WINE : Tastings : Sangiovese in a Golden State

Here in California, we have not had great luck with Italian grape varieties. Nebbiolo is the most highly regarded of the Italian types but, despite attempts to grow it in various places, no one has made anything resembling Barolo or Barbaresco.

Barbera has been with us for years, and though many of us cut our teeth on the Martini and Sebastiani Barberas of yesteryear, the grape has never really flourished here. Lots of Barbera is grown in the hot Central Valley, but it’s for jug wines.

The Chianti wines of Italy’s Tuscany region have been gracing our tables in great abundance, but until the last decade we did not grow the Sangiovese grape from which that ocean of wine is produced.

Now, for the first time, California may have a true Italian hit in its vineyards (forgetting, for the moment, that Zinfandel may be a direct or indirect relative of a common and undistinguished southern Italian variety called Primativo).

It is Sangiovese’s recent arrival that is giving California its first success with an important Italian red. The future will have many twists and turns, but we are already seeing California Sangioveses going in a richer, deeper direction than the Italian Chiantis with which they are most often compared.

Recently, I participated in a comparative tasting of California and Italian wines made all or substantially from Sangiovese. Joining in that tasting, along with the regular Connoisseurs’ Guide tasting panel, were Mauricio Castelli, the consulting enologist for several leading Sangiovese producers, including Badia a Coltibuono and Castellare; and Marco Cappelli, winemaker at Swanson, whose training included a significant term in Italy. The wines were divided into three categories, and the best from Italy and California are reviewed below.

Lighter Wines

There is a great range in the style of such wines, but the so-called Chianti normale are the fruity, lively wines we see in every spaghetti palace from Santa Monica to the lower East Side of New York. In general, California has a hard time making this kind of wine. Because of our sunny climate, we tend to have more success with bigger wines, and as a result the comparison between our lighter wines and those of Tuscany was not always flattering.

$ * 1997 Noceto Winery, Shenandoah Valley, $13. This small Amador County producer has quietly been producing Chianti-like wines at remarkable prices. This one is forthright and friendly with suggestions of ripe cherries and quiet edges of tartness and bitterness not unusual in everyday Chiantis.

* 1997 Atlas Peak Vineyards “Atlas Peak,” Napa Valley, $16. A spry, pleasantly fruity bottling, its sour cherry finish could have come right out of the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

* 1996 Isole e Olena, Chianti Classico, Tuscany, $14.50. This bright, medium-bodied wine is a textbook look at Chianti from one of the most reliable Tuscan producers. It is a bit lighter than the California offering but resembles the preceding wines in its flavor profile, especially in its sour cherry finish.

Heavier Wines

Traditionally, these are Chianti riservas and wines from the southern reaches of Tuscany. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello come closer to what we are producing here. Some of the California wines are a bit fruitier but are less compelling in the depth of their flavors, and others are structured in a tougher, long-aging style.

$ * * 1996 Renwood Winery “Clockspring Vineyard,” Amador County, $18. With a ripe, concentrated berry fruitiness somewhat akin to Zinfandel and with touches of tar and smoke in the mix, this fat, outgoing effort is all California in inspiration and all hedonistic pleasure on the palate. Nobody ever said that all Sangioveses had to mimic their Italian cousins.

* * 1996 Iron Horse Vineyards “TbarT,” Alexander Valley, $22. Bright, forward, California-style fruit accented by oak and dried spices claims center stage in this medium-full-bodied, pleasantly rounded, nominally tannic bottling. Though it doesn’t have an exact Italian parallel, the wine does suggest that Sangiovese can adapt nicely to our sunny climes.

* 1996 Babcock Vineyards “Eleven Oaks,” Santa Ynez Valley, $30. This big, ripe, tannin-charged bottling is a gutsy look at Sangiovese--rough and ragged at present despite its ample black cherry fruit. In Italy, this kind of rustic wine would be cellared for a few years and then served with hearty stews or braised meats.

* * 1993 Lisini, Brunello Di Montalcino, Tuscany, $42. Complex, deeply filled, full-bodied and chewy,CQ?WINE LINGO? this tannin-bound effort was one of the oldest wines in our tasting yet was also the most in need of cellar aging. That it was among the most highly rated speaks to its convincing and compelling nature. Nothing among California-grown Sangiovese has yet approached this style with such success.

Super Tuscans

These wines vary from the tradition and are intended to be richer, more heavily oaked and more elegant, owing at least a little of their influence to France. Not surprisingly, the Super Tuscan category, which often can see Sangiovese blended with nontraditional varieties, is also the most expensive of the wines coming from Tuscany. In this set of comparisons, the California wines more than held their own, and one of them, the Shafer Firebreak, was voted the best wine of the night by both Italian and California-trained tasters.

* * 1996 Shafer Vineyards “Firebreak Vineyard,” Napa Valley, $28. With 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, this big, rich, deeply drawn wine has an impressive sense of fruity volume. High in oak and made more interesting yet by hints of loam and truffle, the wine is long in flavor, rich in aftertaste and just tough enough to encourage a few years of cellaring. The 1995 version of this wine, rated at three stars, was the most highly praised wine in the tasting, but it is, of course, long removed from the marketplace.

* * 1996 Badia a Passignano, Chianti Classico “Riserva,” Tuscany, $40. From Antinori, probably the most important of all Chianti producers, this special wine, with its added fruitiness perhaps derived from the addition of Merlot, was simply the richest, deepest Chianti we tasted, and its succulent flavors and mix of chocolate, cream and ripe plum notes made comparisons to California unavoidable.

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Definition of Symbols

* * * A world-class wine, superb by any measure, the top 1% to 2% of all wines tasted.

* * An exceptional wine, well worth the effort to find, 10% to 12% of wines tasted.

* An admirable wine, tasty, focused, attractive, about 25% of wines tasted.

No Rating: The best are quite pleasant and can be good buys when moderately priced.

$ Good value for the money.

x Below average quality, to be avoided.