TOP SECRET ALERT: Again, we bring you another unbelievable value. This Tuscan gem is a full, rich and round beauty that pairs with almost anything – and is a pleasure to drink on its own. We won’t get more of this wine, so be sure not to miss it.

Mission Codename: Not an actual mission, this wine was discovered by Agent Red when he became an Accidental Wineist

Operative: Agent Red

Mission Status: Safely back home

Current Winery: Sangervasio

Wine Subject: 2003 A Sirio

Backgrounder:

A Sirio is one of two “cru” wines from Sangervasio. It is dedicated to the current owners’ grandfather, Sirio Tommasini, who was strongly vocal of the quality of the estate’s fruit , offering a wine made with the best grapes from Sangervasio’s new high density vineyards.

Awards and Accolades

DECANTER – TUSCAN COAST ITALY 2007 A Sirio: 5 stars. “ Sangiovese with a drop of Cabernet. Superb depth of colour and concentration of fruit on the nose, super-fine tannins and long juicy finish.”

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Intense ruby red

Smell – Wild raspberry and blackberry with ripe stone fruit, subtle tobacco and clean potting soil and restrained spice

Feel – Soft and round with a mild full-mouth tannic bite

Taste – Full bodied, fruit forward, juicy, earthy with blackberry and soft oak

Finish – Super persistent with a long-lasting and playful complexity

Conclusion – This wine gets our most enthusiastic Wine Spies recommendation! If you want to know what a superior Italian wine is like, this is a big value on an elegant, delicious and exciting wine. Drinks like more expensive Tuscans, for less than half the price. We love this wine!

Mission Report:

Sometimes the best wines I spy are those I find, quite literally, by accident.

My last missions in Italy took me to Calabria and Tuscany to the north. Having successfully completed a mission to bring back a few superb Italian wines (see our previous mission logs), I was traveling by motorcycle (a Ducati, of course) to the regional airport. With enough time to make my 8pm flight to Paris, I took it slow on a remote road and enjoyed the passing scenery of the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

After slowly winding my way through the hills for nearly and hour, I checked my GPS and realized that I had better speed up if I wanted to make my flight on time. I dropped the Ducati down a gear and twisted the throttle. Traveling at nearly 80 miles an hour, I crested a hill – and was horrified to see wine bottles littering the road. In that instant, my entire spy training went out the window. Instead of deftly maneuvering my Ducati to avoid the bottles, I lay the growling beast down. Enveloped in a shower of sparks, I slid along behind the bike, eventually grinding to a halt next to the source of the spilled bottles, an old overturned truck.

I stood up and made sure I was intact. Then I went around to the truck to see if anyone required aid. There, on the other side, was a small Italian man. I asked him if he was hurt and he smiled sheepishly and told me that he was fine.

His name was Francesco, he explained, and he was on his way to Modena to deliver a truckload of wine to a distributor there. Francesco had swerved to avoid a lone sheep that was standing in the middle of the road. He was repaid for this kindness, with a spilled load of wine.

There was no way we were going to right his small truck and my Ducati was bent and broken and we were in the middle of Tuscany on a remote road. Fortunately, I had my spy phone so I called Central Command and transmitted my coordinates, requesting transport for myself, Francesco and his wine.

Francesco told me that he was a driver for Tuscan wine producer, Sangervasio. This was a winery that we had under loose surveillance and Central Command had planned send me back another time, so I used the opportunity to learn what I could about this famous winery. It would be at least two hours until we were rescued so we passed the time by chatting and gathering bottles. When we were done collecting the bottles, we opened one. In this case, a bottle of A Sirio, which was named after the grandfather of the owner’s of Sangervasio.

This exceptional wine was rich, delicious, and combined old-world Italian tradition with and modern world wine sensibility. The winery’s reputation for exceptional wines from lovingly grown fruit was well deserved and the wine went a long way toward soothing my bumps and bruises.

See below for more winery details and be sure to check back for future a mission to the winery itself.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

San Gervasio is tucked away in the Italian countryside, 25 km east of Pisa, on the gentle hills surrounding the valley of the river Era. The estate covers 400 hectares, of which 22 are under cultivation with grapes, at between 160 and 200 meters above sea level. The Mediterranean climate, with its abundance of sun, dry air and sea breezes, is ideal for the cultivation of quality grapes.

The Sangervasio Winery is in the city of Palaia which can be seen in this satellite photo

Wine Spies Technical Wine Analysis

Appellation: Toscana Rosso IGT (Tuscany, Italy)
Blend: 95% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aging: 14 months on oak and at least 18 months in the bottle
Alcohol: 14.3%