2007 Brokenwood Sangiovese

Hunter Valley based Brokenwood wines has done it again. They take high quality fruit from around the nation and make well crafted wines under the watchful eye of Iain Riggs. This Italian grape variety is sourced from McLaren Vale has produced a well balanced fruit driven Sangiovese suitable to accompany most meals.

It’s bright and full of red fruits, kept fresh under screw cap which will auger well for the years ahead. There’s a touch of fine tannins and some vanilla oak which should see it cellar well for the next 5 years or so. I’ve got 10 of these babies left in my cellar and I’ll mark them to drink in 2015 when they should have rounded out even further to produce a soft purple bloom of flavour.

We enjoyed this wine with home made osso buco. In fact we even sacrificed half a cup of the Sangiovese to go into the making of the dish. The rest we enjoyed so much we had to open another bottle. That’s part of the beauty of screw caps (and perhaps the danger), they are so easy to reseal and continue to enjoy the next night.

This is a highly recommended wine for pasta, lasagne, lamb shanks or any other hearty winter dish this winter, or any winter to 2015. Even at close to $30. With Brokenwood you get what you pay for.

2007 Brokenwood Sangiovese

Riggsy wrote “A young wine, bright red in colour, Sangiovese doesn’t have dense colour, purple tints.  The aromas are of red cherry, briar fruit and sweet oak in the background.  The palate is very full with red cherry flavours and vanillin.  Part of the feature of Sangiovese is the dry savoury tannin structure.  While the Italian styles can be very firm, the Australian wines, due to our climate and ripeness, are dry but balanced.”

Home Ideas Magazine said of the 2007 Brokenwood Sangiovese “Brokenwood certainly loves working with European varieties; it’s interpretation of the Italian Sangiovese has produced a wonderful drop with red cherry, briar fruit and sweet oak aromas. Red cherry and vanillin oak flavours fill the palate and make this a superb balanced red to enjoy with pasta or a classic babecue.”

James Halliday said “As one might expect, a very well made wine, with the accent on the cherry/sour cherry fruit rather than the tannins; a few years will see it fully blossom. Screwcap. 14.5% alc. Rating: 93 points To: 2014”

Wine Industry Journal said “Light ruby in colour with a red rim. A savoury nose with a hint of cherry, leather, dusty oak, tomato chutney and spice. Mouthfilling palate with ‘tingly’ acid and flavours of cherry and pepper, following through to a long fruity finish. One taster commented that this wine appeared to have been made with ‘minimal intervention’. Very moreish and I think the tingly mouthfeel is from the acid rather than the alcohol, which I rarely discover,’ one taster said.”

Finally, the Wine Front said “The Brokenwood Sangiovese carries a hit of malty oak and an extra degree of fruit sweetness, but the varietal resemblance is clear. There’s sourness and nuttiness here too and a fair bit of tannin, though with the extra fruit weight the tannin is less of a defining feature. Echoes of rose petals and chocolate resonate through the wine and while it doesn’t need food in the way the VC wine does, it would still match well. This is a medium-bodied wine of good quality; it’s easy to recommend. Indeed it is one of the better McLaren Vale Sangioveses I have seen, and it should drink even better in a couple of years time. Drink: 2009-2012 Rating: 89 points.”