This could be example no. 125 of Italy’s bewildering wine laws. The vineyards for this wine are on terraced lands facing the Adriatic and are comprised of soils of sand and tufo. This appears to be the same vineyards (delle Terazze) as one of Morelli’s white wines but there the DOC is Bianchello del Matauro while here the DOC is Colli Pesaresi. And if there were a white varietal other than Bianchello grown here, the wine from that grape would probably get its own DOC as well. Potentially three DOCs from one vineyard.

Which is a long way of saying that this kind of difficulty likely deters consumers from trying a wine like this. I certainly would have pass it by were it available at the LCBO. If I wanted Sangiovese, I’d pick up a Chianti, especially in the $20 range, right?

If it weren’t for the Cavinona exchange case, I would totally miss this jewel of wine from Claudio Morelli. Morelli sure knows how to the get the best out of his grapes and terroir.
Made from100% sangiovese, the wine pours garnet red with a touch of amber on the rim. Classic sangiovese aromas of cherry, raspberry and violets explode from the glass and there is a meatiness vaguely reminiscent of pinot noir.

I found it marvellous how the flavour developed on the palate from a quiet start to an expressive midpalate of ripe red berry fruits, cherry stone and iron ore. I liked the poise of the soft ripe texture and the fine grippy tannins, which escorted the wine to a decent finish. All achieved without oak. It may be sangiovese but it’s sure different from a Chianti. Vive la différence. And a better value than most Chianti at the same price.