Looking for Italian red wines? We got you a list of some of the best Italian red wines in the market to help you choose. Read on.
Although Italy is home to hundreds of wine grapes varieties, only a small fraction of them is widely recognized beyond the country’s borders. Tasting different varieties of Italian red wines is the best way to learn about them, but sometimes the wide range of varieties may be hard to understand.
You’ll find both the name of the wine appellation and the type of grape used in many of Italy’s famous red wines. This can help you make the most of your wine-shopping excursion and ensure that you always have a bottle of wine that is just right for any occasion.
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The 8 Best Italian Red Wines
Here’s our handpicked list of the best Italian red wines you simply must try.
1. Amarone della Valpolicella (Amarone)
Topping our best Italian red wines list is Amarone della Valpolicella. The dried grapes used to create this fantastic wine give the wine its strong flavor. It is one of the best red wines in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy.
Early Amarone wines were considered failures because they were over-fermented, but over time the style came to be respected.
The Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG is like a ruby that shines brightly. Black tea, dark cherry juice, and other superb savory ingredients are hidden behind an inviting and sparkly clean nose.
On the palate, Amarone della Valpolicella opens almost reluctantly before spreading out continually. The transparent fruit seems fresh, and there are no signs of over-ripeness. The fine-meshed, polished tannin is coated in texture.
2. Barolo
Another popular Italian red wine is Barolo, which hails from the Piedmont region.
The wines are produced from Nebbiolo, a red grape variety with a small, thin skin that is typically high in acid and tannins.
Nebbiolo is one of the last grapes to be picked in Piedmont and one of the first to go through bud break. The harvest is typically in late October. There can be no exceptions; Nebbiolo alone may be used to make Barolo wines.
One of their best is the 2013 Barolo Reserva Giacomo Conterno Montfortino. It is expressed olfactorily in a floral kaleidoscope, with wisteria and violet standing out, followed by small red fruits and healing herbs, and embellished with hints of stern spices, tobacco, goudron, and bloody undertones.
Rich and enveloping on the palate, with dense and potent tannins that develop over time toward an extraordinary persistence finish where the fruit echoes as the star.
3. Brunello
Brunello is one of the best red wines in Italy and around the world.
The Brunello grape, a local strain of Sangiovese, is grown in Brunello di Montalcino, a small wine region in southern central Tuscany. Brunello grapes produce particularly impressive wines which may be comparable with Chianti Classico in Tuscany where it is from. On international markets, however, Brunello seems to attract even more attention.
You might want to give their 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Casanova di Neri Cerretalto a try. Its seductive aroma includes notes of ripe cherry and wild raspberry that make room for woody, tar, and tobacco tones. It has a thick, well-defined tannic texture on the palate, which work in harmony with acidity to produce dialectic and rhythm. Excellent persistence with flavors of fruits and spices resonates in the aftertaste.
4. Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo
Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo is one of the most famous Italian red wines and can be found in wine stores all over the world.
The Montepulciano grapes used to make this traditional well-balanced, plum-scented Italian red are grown in the Abruzzo region along Italy’s Adriatic Coast. It’s quite different from the Tuscan wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is made from Sangiovese.
A bottle of Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo begins sharply with notes of small ripe dark fruits, dried violets, and licorice roots before moving on to the hints of resin, dried figs, and locust beans. It has a rich, dense palate with well-defined tannins connected to a long acid line that suggests significant evolutionary potential. A wine with incredible materiality and olfactory expression, this one is a real legend among Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines.
Due to its ability to age, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine is undoubtedly among the best Italian red wines in the market today.
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5. Taurasi
Southern Italy’s Irpinia, a division of Campania, is home to the red wine appellation Taurasi DOCG. In Avellino, a province 50 km. northeast of Naples, vineyards can be found tucked away among the Apennine hills. The native and highly regarded Aglianico grape variety serves as the foundation for the wines.
The 2014 Vigna Quintodecimo Taurasi Riserva has scored as one of the top 5 Campania wines, and a couple of awards were won by this wine back in 2010 and 2012.
The Vigna Quintodecimo Taurasi Riserva displays a strong matrix full of personality and character and is impenetrable due to its dense and compact profile. Black plum undertones combine with notes of juniper berries, wild blackberries, black tea, and calendula. Lavender, magnolia, and hawthorn floral notes are dispersed in a calm, harmonious background.
A full body, perfectly ripe tannins, and a sophisticated, deftly executed finish excite the palate with each sip of this fabulous Italian red wine.
6. Le Macchiole
Boutique Bolgheri is the best way to describe Le Macchiole, another favorite among the best red wines from Italy.
Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc are the winery’s signature grape varieties, and the expression of the land is always prioritized when working on any project.
The winery is renowned for its incredible single-varietal wines. For the soil characteristics from this estate property to be the defining identity of the wines, the winery continues to evolve in the vineyards and the cellar.
Give the Le Macchiole Messorio Toscana IGT a taste. Interesting notes of blackberries and blueberries, blood nuances, salted underbrush, and patchouli for a spicy finish spread elegantly and intensely throughout the aroma. It is enveloping and smooth and has thick tannins and sensational acidity that provides balance on the palate.
7. Barbera d’ Asti
One of the most well-known wines from the Piedmont region of northwest Italy is Barbera d’ Asti. It was upgraded from DOC status to DOCG status in 2008, adding to Piedmont’s impressive collection of DOCG titles.
Different styles of Barbera d’ Asti are possible. Fresh, fruity, and unoaked, the lighter, less expensive styles are more in keeping with the variety’s historical function as a workhorse variety. When at its best, this wine has a medium to full body, a rich, tangy flavor, and intense ruby-red color that matures to garnet red.
A bottle of Vite Colte La Luna e i Falò Barbera d’ Asti Superiore DOCG starts off with an abundance of lovely dark berry fruit, fragrant floral notes, and nice hints of licorice and vanilla. It’s a wonderful scent and a great beginning. One sip is all it takes to realize this is juicy and delectable. This smooth, full-bodied, balanced, and delicious wine pairs beautifully with all types of Italian cuisine because it is packed with rich, bright, concentrated fruit. The dry, exceptionally long finish is set off by silky but firm tannins.
8. Rosso di Montalcino
A DOC wine called Rosso di Montalcino is made in Tuscany, Italy. Due to Brunello di Montalcino’s lengthy maturation periods, Rosso di Montalcino was created.
Because Rosso di Montalcino matures more quickly, Sangiovese vineyards can still make a living while their prized Brunello ages. The vibrant, fresh flavor of Rosso di Montalcino is ideal for semi-formal events and food pairings.
The Padelletti Rosso di Montalcino wine is a full-bodied red, which has the Brunello structure and opens with delicate aromas of ripe, black-skinned berries, forest floor, and leather. The chewy palate’s savory and enveloping flavors include fleshy black cherry, baking spice, and tobacco.