Great Wine Values: Umberto Cesari Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva

Many of Italy’s most sought-after red wines are made with the Sangiovese grape, though most do not name it on the label. It is the main ingredient in Tuscany’s most popular regional red wines labeled for their zone, such as Toscana or Chianti, and the sole grape permitted for one of Italy’s finest reds, Brunello di Montalcino.

But while Sangiovese is strongly associated with the Tuscany region, it also is cultivated in other regions of central and southern Italy, where it often is blended with other red varieties.

One Italian region where Sangiovese is made as a single varietal wine outside Tuscany is Emilia-Romagna. Here, to the south and east of Bologna, the broad, fertile valley of the Po river provides ideal terrain for agriculture and livestock, making this region the breadbasket of Italy.

Elsewhere, Sangiovese can be quite sharp, making pale, dry reds with the sky-high acidity of unsweetened cranberries. In Romagna, however, this same grape yields plumper, riper wines with a more floral scent, darker fruit flavors, and mouth-drying tannins that are best tamed through long-term aging in oak barrels. This wine from one of the region’s finest wineries makes an excellent introduction to the region’s prowess with the Sangiovese grape, and to the region’s distinctively meaty style. Bold and fragrant, with flavors of cherries, figs and coffee beans, it makes a memorable impression.

Umberto Cesari Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. $18.99 (regularly $21.99; sale price through June 23). PLCB Item #4774.

Also available at Canal’s of Berlin Discount Liquor Mart in Berlin ($16.59); Joe Canal’s in Marlton ($16.99); Traino’s Wine & Spirits in Marlton ($18.99); Joe Canal’s in Lawrenceville ($18.99); Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. ($19.99).