Antonio Sanguineti Morellino di Scansano 2021

fresh tart cherry, dried cranberry, milk chocolate, and espresso crema

Antonio Sanguineti is something of a legend in his home region of Tuscany, having worked with everyone from the late great Brunello producer Dr. Giulio Gambelli to his childhood friend Luca Brunelli, whose wines have graced the shelves of our Orlando store for many years. Working and consulting across the region, it is a wonder that Antonio has any free time to produce wines under his own label, yet somehow he manages. This wine comes to us from coastal Tuscany, where the commune of Scansano produces world-class red and white wines, none more famous than those bottled under the Morellino di Scansano DOCG.

Morellino di Scansano is a Sangiovese-based wine, like many of Tuscany’s noble reds. However, the local clone of Sangiovese, unsurprisingly called Morellino, possesses some characteristics which help to distinguish it from the crowd. Typically lighter in body and lower in tannin, Morellino is one of Antonio’s favorite grape varieties to work with, though he often blends in a little Alicante Bouschet for color and complexity. All fruit is cultivated organically and dry farmed, grown in coastal vineyards overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. After harvest, the wine ferments in stainless steel and sees 3 months in neutral oak barrels before bottling.

When you open this wine, I recommend decanting for up to half an hour. In addition, this wine benefits from a slight chill, about cellar temperature or 55 degrees. Once it has some time to open up this wine delivers notes of fresh tart cherry, dried cranberry, milk chocolate, and espresso crema. Drink now through 2026 with vegetable bean soup, rigatoni with sausage, or chill it down a bit more and try it with grilled fish!