health guides

Traditional Italian (including Chianti)

This style of Sangiovese is a quintessential food wine. Usually medium-bodied, this offers savoury herb, wild mushroom, and floral aromatics as well as tangy red fruit flavours and a palate-refreshing acidity. Some examples offer more brooding black fruit or dried prune flavours with a deeper meaty earthiness, yet retain the bright acidity despite their heavier frame.

Modern Italian (including Super Tuscans)

This style emphasises riper fruit (often darker berry and black cherry), lower acidity, and a richer, more powerful mouth-feel as well as toasty oak notes. Often blended with non-native varietals (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Syrah) to further the difference with traditional styles.

New World (USA, Argentina)

Most New World examples closely mimic the currently dominant popular style, that of richer, softer, more obvious fruit with a more pronounced oakiness. The acidic bite and herbal notes found in traditional Italian versions almost always take a back seat to ripe fruit and a softer texture, although the typical floral aromatics and pretty medium-bodied fruit can still shine through.