Agree with this. They are more alike than they are different, even if Neb reaches higher highs. I don’t have a tremendous amount of confidence in my ability to distinguish them in a blind tasting.
Castellare! I should have known. One of my favorites. These can definitely have a sharp, firm structure to them which differentiates them from many other Chiantis. Fair to say it’s a lot more Nebbiolo-esque than one would expect from Sangio.
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I have had the very wine the Op is referring to. It was my first time drinking a Castellare wine and I loved it. It was elegant and floral but the finish was not like any young Nebbiolo wine I have had.
In the past we have had blind tastings with aged Sangiovese and Nebbiolo wines and it is often difficult to tell the difference. When young though I always find Sangiovese more appealing.
That’s what I was reminded of. Nothing more than a one time impression.
You don’t. And they both make a good rosato. When young, depending on where they’re from and who the producer is, Nebbiolo can have a fresh cherry note. That’s for the basic Nebbiolo, not from a classic Barolo. Sangiovese can have that too, but often a bit more leather and funk, but then as mentioned, there are many many clones. In my head I think of Nebbiolo as being more “narrow” if that means anything at all to anyone else, and it’s not always accurate.
If you don’t know what is in your glass it can be really hard to tell. If you have a particular producer you know and use as the barometer, like say Oddero, you have an idea that you may extrapolate to other producers and that may lead you down a blind alley.
The one thing I have found in doing blind tastings of Sangiovese is that it’s easy to confuse it with many other grapes, more so than Nebbiolo. When you get some age on it, I’ve seen people identify Sangiovese as Tempranillo, Barbera, Pinot Noir, Aglianico, and who knows what else.
Anyway, it’s a good question and a good excuse to do some comparative tastings.
both wines have great acid, a lot of examples of both have orange and cherry notes, and Sangiovese can have a pretty decent amount of tannin.
in general, the big difference in the two to me tends to be what’s at the forefront. I feel like Sangiovese tends to be a bit more savory at the front (more leather, more of a dusty kind of feel to it, more tobacco) whereas the Nebbiolo I think is a bit more fruit, or when its not, the savory characters are a bit less dusty and a bit more structured. picturing tar vs dust in my mind kinda helps me out, and I think is applicable. this might only make sense to me, but I picture Sangiovese as more matte brown notes and Nebbiolo as more shiny dark notes.
both age well, but they age pretty differently. Sangiovese leans into those savory notes hard and they get cranked up, and Nebbiolo I think adds a bit more of the balsamic/mushroom/umami type notes. Sangiovese I think leans out a bit while Nebbiolo rounds out.
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