Wine of the week: Saini Vineyards, 2021 Sangiovese, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County

Julia Iantosca intended to be a veterinarian, but that was before she was bewitched by wine. Today the winemaker of Healdsburg’s Saini Vineyards grooms and bottles grapes.

“I took a wine appreciation class at UC Davis and I switched interests,” Iantosca said. “An internship at Dry Creek Vineyard (in Healdsburg) sealed my decision.”

The winemaker is behind our wine of the week winner — the Saini Vineyards, 2021 Sangiovese, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, 14.5%, $45. It has pitch-perfect balance and gorgeous red fruit — cherry and raspberry, with a hint of plum. With an underpinning of bright acid, it finishes crisp. An impressive bottling, it edges out its contenders because it over-delivers for its price.

“In general, sangiovese is not widely planted outside Italy,” Iantosca said. “In Italy, it grows mostly in Tuscany and the adjacent areas of Lazio, Umbria and Marche. Sangiovese is a bit of a chameleon, making a range of wines from fairly soft fruit-forward wines to big, robust earthy wines with some tannin grip. ... We’re making a more fruit-driven wine with a nice fullness on the palate.”

Iantosca said she’d love to take the credit for this sangiovese but the vineyard is the magic behind it.

“Sangiovese wines express the site where they’re grown,” she said. “Our sangiovese vines were planted in 1992 (from) cuttings obtained from a neighboring ranch here in Dry Creek Valley. The vineyard is planted on a western-facing hillside with a permanent cover crop in between the vine rows. This site helps regulate the vines’ natural inclination to vigor and helps produce balanced wines.”

The sangiovese is a great example of the collaboration between the grower and the winemaker, she said.

“(Vintner/grower) Mike Saini brings knowledge of this block of grapes to our discussions of crafting a wine that suits our style,” she said. “We have increased canopy cover to make sure the grapes don't get too much direct sun.”

The most challenging part of making sangiovese was learning how to best age it in oak, she added.

“Sangiovese doesn’t like much new oak,” she said. “In fact, it really fights with toasty oak. We use a very small percentage of new oak, but it’s French oak with a very light toast that melds with the fruit and brings some weight and richness to the mid palate. Most of the wine ages in neutral barrels.”

Iantosca, 65, grew up in Ventura County surrounded by agriculture and participated in 4-H. She graduated from UC Davis in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in fermentation science. Her winemaking credits include Sonoma County’s Lambert Bridge and Lasseter Family Winery.

“I hadn’t worked with sangiovese before, so it has been an adventure of discovery,” Iantosca said. “It’s fun after 40-plus years making wine to have a new toy.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.