2025 Fighting Gully Road Sangiovese

This is perhaps Australia's best Sangiovese.

Mark Walpole is one of the rare Australian viticulturists who genuinely understands how to wrangle Sangiovese. Teaming up with winemaker Adrian Rodda, the Fighting Gully Road label consistently proves that you don't need to be in Chianti to get this notoriously stubborn grape to behave.

The fruit is pulled entirely from the upper, sun-exposed slopes of the Aquila Audax Vineyard in Beechworth. Up here, the vines dig into a tough mix of shale and metamorphic rock, forcing them to work hard and naturally restricting yields.

The blend of the 2025 is 95% Sangiovese backed by a 5% splash of Colorino to help lock in colour and structure. Fermented wild across a mix of stainless steel and oak vats with a portion of whole berries kept intact, the juice spends a full 28 days on skins before maturing in large Italian-coopered casks.

It drinks exactly as great Sangiovese should - dusty, tense, and built for the dinner table. The '25 is maybe a little lighter on its feet than the last couple of vintages, with wild berries, a rub of crushed sage, and the chalky tannin the grape is famous for driving a long, dry finish.

96 points
"Think of the first Australian sangiovese you ever tried and then try this – the two are worlds apart. The fruit sweetness, so obvious back then, is now one layer of many, a multi-cast member... Think you know sangiovese? Think again."
- Jeni Port (Halliday Wine Companion)