Italian wines from Chianti and the Tuscan region are most typically based on the lighter-bodied Sangiovese red grape. In addition to a sensual, buoyant fruitiness, wines made from Sangiovese also offer excellent acidity, matching that of the tomatoes that frequent the ubiquitous Tuscan-styled marinara so essential to our local food culture. With high flavor and lower alcohol, the Peterson 2007 Sangiovese ($20) is primed and ready for this kind of culinary action!Exquisite grapes from two vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley—Spadoni, a meticulously farmed single-acre hillside vineyard, and Ray Teldeschi’s renowned Home Ranch—are artfully combined to create this pleasing wine.
The weather for this vintage was marked by wide daily temperature swings, leading to a riper wine, yet the fruit still ripened slowly and with full flavor development. The fermented juice was next aged for an extended period of 23 months in mostly older oak barrels, adding subtle overtones of dusty tannins and earthiness to its pleasing strawberryesque fruitiness.
In the glass, aromas of cherry offer an alluring entry to savory flavors of cranberry, plum and strawberry. Structure abounds, yet this wine is ready now…to complement lasagna, or those fresh Pasta Primaveras made of summer vegetables and tomatoes that are just around the corner. A nice sipper, and food-friendly too!
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