Cantina del Morellino Cala Civetta Sangiovese 2022

black cherry preserves, pipe tobacco, balsamic syrup and dried orange peel

By now most of you will recognize the owl on this label. This cooperative remains one of our favorite honey holes for great values, operating at a very high level in the Maremma, the coastal region of Tuscany. It is a collective of 170 families and all of the grapes for this wine are farmed using organic practices.

This vintage of Sangiovese shows the richness and texture from the warm and dry growing season. They included 10% Alicante in this wine which also punches up the texture and color quite a bit. Make sure to decant this wine for a half hour before serving and this wine blasts out of the glass with a surprisingly complex combination of black cherry preserves, pipe tobacco, balsamic syrup and dried orange peel. On the palate it is surprisingly full and rich for this price, with a modest frame of tannins that will help this one age for a couple of years if you are inclined. Serve with the classics; deep dish pizza or lasagna Bolognese.