The Poggerino Chianti Classico DOCG 2023 is a bright, sinewy Sangiovese from the Chianti hills of Tuscany, built on sour cherry, savoury herbs and fine acidity rather than weight. It is a classical style of Chianti Classico — more perfume and drive than plush fruit.

Morello cherry and cranberry lead the aromatics, with dried rosemary, orange peel and a faint suggestion of tobacco leaf sitting behind. There is a stony, almost iron-like edge to the nose that is very Sangiovese.

The palate is medium-bodied and firm, red-fruited through the middle with tannins that are fine but genuinely grippy, and a line of acidity that keeps everything taut. The finish is dry and a little bitter in the good, Italian sense, leaving sour cherry and dried herb behind rather than sweetness.

Pairs naturally with tomato-based pasta, grilled lamb cutlets, porchetta, mushroom risotto or a board of pecorino and prosciutto. The acidity makes it a useful wine at the table with anything rich or salty.

Drinking well from now with an hour in a decanter, and it should hold and gain some savoury complexity through to around 2032.