Pure Sangiovese... but make it White!
Today’s wine is one of my favorite offers to bring out. I just love seeing something familiar presented in a new way (like hearing a great song cover). It's both surprising and familiar, and the novelty of the new perspective is what makes it so intriguing.
It's not often you see that happen in the world of wine, especially with something as hallowed and revered as Sangiovese - the archetypal Italian wine. Whether in Chianti or Brunello, it is undoubtedly great, with beautiful floral aromatics, a dense mid-palate of ripe red fruit, and silky tannins... without a doubt, one of the great red grapes. But what if it could also be a white wine?
That was the question that Johannes Davaz of Poggio al Sole asked himself to solve a conundrum he was having. With a small agrotourismo on their property, there were always plenty of guests there to enjoy the rolling hills of Tuscany, the epic sunsets from the patio, and a refreshing pool to cool off in. And while there was plenty of Poggio al Sole red wines for the guests to imbibe, they lacked any white wines for their guests to slurp down poolside, so they would bring in other wineries’ products for their poolside libations... and it drove him crazy. To solve the problem, he began to view Sangiovese from a different perspective.
Over 6 years of experimentation, vintage after vintage, Johannes developed a new approach to making Sangiovese. Instead of a light rosé, he was after an expressive, yet delicate white wine. Something easy to drink, yet still compelling and evocative. After lots of trial and error, he dialed in his approach with an extremely gentle pressing of their estate-grown Sangiovese, yielding a clear and pure juice that still retained all the beautiful aromas of the grape.
A few weeks ago, we offered the Poggio al Sole Chianti Classico, a pitch-perfect Sangiovese from this top-quality estate in the DOC. Today, we’re highlighting the creativity and innovation of the Davaz family. This is something truly unique and unseen anywhere else in all of Chianti - who knows if it will catch on - but it's a dynamite wine, and we just have to share it with you.
Poggio al Sole Sangiovese Bianco 2024
Just like their Chianti Classico, this is 100% estate-grown Sangiovese, but made for the ice bucket! This one grabs you right away, bursting with a fruit salad of aromas and crisp citrus flavors on the palate. A lighter-bodied wine perfect for the aperitivohour on the patio (or poolside!), with a salad from the garden or some fresh fish — energetic, precise, and reliably delicious, like all of Poggio al Sole's wines.