Description
Chiara Condello, Predappio Sangiovese
Sangiovese from the town of Predappio, in the Emilia-Romagna region, is very much a thing right now. It hardly came out of nowhere, as this is a time-tested terroir for the grape, but a critical mass of outstanding wines—many of them from young, upstart vintners like Chiara Condello—has the Italian wine world buzzing.
In my experience, Predappio Sangiovese may be the most Pinot Noir-like of all the different regional interpretations, and upon tasting Condello’s ’17 a few years ago, I hyped it to our audience as loudly as I could. Condello, as she confirms with this silky, succulent 2018, is a Sangiovese producer to be reckoned with. If you didn’t catch the previous vintage of this wine, you really mustn’t miss this one, especially at this price. If you are a Sangiovese aficionado, you know that Predappio, and the surrounding province of Forlì, are historically important—in fact, some experts believe Emilia-Romagna, not Tuscany, to be the grape’s original home. Regardless of which camp you’re in, there’s no denying that Condello’s wines stand toe-to-toe with anything we’ve offered from Tuscany; she cites the late Tuscan Sangiovese guru Giulio Gambelli (Montevertine; Soldera) as an inspiration and channels his spirit in wines that are bright, nuanced, and perfumed. This is an absolute home run at $29—an incredible achievement that should not be missed!
Keep in mind that Condello didn’t just fall out of the sky into some vineyards in Romagna: Her family produces wine in Predappio under the Condé label, but Chiara maintains her own cellar and farms her own vineyards. She has seven hectares of land in total, of which 4.8 are planted to Sangiovese, which she farms organically. The broader growing zone that includes Predappio is southeast of Bologna, in the foothills of the Apennines, fanning out from the town of Forlì. The soils are marl/sandstone mixtures that resemble those found in Chianti, while the landscape is similarly hilly and dramatic, with vineyard elevations often climbing past 300 meters.
As noted above, Predappio is one of 12 officially recognized “subzones” of the Romagna DOC appellation; others include Bertinoro, Cesena, and Modigliana, the latter home to an old favorite of mine Ronchi di Castelluccio. We’ve also offered terrific Sangiovese wines from one of Condello’s neighbors in Predappio, Noelia Ricci. I mention all this because I’ve seen this region with my own eyes and we’ve all been sleeping on it for too long. A lot of producers in the area opted for richer, more oak-slathered reds in the search for international recognition and critical acclaim, but the trend seems to be shifting toward wines of finesse and energy—a much better choice for Sangiovese, in my humble opinion.
Condello’s ’18 was sourced from three old-vine parcels ranging from 150-350 meters’ elevation, in soils composed mainly of clay and limestone. She highlights another soil type unique to the region: spungone, a porous, sedimentary of limestone marl and sandstone. Chiara de-stems the harvested grapes but does not crush them, employing a “whole berry” style of fermentation that brightens the primary fruit character and keeps harsh tannins at bay. The fermentation, on ambient yeasts only, was carried out in a mix of stainless steel tanks and open-top wooden vats/barrels. The wine then aged for a year in 3,500-liter Slavonian oak botti before bottling.
The result is an aromatically mesmerizing Sangiovese of uncommonly silky texture. It has all the lively energy the variety is known for, but where so many others are tart and “grippy,” this one absolutely glides across the palate. I know it’s a little tired at this point to make a comparison to Pinot Noir from Burgundy, but I can’t help myself—the resemblance is simply too strong to ignore! In the glass, it shines a deep garnet-red moving to pink at the rim, with aromas of small red woodland berries jumping out first, followed by waves of black and red cherry, wild strawberry, dried orange peel, violets, tomato leaf, black pepper, and underbrush. It is medium-bodied and truly refined—a silken pleasure through and through, albeit with enough energy and cut to ignite the salivary response. Decant it 30 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems and enjoy one of the most versatile reds your dinner table could ask for. I’d consider it with everything from cedar-planked salmon to grilled ribeye steak, but I’ve got something a little more local (well, okay, Modena, but close) in mind given the time of year: Cotechino with lentils, drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. Make it happen!
