When you think of Tuscany and wine, the word “Chianti” grabs you by the lapels and shakes you. It’s been a rough ride for the wine sold in the woven straw basket and served in Italian restaurants throughout the New World. But Tuscany is now prosperous and Chianti is a thoroughbred in the wine world. The grape that is the backbone of Chianti is Sangiovese, and the Italian wine laws have finally been amended to allow small amounts of international grapes into the blend as opposed to some of rather undistinguished white grapes that were routinely added years ago.

The area of production for the finest of the Chiantis is roughly between Florence and Siena, the wine region known as Chianti Classico. It’s from this region that the expression of Chianti is probably at its most profound. When you drink good Chianti, you will find that aromas of violet are often present. It is generally a medium bodied wine with a pleasant bitterness; slightly tannic and acidic qualities often combine with flavors of strawberry, raspberry, sour cherry or even tea.

40 kilometers south of Siena, around Montalcino, is the region that produces Sangiovese from a special clone known as Brunello di Montalcino, For some, the wine produced from this clone is the finest representation of Tuscan wine, Sangiovese taken to the next level. Brunello is not blended; it is a heavy weight; the reserva is aged in casks for six years producing a full-bodied wine that generally requires further bottle aging before it performs at its best. A more youthful version that is worth trying is Rosso di Montalcino.

Although Chianti is the best-known wine from this historic and special part of Italy, there are other interesting wines being produced in and near these beautiful hills. Outstanding Syrah is being grown around Cortona.

In the Maremma region, by the coast, a tradition of world-class wines made from the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot has developed within the last twenty-five years. The Marchese Mario Incisa della Rochetta planted the Bordeaux grapes on the coast near Bolgheri in the 1940s. At the time, he hired the young oenologist, Giacomo Tachis, who found the wine he produced from these grapes to be excellent. In 1968, Piero Antinori marketed the wine from the rocky vineyard at his uncle’s estate that they called “Sassicaia.” The wine was a critical success in the international wine world and the rest is history. The “Super Tuscans” were born: world-class Bordeaux blends from Tuscany that now often carry three digit price tags.

Courtesy of Ten Nice Wines, An Independent Wine Consumer Guide