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Laithwaites' premium Saracosa, made by Sofia Barbanera in Tuscany's old governo style. Part of the Sangiovese and Merlot is air-dried for 20 days, then four months in small oak: black cherry, cocoa and vanilla at 13%. £20, or £16 in a mixed dozen.
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Laithwaites describes intense black cherry and sweet spice with perfect smoothness, and a sumptuous red with black cherry, cocoa and vanilla. The notes below add what 2,463 Vivino reviewers found in the glass.
Cherry and red fruit lead in Vivino's 2,463 written reviews of this wine, with 605 mentions. Oak, vanilla and chocolate follow with 549, then black cherry and plum with 513. Leather and balsamic notes get 225 mentions and dried fruit 78. Laithwaites calls it intense black cherry and sweet spice; the raisin edge comes from the grapes Sofia Barbanera air-dries for 20 days.
Violet
Black cherry
Cherry
Plum
Raisin
Spicy
Vanilla
ChocolateMedium to full-bodied, smooth and round rather than grippy. Sofia Barbanera uses Tuscany's old governo method, drying part of the Sangiovese and Merlot for 20 days to concentrate the fruit. She then ages the wine four months in small oak casks, which is where the cocoa and vanilla come from. At 13% it is lighter than it tastes.
Long and spicy, on vanilla, cocoa and a lingering sweetness of dried cherry. Laithwaites describes a lingering spicy finish and Vivino drinkers mention pepper, cinnamon and liquorice.
Laithwaites' premium edition of Saracosa, one of the Italian reds it says its customers love most, rated 4.1 across 10,126 Vivino ratings. The 2021 (4.2) is the best-liked year and the 2024 is already at 4.1 from 196. Italian critic Luca Maroni has given it 98 points across several vintages, Laithwaites says. Drink the 2025 by 2029 with roast beef or a rich pasta dish.
Laithwaites is the only UK shop we track with it. The 2025 costs £20 a bottle, or £16 a bottle in a mixed case of 12 or more; delivery is free on 12 bottles and £7.99 below that. The standard Saracosa costs £12.99 to £14.99.
Four scores out of ten. Saracosa Governo scores highest as an introduction to Tuscan reds, then for food and value at £16 in a dozen, and well for everyday drinking.
Black cherry, cocoa, vanilla and soft tannin at 13%: the smooth, sweet-fruited style most new red-wine drinkers like first. Laithwaites calls Saracosa one of its most-loved Italian reds. This is the premium edition.
Smooth, ripe and oaky with enough Sangiovese acidity for tomato: made for roast beef, ragu, lamb and cheese. Too sweet-fruited for fish, salads and hot dishes.
£20 a bottle, or £16 in a mixed dozen. That buys a Tuscan red rated 4.1 by over 10,000 Vivino drinkers and, Laithwaites says, 98 points from Luca Maroni across several vintages.
At £16 in a mixed dozen and 13% alcohol it is a midweek red for pasta and roasts, though the single-bottle price is £20.
A merchant's premium label with a Toscana IGT badge and Oz Clarke's 'hedonist's heaven' quoted by Laithwaites. Good for a dinner party, not a grand gift.
Governo wines are made to drink young, and Laithwaites gives the 2025 a drink-by date of December 2029. It will soften, not improve.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Toscana denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
The Chianti Consorzio expected Tuscany's 2025 crop to be 10 to 15% down on 2024 but above the five-year average, with good grapes carrying more sugar than in 2024. Governo wines are made to drink young: Laithwaites gives this 2025 a drink-by date of December 2029.
Tuscany's 2025 crop was expected to be 10 to 15% smaller than 2024, the Chianti Consorzio said in August 2025, but still above the five-year average. Grape quality was judged good, with more sugar than in 2024, and reds were due to be picked from mid-September. Laithwaites gives this 2025 a drink-by date of December 2029.
Tuscany's 2025 crop was expected to be 10 to 15% smaller than 2024, the Chianti Consorzio said in August 2025, but still above the five-year average. Grape quality was judged good, with more sugar than in 2024, and reds were due to be picked from mid-September. Laithwaites gives this 2025 a drink-by date of December 2029.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Toscana IGT is the region-wide label that lets a Tuscan producer blend Sangiovese with Merlot and use methods a DOC might not allow. Barbanera's governo wine, with part of its grapes air-dried and four months in small oak, is exactly that kind of wine.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Toscana is in the IGT tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Toscana falls within Tuscany, covering Arezzo · Firenze · Grosseto · Livorno · Lucca · Massa Carrara · Pisa · Pistoia · Prato · Siena.
