Marnong Estate Sangiovese 2025

There is something fitting about Sangiovese finding a home at Marnong. The owning family’s roots lie in southern Italy, yet Alex has resisted the temptation to pursue abroad, sun-drenched expression. Instead, Sunbury’s cool evenings and long ripening season have produced a wine of perfume, freshness and restraint that, for now, feels closer in spirit to a classical Chianti in appealing rusticity than to a more pinoesque version, closer to Brunello. This is only the second crop Alex has worked with from the Colbera block, planted at high density in 2020. Rather than imposing a finished style on a young vineyard, he has chosen to observe first. The fruit is hand-picked, fully destemmed and fermented before spending ten months in a 2,500-litre cask, allowing the site rather than the oak to shape the wine. Only now, as the vineyard begins to settle into itself, has he started experimenting with whole bunch and clay fermentations. The wine opens with potpourri, dried flowers and bright cherry, as though the rain has just cleared and the landscape is beginning to bloom. It carries brightness. Where the Montepulciano turns towards woodland, dark fruit and earth, the Sangiovese feels like another season altogether. Sweet cherry, subtle herbs and savoury notes glide across the palate with ease. There is concentration here, but it never overwhelms the wine’s natural poise. The finish carries a faint sweetness that lifts the fruit before the acidity pulls everything back into line. It already possesses elegance, yet there is also the sense that these young vines are still revealing what this site can offer. Served alongside roast lamb cutlets with kale and roasted sweet potato, the wine seemed to lengthen and gather detail, its floral perfume and savoury freshness becoming even more expressive alongside the food. Alex describes the wine as sitting somewhere between its own identity and the traditions that inspired it. That feels exactly right. The Brunello influence lies in the way the vineyard has been established, not in an attempt to imitate the finished wine. What matters is not how closely it resembles Tuscany, but how convincingly it speaks of where it is. This vintage suggests Sunbury already has a worthwhile answer.

Liinaa Berry

Liinaa Berry is a Melbourne-based wine critic and consultant with over a decade of experience as a sommelier and wine buyer across Australia and around the world where she has built award-winning wine programs and championed independent producers with conviction. Now focused on reviewing and writing, Liinaa brings a floor-trained palate and commercial insight to her assessments. She is also the Melbourne Ambassador for Star Wine List and serves on the committee of Sommeliers Australia. An advocate for site-driven wines and thoughtful farming, Liinaa is particularly drawn to producers who articulate a clear sense of place. Her tasting philosophy centres on structure, balance and context — always asking not just how a wine tastes, but why it matters.