Sangiovese Cardinala Riserva 2018 Branchini: a lovely red wine

Branchini’s Sangiovese Cardinala Riserva 2018 is a powerful and rocky red wine that is elegant but should be left in the cellar for a few more years.

The Sangiovese Cardinala Riserva 2018 Branchini is a powerful and ripe red wine, round and fruity, but already launched into a suggestive and rich evolution that foreshadows a bright future.

It is not a ready and light, immediate wine; no, here the Sangiovese has been exalted with a remarkable extraction, which, despite the three years of aging in wood and bottle, still has all the strength of the first day.

How it is produced

The vineyards are in Dozza, among the rolling hills of the Romagna Apennines. Pure Sangiovese. Harvest at the end of September, destemming, maceration, and fermentation in steel, then aging for 10 months in barrique, another 10 months in large wood, and we finish with 10 months in bottle to find balance.

Organoleptic characteristics

Deceptive transparent ruby color. smokey, carnal, and very spicy bouquet. Ripe fruit and cherries cooked in chocolate, cocoa, licorice, and floral tones give breath. Intense and tight, warm and enveloping, never banal, and always defined by good finesse.

On the palate, it is massive and muscular, dense but with an elegant trait, rocky in structure, and long in sip.

All of this power is carefully managed, and the pace is elegant; however, the tannins and acidity are still hard, not ungainly but certainly disruptive.

Nothing problematic; another 5 or 6 years and the wine will naturally rise and find more balance, leaving room for a splendid evolution, only hinted at at the moment. Balsamic finish with aromatic herbs and eucalyptus swimming in a sea of rhubarb.

Price

19 euros on the Branchini winery website: a reasonable price to pay for a well-made red wine.

Pairings

The wine has character, power, and very earthy and rough tannins, so combine it with protein dishes: grilled meat, lamb kebabs, gnocchi with Bolognese, hamburgers, baked lasagna, truffle risotto, pasta Amatriciana.