk. Fermentation is in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation takes place and the wine remains on the lees for 65 months. The wine was disgorged in September 2020. The wine has notes of tropical fruit, with hints of mint and orange peel.
The speaker was Marinela Ardelean , a global wine and spirits critic.
The goal of the
Rhien Extra Magnifique Brut NV (Chardonnay) The Iconic Estates. After adding the selected yeasts for the secondary fermentation the wine is placed in bottles and kept in a horizontal position for 9 months followed by clarification for about 30 days. During this time the bottles are placed inclined on special desks and rotated twice a day and the impurities are trapped in the neck of the bottle followed
Hyperion Rose Feteascã Neagrã 2020 The Iconic Estate, manual harvest. There is short skin contact to insure some color. Then the skins are separated from the juice and fermentation takes place for 10 days at 10 degrees C. Less are separated by graviton. This is a fresh and fruity wine with hints of strawberry and raspberry.
Spectrum Busuloaca De Bohotin Domenile Averesti. After gravitational decanting which takes 24 hours, the must is fermented in 2,000 liter vessels at 12C for 18 days to archive the sugar content of 9.7 g/l the controlled fermentation was stopped by cooling to 5C. The wine has aromas of rose petals, wild 
Bãbeasca Neagrã 2020 La Sapata. The winery follows organic agriculture rules and there are 4,300 plants per hectare. Vinification follows biodynamic and ecological rules. This is a fresh fruity wine with hints of
Hyperion Feceascã Neagrã 2016 The Iconic Estate manual harvest. Maceration and fermentation takes place in stainless steel for 12 months at a controlled temperature. Selected yeasts are is used for alcoholic fermentation and wild yeast for the malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. The wine has hints of black and red fruit with dry sweet plums, spices, vanilla and a touch of chocolate. $24
Charles Scicolone on Wine