Poderi dal Nespoli Sangiovese Biologico

Sangiovese (san-joh-vay-say) is Italy’s most famous and planted variety with over a whopping 55,000 hectares. Best known as the Tuscan wine such as Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino – there are serious bargains to be found outside of that region if you know what you’re looking for.

That’s where NZ Master of Wine Steve Bennett steps in. He’s made a career out of travelling around the globe and sorting out the good stuff from the not-so-good stuff. It has to tick plenty of boxes (included seriously good bang for buck) to convince him to import it back into NZ.

From the heart of Italy and the rolling hillside vineyards of Emilia-Romagna, this is the Poderi dal Nespoli Sangiovese Biologico does plenty of box ticking and as Steve calls it a “Clean, bright and delicious – pure organic Sangiovese that shows why Romagna is a compelling source for everyday drinking reds.”

And if the bugs and bees on the label didn’t give it away – yes, it’s organic aka biologico in Italian!

It also got the master tick of approval from another Master of Wine, Paul Tudor, who scored it 92/100 and said “If you enjoy Chianti, then you should love this wine, albeit it is from a completely different wine region and is probably more dense and concentrated than your average Chianti. Boasting Sangiovese’s signature cherry tomato and raspberry bush notes, underlaid with grilled capsicum and savoury barbeque characters, this is a funky, multi dimensional red wine to impress your dinner guests with. And all at a very sharp price!”