Petrolo Boggina Classico Riserva 2020 - 75cl

If Bòggina A is the amphora expression, Bòggina C is the classic one — C for Classico — and Petrolo has no qualms about calling it their grand cru of Sangiovese. From the 2019 vintage it earned Riserva status, and the 2020 carries that billing with a label drawn from a painting by artist Sabina Mirri.

It's 100% Sangiovese from the estate's best single vineyard, planted in the early 1950s on the calcareous slopes of the Val d'Arno di Sopra. Where the amphora version chases transparency, this one is built for depth: native-yeast fermentation in glazed concrete, then around 16 months in carefully chosen large-format French oak casks and tonneaux rather than small new barriques. About 6,400 bottles.

2020 gave lower yields but healthy, balanced fruit, and it shows. James Suckling scored it 95, calling it perfumed and vivid; Monica Larner found extra richness with cola, blue flower and crushed stone. The nose lifts with black cherry and an orange-peel tang, and the palate carries ultra-fine tannins into a long, persistent finish. Tangy, precise, quietly powerful.

This is a bottle for the table you've laid properly — a wine to think about, not just pour. It's drinking well now and will hold and deepen for a decade or more.

How to Serve

Serve at 17 to 18°C in a large Burgundy glass. Decant an hour ahead when young to let the oak fold into the fruit. It will cellar comfortably to 2035 and beyond.

Where to Drink It

Wiltons on Jermyn Street, for the occasion it deserves. Scott's in Mayfair, alongside a serious main. Bentley's, if you'd rather bring your own gravitas to the oyster bar's back room.

Food Pairings

A dry-aged rib of beef is the natural partner. I'd also point it at slow-braised osso buco — the marrow and gremolata meet those fine tannins beautifully.