Winery
Cetona
Wine area
Made at Barbanera, Cetona. Directions
Sofia Barbanera air-dries a portion of the Sangiovese and Merlot for 20 days before the wine is made, Laithwaites says. Drying sheds water and volume, so those grapes give fewer bottles than a normal crop.
Laithwaites gives four months in small oak casks. Small casks cost more per bottle than tanks or big casks, and the wine sits unsold while it ages.
The Chianti Consorzio expected Tuscany's 2025 harvest to come in 10 to 15% below 2024. Less fruit per vine means more vineyard per bottle in this vintage.
At 13% alcohol UK duty is £2.99 a bottle at the February 2026 rate of £30.62 per litre of pure alcohol, and VAT on the £20 Laithwaites price adds £3.33. About £6.30 of every full-price bottle goes to the Treasury.
Saracosa is a Laithwaites label sold direct to its customers, with no wholesaler in between, and Laithwaites' mix-12 pricing brings it to £16. Barbanera itself belongs to the Italian Wine Brands group.
Dishes that go with this wine
A smooth, medium to full-bodied 13% red with ripe, part-dried fruit and sweet oak wants roasts, rich sauces or salty cheese. Laithwaites suggests roast beef or rich pasta; Vivino's experts add lamb, veal, poultry and cured meat.
Beef fat and juices smooth the little tannin this wine has. The black cherry and cocoa from its dried grapes pick up the caramelised edges of a roast. Roast beef is Laithwaites' own suggestion, and beef leads Vivino's list.
Try with: Sunday Roast Beef · Fiorentina steak · Steak and Kidney Pie · Beef wellington · More pairings →
Sangiovese keeps enough acidity for tomato. The ripe, part-dried fruit matches the sweetness of a long-cooked ragu or a baked lasagne. Laithwaites suggests rich pasta dishes.
Try with: Ragu alla bolognese · Lasagna · Pasta alla Norma · Spaghetti alla chitarra · More pairings →
A medium to full-bodied red with soft tannin matches roast lamb or braised veal without overpowering them. Its vanilla note sits well with slow-cooked juices. Lamb and veal are both on Vivino's list.
Try with: Lamb shank · Leg of lamb · Ossobuco alla Milanese · Rack of lamb · More pairings →
Salt in cured meat and hard cheese makes the dried-cherry sweetness of a governo wine taste rounder. The soft tannin never clashes with the fat. Cured meat is on Vivino's list for this wine.
Try with: Gnocco fritto · Frico · Caciocavallo farcito · Cheese board · More pairings →
The sweet spice and cocoa from four months in small oak echo the caramel of roast duck skin. The wine's smoothness suits a game bird's gravy. Poultry is on Vivino's list of matches.
Try with: Roast Duck · Roast Pheasant · Duck breast · More pairings →
Oak and sweet, part-dried fruit turn raw fish metallic and make hot chilli burn hotter. A sharp, sour dish makes the wine taste flat and jammy, and a sweet pudding makes a dry red taste thin. Keep it for the meat course.
Skip with: Oysters · Sashimi · Green curry · Som Tam · Cheesecake · Pairing guide →
This is not a cellar wine. Laithwaites gives the 2025 a drink-by date of 31 December 2029; store it on its side away from heat and open it well before then.
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
Governo wines are made to drink young, and Laithwaites gives the 2025 a drink-by date of December 2029. It will soften, not improve.
£20.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2025, at Laithwaites, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 27 Sep 2026, 02:09 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumSofia Barbanera, fourth-generation winemaker at Barbanera, the family winery founded in 1938 at Cetona in southern Tuscany and now part of the Italian Wine Brands group. Laithwaites sells it as the premium edition of its Saracosa label.
Governo is an old Tuscan method for making a red richer: part of the crop is dried before it goes into the wine. Sofia Barbanera air-dries a portion of the Sangiovese and Merlot for 20 days, which concentrates the fruit, then ages the wine four months in small oak casks.
Sangiovese, Tuscany's main red grape, blended with Merlot. Vivino lists both grapes, and the Toscana IGT label allows the blend.
Black cherry, cocoa and vanilla with sweet spice, smooth and rounded at 13%. Vivino drinkers mention cherry and red fruit most, then oak, vanilla and chocolate, then black cherry and plum; Laithwaites describes intense black cherry and sweet spice with perfect smoothness.
£20 a bottle at Laithwaites, or £16 a bottle when you mix 12 or more. Delivery is free on 12 bottles and £7.99 below that. Laithwaites is the only UK shop we track with it.
Roast beef, rich pasta dishes, lamb, veal, cured meat and hard cheese. Laithwaites suggests roast beef or rich pasta; Vivino's experts add lamb, veal, poultry and cured meat. Avoid raw fish, sour salads and fierce chilli.
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