Sangiovese — its name read as sanguis Jovis, the blood of Jove — is the grape of central Italy and above all of Tuscany. DNA has revealed it as a cross of Ciliegiolo and the obscure Calabrese di Montenuovo, a southern parent that hints at old migrations up the peninsula. Late-ripening, thin-skinned and high in acid, it is a grape of pale colour and firm, dusty tannin.
It is the sole or leading grape of Chianti, of Brunello di Montalcino — where the Brunello clone makes wine of great longevity — and of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as Prugnolo Gentile. In 1872 Baron Ricasoli set down the classic Chianti formula built around it. Endlessly variable across its many clones, tasting of sour cherry, tomato leaf and tea, it is the most planted variety in Italy and the mirror of Tuscan terroir.