I recently had a delicious young Chianti Classico that struck me for its resemblance to young Nebbiolo. I know that Sangiovese and Nebbiolo share many characteristics, but it got me wondering about their differences.
For your personal palate, what are the principle differences between the aromatics/flavors of Sangiovese versus Nebbiolo? Do they age differently? What can Nebbiolo do better than Sangiovese, and vice versa? Do the differences come more from winemaking practices or something inherent to the varieties themselves?
I really enjoy Italian wine, but for whatever reason have a more intuitive grasp of French wines. I’ve had plenty of Chianti, Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco, but still find myself struggling with questions like this.
First off, what was the Sangiovese that reminded you of Nebbiolo? I’d be curious.
There’s quite a few differences, but I’d say foremost is that Nebbiolo has considerably more tannin, even in the simple wines, than Sangiovese. Consequently, while many Sangiovese wines can age well, it’s more a prerequisite for Nebbiolo, and typically the aging curve for Nebbiolo extends much longer.
Generally speaking, they both tend to lighter color, red fruit aromas and flavors and pronounced acidity. Nebbiolo is typically very complex aromatically, can sustain slightly higher alcohols, and has secondary and tertiary aging profiles that are appreciated by wine lovers. Sangiovese can be appreciated earlier and can show more herbal and savory character when young. I’d also say that Sangiovese has a broader range of expressions due to it being planted more widely around Italy, where Nebbiolo’s planting area is more narrow. Site specificity is really central to Nebbiolo appreciation but not quite as studied for Sangiovese.
Winemaking practices are tailored to the characteristics of the grape and the soil/climate. So, speaking plainly, the winemaking is often designed to accentuate the best attributes inherent in the grape and minimize the lesser ones.
I don’t think I could personally live without either. They are responsible for many of my favorite wine experiences.
Tough overall since each is grown in regions which present significant variation on the grapes, but for generalizations…
I really don’t find them to be particularly similar to my palate. Nebbiolo in the Langhe is, when young, roses and tar on the nose, perhaps orange peel; tart cherry and cherry pit on the palate, again perhaps some orange. Flavors are often very pure, precise, delineated. Amongst the strongest of tannins and acids when young, can be tough and unyielding in adolescence, then gradually easing over time for a long, long aging curve and extended plateau. In Alto Piedmonte and Valtellina the presentation can be more delicate and elegant, still tough in Gattinara and Ghemme, more “mountain” and crystaline character in Valtellina, delicate in Carema. Easily overwhelmed by strong oak treatments everywhere.
I find Sangiovese perhaps more diverse depending on where it’s grown. Leather and sometimes herb on the nose along with darker cherries. Palate also sometimes more leathery, less pure fruited (again, generally) than Nebbiolo, darker fruit depending on location, tends towards dried fruit especially in riper vintages. Can find tomato and tobacco scents and flavors in Sangiovese as well. Acidity and tannin vary greatly by location, still high acidity and moderate tannin, but wouldn’t expect as much of either as from Nebbiolo of similar quality. I wouldn’t expect the same ability to age either. Most of my Sangiovese purchases are Chianti Classico, and I find they are often best at maybe 7-15+ years from vintage but there aren’t many I’d expect to be good for decades. I’m sure some are, just not the ones I’ve tried and regularly buy. Can still be overwhelmed by excessive oak, but not to the same extent as Nebbiolo. With some exception I find the sangiovese I enjoy to be more “rustic” and the nebbiolo more pure but am occasionally surprised and pleased to find a very pure and precise sangiovese.
Take all of this with a grain of salt, and with the caveat that I’ve never found describing individual scents and flavors to be particularly useful since they seem to vary quite a lot by taster. Even so, I often find the classic tar and roses scents in very good nebbiolo, so that one seems to ring true.
The Days of Tar and Roses is my favorite standard. I’ve enjoyed plenty of Sangiovese but personally find it a lesser grape to Nebbiolo and would be just as happy drinking a number of other Italian reds - Barbera, Dolcetto, etc. And for every Sangiovese I had, I’ve drank 100 bottles of Nebbiolo. That’s just my preference. Jason and Michael gave outstanding answers.
This is about what I was going to say - the structure of Nebbiolo (other than some of the lighter-styled Langhe wines) is a massive departure from anything I’ve had in Sangiovese, even a young Brunello di Montalcino.
Aroma/flavor wise, I get much more tar, violets, roses in Nebbiolo, versus a more loamy earth, more meaty profile, and slightly lighter fruit, though there seems a lot of variance there, of course.
I like how Sangiovese ages, however - seems more graceful than the often clunky and punishing phases of Nebbiolo
The biggest difference will generally be in the structure. Sangiovese has elevated tannin and acidity, but Nebbiolo is on a different level. This is what you should truly focus on before getting into flavors with the differences. Nebb is high tan in and acidity across the board and it can be fairly brutal on some young wines. Nebbiolo will also have really pronounced intensity on the aromatics where you can even smell it in the glass inches before it gets to your nose. Sangiovese is more in the Medium+ category for aromatic intensity.
With the 18 Brunellos about to be released, I would fully suggest buying a Barolo+Barbaresco+CCR+Brunello and bag them all up. It won’t “solve” anything per se, but it’ll really allow you to focus in on the differences between them
I agree with what everyone else has said, and would just stress that the aromatic profiles are very different, and I’ve never had a sangiovese that had the level of complexity that the best nebbiolos do.
FYI, Ian D’Agata says that sangiovese has more clonal variation than almost any grape. And that’s saying a lot, given pinot’s famous variety. Over the last several decades, the Chianti producers have conducted a huge amount of clonal research and there has been widespread replanting/grafting with better variants in Chianti. But I would guess there are still lots of different clones scattered across the sangiovese regions. The may help explain the many expressions of the grape in difference locales.
