Tuscany Blind by Alessio

Alessio showed up with seven bottles in paper bags and one question: which one isn't Tuscan?

The format was fully blind - no labels, no hints, just glasses. The lineup covered twenty years of Tuscan winemaking: from a 26-year-old Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva to a young Val delle Corti from 2020, with two Brunellos, a Maremma Super Tuscan, and a few producers most of us had never heard of. Hidden somewhere among them, one bottle from outside the region. A bonus Luce Brunello 2010 joined the table courtesy of one of the participants.

The group's favourites told their own story: Riparbella Sciamagna 2006 took the top spot (4.26 WAVG, lowest standard deviation of the night - near-unanimous), with Fontodi's 26-year-old Vigna del Sorbo right behind (4.25). For me, the real discovery was Pian di Meta Vecchia's TerraLuna - the most emotional wine of the evening, pure feeling in a glass. And I Sassi di San Giuseppe was the strangest bottle I've ever tasted. Some evenings are about the labels you recognise. This one was about everything you don't expect.

Val delle Corti Chianti Classico Riserva 2020

Val delle Corti is a small estate in Radda in Chianti - one of the highest and coolest sub-zones of Chianti Classico. The Riserva is only made in exceptional years from the estate's oldest Sangiovese vineyards. Vines 40-45 years old, east-facing at 450m on marly-limestone soils. Fermented 3 weeks in stainless steel or 2 weeks in open tonneaux, native yeasts, punchdowns by hand. 24 months in old barriques and tonneaux, 7 months bottle ageing. 13.5% alcohol. Bottled July 2023.

Blind, I had no idea what this was. Beautiful, but clearly young. Good fruit core, red flowers, a delicate, perfumed nose with some barrel influence and a touch of pyrazine. Great acidity, but the tannin is quite firm - most likely due to age. There's juiciness underneath. Turned out to be a Chianti Classico Riserva 2020 from Radda - which makes sense. Needs time.

Podere Erica Il Picchio Sangiovese 2016

Il Picchio ("Woodpecker") is Podere Erica's riserva-level Sangiovese - essentially Chianti Classico in spirit, though the estate sits outside the appellation boundaries. Hand-selected grapes, spontaneous fermentation for 20 days, maceration with skins and some whole bunches for about 3 months. 24 months in 500-litre French oak, plus 2 years bottle ageing. Released 5 years after harvest. Unfiltered. 14.5% alcohol. Approximately 1,400 bottles produced. Awarded Top Wine by Slow Wine.

Interesting nose - almost Nebbiolo-like, though from somewhere warmer. Sublimated cherry at the core. But on the palate, genuinely beautiful: juicy, essentially silky. Great acidity, tannin high but well integrated. Long aftertaste. Maybe still too young, but drinks beautifully - if only the green edge would soften. Sexy wine. Turns out it's essentially Chianti Classico in all but name - the estate isn't in the appellation, but the grape, the terroir, and the intent are all there.

Poggiarellino Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016

Poggiarellino is a small, traditional estate in Montalcino. 100% Sangiovese, exclusively from their own vineyards, treated with traditional methods only. Green-harvested and further selected at picking. Natural fermentation, aged four and a half years in medium-tonnage oak barrels (max 3,000L). One year bottle ageing. Unfiltered. 14% alcohol. 2,500 bottles produced. Bottled August 2020.

Blood sausage, flowers, dried strawberry, tea. The tannin is still green, but there's a certain delicacy - it drinks beautifully. Tasty, complex, multilayered. Yet it feels too young still, and lacks the depth you'd want - very fruit-forward rather than tertiary. Beautiful nonetheless. Brunello 2016 - a firm, chewy vintage with walnut and truffle character waiting underneath. Should have more to give with time.

