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| Ampelaia Rosato Toscana 2023 Camillo Ciliegiolo Toscana 2022 Ampelaia Alicante Nero 2021 Cigliano di Sopra “Ciglianello” Toscana 2023 Caparsa Chianti Classico 2020 |
| Tonight, please join us in a tasting of five wines from Tuscany, ranging from a dry, earthy rosato to a meaty, slightly feral Chianti Classico. All of the wines we’re tasting tonight consist of grapes that are traditional to the region – not a drop of cabernet, merlot, or syrah to sully your delicate sensibilities. I respect and admire the freedom some winegrowers practice in growing whatever damn grapes they want to grow, tradition be damned. Yet often ponder if international varieties find their way into Tuscan blends due to an inferiority complex that’s convinced some growers that their viticultural patrimony is somehow insufficient (more cynically, it could also be that choose to work with international varieties because of the lasting impact of the notorious Robert Parker, who convinced an entire generation that the road to glory lies in working with the canon of grapes he deemed to be necessary, with the concomitant application so much toasty new oak that you can hardly taste the Ruths Chris ribeye and, don’t sleep on the onion rings you’re shoveling into your mouth).
Sangiovese is at the center of traditional Tuscan wine, the beating heart of the region (one theory regarding the origins of the grape’s name is that it’s the blood (sangue) of Jove (Giovanni)—no one knows for sure, but I like the idea). We’re tasting sangiovese tonight and some of its traditional blending partners: ciliegiolo, canaiolo, and colorino. We’re also tasting wines made from grapes that have—after hundreds of years of cultivation—become naturalized in the region, such as alicante nero (aka grenache) and carignano (carignan). |