Sangiovese is Tuscany’s signature red grape, and it goes by many names. In Chianti Classico it’s sometimes called Sangioveto. In Montalcino, they call it Brunello. In Montepulciano, it’s Prugnolo. And in the vast region known as the Maremma, which takes in most of Tuscany’s Mediterranean coastline, it’s called Morellino.
“Morellino di Scansano,” an appellation that was first drawn up in 1978, is one of those Italian composites of both grape and place—in this case the Morellino (Sangiovese) grape grown in and around the town of Scansano, in the province of Grosseto. This wine from Fattoria Le Pupille is one of the benchmarks of the appellation, perfectly capturing the spirit of its place: It’s a supple, sunny, ‘Mediterranean’ take on a grape that can sometimes be a little reticent and tart. There’s no oak, no ‘international’ grapes, no excess; just pure pleasure that’s priced to purchase in party-sized quantities.
Historically, much of the Maremma was uninhabitable marshland, some of it drained (as during Mussolini’s regime) to make it hospitable to agriculture. It was known more for cattle ranching and cereal grains than for wine, but wine has a way of infiltrating every nook and cranny of Italy. Bolgheri, in the ‘upper,’ or ‘alta,’ Maremma became famous thanks to the Cabernet-based “super-Tuscan,” Sassicaia (first released in the late 1960s), but the lower, or ‘bassa,’ Maremma—the area around Grosseto—didn’t get much traction until later. Le Pupille’s first vintage of Morellino was in 1985, and the estate’s owner, Elisabetta Geppetti, was part of the first wave of vintners to popularize the region and its wines. Scores of big-name producers from central Tuscan regions such as Chianti, Montepulciano, and Montalcino scooped up satellite properties in the Maremma, lured there by the relatively cheap land (and the scalability that represented) as well as the consistent Mediterranean climate.
And while there are kindred qualities among the Sangiovese-based wines of central Tuscany, the Morellino of the Maremma is really another thing entirely. Like Pinot Noir, Sangiovese is very site-sensitive; soils in the Maremma are richer and loamier than those further inland, and the landscape is more open and sun-drenched. It’s a drier, more temperate ‘maritime’ climate in comparison to the ‘continental’ climate of Chianti, and it shows in the wine—Morellino di Scansano has a deeper core of black cherry fruit, softer acids, and a little less of the savory perfume that distinguishes a Chianti or a Brunello. Morellino is clearly a warm-climate Sangiovese. The conditions in both the alta and bassa Maremma have made for blockbuster renditions of Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and other international grapes, but Sangiovese perseveres. When it’s treated with care and not pushed to over-ripeness, it’s hard to beat the bright fruit, easy-drinking texture, and gentle price of a good Morellino di Scansano.
This 2013 is a blend of 90% Sangiovese with 5% each of Malvasia Nera and Alicante Bouschet (a red-fleshed grape, or
teinturier, that not only pumps up the wine’s color but speaks to a lingering Spanish influence in Maremma wines). In the glass, it is a deep purple-ruby with garnet reflections at the rim, with primary fruit aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, and plum interwoven with wet violets, a hint of licorice, and some warm baking spices. The acid is bright and the tannins delicate, and while the terroirs (and grapes) are completely different, the flavors and energy of this wine are reminiscent of a cru Beaujolais like Brouilly. It is ready to pop and pour in Bordeaux stems, and don’t hesitate to chill it alongside your beers if you take it along on a picnic this summer. If you were drinking it in the Maremma (a place where most of the great ‘spaghetti westerns’ of yore were filmed), there’s a really good chance you’d be having a
grilled bistecca with it. That would certainly get the job done, but then again, so would a good old-fashioned American hamburger. No need to overthink it; this wine is all about uncomplicated enjoyment.
Cin-cin!