Riparbella Sciamagna 2006

Podere Riparbella sits in the Maremma Grossetana, southern Tuscany - 46 hectares between forest and farmland, cultivated ecologically. 81% Sangiovese, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc from two vineyards: "Canonico" (380m, clay-sand-limestone) and "Triangolo" (350m, clay-sand-river detritus). Fermented separately in steel, blended February 2007, aged in oak casks of various sizes. Bottled September 2009. 14% alcohol, 7,200 bottles. Released only in 2019 - a wine deliberately held back for over a decade.

Oh, the aromatics. A very vivid nose: black cherry, chocolate, mushrooms, flowers - genuinely beautiful. The tannin is firm but beautifully integrated, great acidity, juiciness, solid fruit core. Blind, I was convinced this was Barolo. Turns out it's a 2006 from Maremma - 81% Sangiovese, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc - released only in 2019 after years of ageing. Twenty years old and still holding together with quiet authority.

Pian di Meta Vecchia TerraLuna Rosso 2020

A small Montalcino estate. TerraLuna Rosso is their Sangiovese from the southern slopes of the appellation - warmer, riper, more immediately expressive than the classic northern exposures.

Strawberry kissel, iron, flowers, red fruits. Amazingly acidic, but it works like a delicious kompot with a lovely sweetness. You just want to drink and drink. But it's so complex, so multilayered. Super perfumed. Pomegranate, flowers. Delicate and tasty. Strawberry, raspberry. A finish like cranberry or cornelian cherry. The most emotional wine of the evening by a distance - pure feeling in a glass.

I Sassi di San Giuseppe Rosso Crudo 2018

The evening's intruder - not Tuscan at all. I Sassi di San Giuseppe is a small estate in the Marche, and Rosso Crudo is their top wine. The name "crudo" (raw) signals the philosophy: minimal intervention, no filtration, no fining. This was Alessio's planted question - spot the non-Tuscan among seven Sangiovese-driven wines.

A very funny nose - lamb with adjika. And a touch of whisky, bandages, mushrooms, mushroom instant noodles, onion. Probably older, judging by the sweet tannin and rounded body. Very strange wine. But interesting. Raisins. And so much onion. SO MUCH ONION. Like Cipollino the cartoon character. The strangest wine of the evening - and the intruder from Marche, as it turned out. Top wine of the winery. Strange stuff indeed.

Fontodi Vigna del Sorbo Chianti Classico Riserva 2000

Fontodi is one of Chianti Classico's most celebrated estates, based in the Conca d'Oro amphitheatre in Panzano - a naturally warm, south-facing bowl of galestro and alberese soils. Giovanni Manetti has been at the helm since the 1980s, farming biodynamically and producing wines of remarkable consistency. Vigna del Sorbo is the single-vineyard Riserva, made only in the best years from the estate's finest Sangiovese.

Sunflower seeds. A lush wine. Leather, cherry, black pepper. Great structure, beautiful balance, concentration - everything just sits in its place. Not overdone. Whatever this is, it was made to be loved. I guessed 2015; it's 2000. Twenty-six years old and still this generous, this easy to drink. A touch of VA. Beautiful, delicious, easy to love. Chianti Classico at its most effortless.

Tenuta Luce Luce Brunello di Montalcino 2010

Tenuta Luce was born from a partnership between Vittorio Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi in 1995 - two wine dynasties, Old and New World. The Brunello is 100% Sangiovese from Montalcino, fermented in temperature-controlled steel, macerated 4 weeks on skins, then aged 36 months in French barriques (90% once-used, 10% new) and Slavonian oak casks. 2010 was an excellent vintage with a challenging spring but ideal September conditions. 20,000 bottles, bottled July 2014.

Liquorice, ripe berries, powerful tannin, acidity not especially high. Feels old. I guessed Montepulciano - the tannin is super charged. Interesting wine, but not a favourite. Super tight, still closed, still withholding. Turned out to be 2010 - I'd guessed slightly older. Brunello that's asking for more time, or perhaps a different occasion.

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