Circa 2006, I served friends a '99 Mastrojanni Brunello blind alongside a '99 Produttori di Barbaresco normale, and they were surprisingly hard to tell apart. But, in general, I think it would be relatively to distinguish them. That was a reasonably ripe year in the Langhe and Mastrojanni is a pretty restrained Brunello producer.
I don’t find Sangiovese (grosso or picolo) to be similar to Nebbiolo, except that they make for high acid wines. The op has me wondering whether he is confusing oak treatment with varietal attributes. If, for example, he finds Nebbiolo to be as rich as Sangiovese, I suspect that he might be drinking oaked Nebbiolo.
If you don’t know what’s in the glass, it can be more difficult than one would think(especially when the wines are young). Sangiovese and Nebbiolo aren’t at similar acid levels though and that’s usually the biggest tell (along with color and aromatic intensity).
I find that Sangiovese and Nebbiolo have a number of similarities; they are both mid-red in color, often with orange glints even when young; they both show aromas and flavors of exotic woods like cedar and sandalwood, and notes of orange peel and true cinnamon; and they can both make good wines at a range of different quality levels. In theory the structure should be different, but otherwise confusing the two blind would be easy.
The owner of my local wine store is studying for the master somm tasting exam. He mentioned at a recent Nebbiolo tasting that the single most common error (I think he meant varietal error) in the master somm blind tasting is confusing barolo/barbaresco with Brunello. Like some others I was shocked to hear this because in my mind they’re very different, but in a blind tasting it seems they are more similar than many would expect.
Thank you for all the great responses. Lots of good information here. For a little context, this was simply popping a bottle of Chianti to enjoy with pizza and having the thought, “wow, this tastes a lot like Nebbiolo- I wonder what the WineBerserkers would think”. Specifically, my thought was that the Chianti was similar to the less structured, less extracted, and oftentimes blended, versions of Nebbiolo from the Alto Piemonte. I was specifically reminded of the structure of Gattinara, though I don’t have the level of knowledge to really differentiate all the sub-regions of the Alto-Piemonte in my mind. And I should say, this was a one time experience. Who knows, I could have opened the same bottle a day later and had a totally different impression. But either way, it has spurned this interesting discussion.
Some responses to specific comments below:
It was a 2020 Castellare di Castellina- a rather inexpensive, though I thought well made, Chianti Classico. Went great with pizza.
Excellent point.
Ah yes- I was reminded of an Alto Piemonte wine more than anything else, though Gattinara is what came to min. And an interesting point about oak.
This has always been my impression as well. If you were to ask me which I preferred, I would say Nebbiolo, without a moment’s hesitation. And yet, if I think about it, one of my best wines of 2022 was Le Pergole Torte and for 2021 was Stella di Campalto: both Sangiovese. I had some really beautiful Nebbiolo in 2021 and 2022, and yet these two Sangiovese wines really stand out.
I don’t think so.
I appreciate you all pointing that out. Lots of responses here saying “they’re so massively different”. But I’ve heard (who knows where), that Nebbiolo and Sangiovese are sometimes confused by those who make a serious study of blind tasting. So your comments help me feel that perhaps I don’t have a 100% yak palate!
Thanks everybody- hope the conversation keeps going! I’m always learning from you all.
While I agree with much said above, I’ve found this to be true when tasting blind. They are not as easy to differentiate as one might think. If anything, if tasting blind and I was unsure, I’d think about the fruit profile and look for darker fruits in Sangiovese. The anise, rose, tar notes can show in Sangiovese and easily muddy the waters in a blind setting.
I’ve experienced that in blind tasting a few times, where a Sangio had tannin that matched the most rustic Neb and the fruit was right in the Neb whellhouse. I’ve also had overripe Nebs that weren’t particularly tannic and didn’t have a signature fruit profile.
I go to blind tastings very often, usually several per month. When tasting fully blind, ie. the wines can be from anywhere in the world, I can usually quite easily identify both Sangiovese ans Nebbiolo as Italian wines.
If a Nebbiolo is a classically styled Nebbiolo, ie. pale color and all the telltale aromatics, it’s a stroll in the park. However, not all wines are such and in those cases I’ve often confused a Nebbiolo for a Chianti Classico. Or a light, delicate yet tannic Sangiovese for a Barbaresco.
It’s all easy when the wines are textbook examples of the styles, but even if I’ve had one or two Nebbiolos and Sangioveses (approx. 650 notes on Nebbiolo and 250 notes on Sangiovese in CT, I see), I can still tell you that there are lots of wines that you’ll confuse with one another.
And no, I’m not talking about oak influence. Most of the wines I’ve identified wrongly have never seen an inch of new wood or small barrels.
I’ll reiterate this one as well. Not just sometimes. Often. Even by people who are very good. I would bet the people here saying they’re so different do not have a lot of experience blind tasting these categories.
Agree with Otto as well. We do regular blind tastings, and while it’s usually pretty easy to identify a a blind Nebbiolo/Sangiovese as Italian (high-ish acid/tannin, some bricking, thin skinned), it is often hard to differentiate between the two if you’re just sitting with a single blind bottle.
It’s easier if the wine is very effusive on the nose, where Nebbiolo has the the classic tar & roses and Sangiovese classically has tart cherry and tomato leaf. It’s much harder if the nose is somewhat closed. The tell-tale differentiator for me then tends to be the quality of the tannins. Nebbiolo typically has much more aggressive tannins than Sangiovese. Nebbiolo tannins bind very strongly to the skin between the lips and gums, whereas Sangiovese tannins tend to coat the tongue broadly. Even remembering all that, mistakes are pretty common.
