2024 Fervor Nonno Lou Sangiovese

This is a wine with a lot of heart. Made by father-son duo Mike and Callum Garland, the "Nonno Lou" is a tribute to Callum's grandfather, Luciano, who passed away a couple of years ago. Luciano was a proud native of Lucca, Tuscany, and a massive fan of generous Italian reds.

While the grapes aren't from his Tuscan homeland, this exciting Sangiovese is built exactly in the style he loved - a true, Aussie-made Chianti-ish red. The Garland boys have focused entirely on freshness here, letting the natural flavours of the fruit do the heavy lifting.

You get a core of fresh black fruit wrapped up in a leafy, herbaceous savouriness. It's smooth, slippery and an absolutely killer food wine. If you love medium-weight Italian reds, this is pretty serious value from a team that knows exactly what they are doing.

95 points
"Crikey! This has some mettle... There's a very effortless, bright feel to this wine overall, a huge sense of drinkability and a hands-off but considered approach to winemaking. Just so. And utterly delicious. It could take a light chill, too. Proper."
- Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)