Boccadigabbia Rosso Piceno 2009 750ml

Winery: Boccadigabbia

Varietal: Sangiovese

Wines made with the round, darkly colored Sangiovese grape varietal tend to demonstrate the grape's key attributes: high acidity, moderate tannins and pale red color These grapes have been grown in their native Italy for thousands of years, and are said to be one of the key varietals which were so loved by the ancient Etruscan and Roman civilization Fast forward a few millennia, and all over the world, wineries are still growing these grapes in order to capture that renowned and flavorful essence. What makes Sangiovese so loved by drinkers and vintners alike is its wonderful ability to soak up the earthy, woody flavors of the oak barrels they are aged in, and present these in the glass alongside fresh, bright summer fruit notes. Whilst Sangiovese grapes are often blended during the fermentation process, they are also drank as single variety wines, both young and fresh, and aged and complex.

Region: Marche

The Italian wine region of Marche is amongst the most important and fascinating to be found in the country, with a history which stretches back almost three thousand years and has seen civilizations rise and fall around its plentiful vineyards. Indeed, the Pheonicians, the Romans and the Lombards all cultivated vines in Marche, and used the high quality, mineral rich soils and brisk Adriatic climate to their full potential, producing grapes of exceptional ripeness and quality. Today, Marche has over sixty thousand acres under vine, and is a region most readily associated with superb white wines made from Trebbiano and Verdicchio varietal grapes, both prized for their crisp dryness and distinctive herbaceous notes. The region is also home to many superb red wines, spread across wineries in its many DOC and DOCG titled appellations.

Country: Italy

For several decades in the mid to late twentieth century, Italy's reputation for quality wines took a fairly serious blow. This was brought about partly due to lack of regulation in certain regions, and too much regulation in others. This led to several wineries in the beautiful and highly fertile region of Tuscany making the bold move to work outside of the law, which they saw as responsible for the drop in quality in Tuscan wines. They believed that they had the expertise and the generations of experience necessary with which to make truly excellent, world class wines, and set about doing just that. These 'Super Tuscans', as they came to be known, quickly inspired the rest of Italy to improve their produce, and now, Italian wine producers in the twenty-first century are widely recognised to be amongst the best in the world. Regulation and law began to change, and wine drinkers across the globe woke up to the outstanding wines coming out of Italy, which are continuing to improve and impress to this day.