Cortelunga Sangiovese Red Italian Wine

Sangiovese is the grape named on this label, so that is the place to start. It is a red grape closely associated with central Italy and the main grape in Chianti, and a category guide describes cherry-led fruit, herbs, clear acidity and firm tannin, running from light and direct to more concentrated depending on how it is grown and made. The label also says Italy, which is a whole country rather than a single wine district, so it points you to a grape and a nation more than to one place. Its lowest observed price in our September 2026 checks was $10.49, among the least expensive reds we track.

1 shopper has rated it, at 5 out of five. That sits above the 4.71 median for the 483 wines that carry ratings, but a single rating is thin evidence, and one high mark is a starting point rather than a verdict.

The highest price we recorded in those same checks was $17.88.

Corks & Cheers, the importer site that carries this Cortelunga label, lists the wine's classification as IGT Toscana, a step more specific than the plain "Italy" already on record, placing the fruit generally within Tuscany. The same site names Mike Collier as the wine's winemaker, and its winemaker page credits him with earning the Master of Wine title in 2009, a distinction it says fewer than 360 people worldwide hold, describing him as Welsh-born and trained in food science at Reading University. The importer's brand page also lists two siblings under the Cortelunga name from Italy, a Bianco and a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, alongside this Sangiovese.

On sweetness, the same site's taste-finder widget marks this wine off-dry rather than fully dry, a touch sweeter than the site's general marketing copy suggests elsewhere; its listed flavor notes are black cherry, red berries and vanilla, with a light-to-medium body. The same page pairs the wine with grilled lamb, pepperoni pizza and spaghetti and meatballs, and suggests Pecorino Toscano as a cheese match.

Our call: reasonable for a shopper who wants an inexpensive Tuscan Sangiovese and likes knowing a named Master of Wine stands behind the blend; Mike Collier's MW credential is a real credential, and the bottle sits among the least expensive reds we track. Pass if you buy on track record: 1 rating at 5 out of five is a start, not a reputation, and IGT Toscana names a region, not a single vineyard or producer estate.

The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.