“Tuscany wouldn’t be what it is today without the super Tuscan,” : Marchese Piero Antinori.
A bucolic landscape of green
buttes spotted with cypress trees and ancient hill towns with names like Radda,
Castellina, Gaiole and Greve. In and around these towns are vineyards growing
the famous Sangiovese grape, along with other native varieties such as
Canaiolo, Colorino and Ciliegiolo. This is not only where the story of Chianti
wine begins but also that of the “Super Tuscan.”almost all Super-Tuscans can be assigned to one
of four categories:
- 100
percent Sangiovese wines
- Sangiovese
blends
- Merlot-based
wines
- Cabernet
Sauvignon-based wines.
Most of the wine produced
was for local distribution, and not of the highest quality. Outside
of a handful of Brunello producers, the top wines being produced in Tuscany
were Chianti’s. The Chianti’s of that day were cheap and easy to
drink, somewhat rustic wines. Aged the wine in French oak Barrique
(instead of the large Slovenian Casks most Chianti producers of the day were
using). The idea of blending Sangiovese grapes with international grapes
was not new; records show it being done in the 18th century.
Chinati had always been a blend
of the natives grapes of the region. Then along came a man by the name
of Barone Bettino Ricasoli who, after a decade of experimentation, decided that Sangiovese was best
as the majority grape in the blend, as it had more aromatics and vigor,
allowing Canaiolo and other native grapes to play minority roles, adding color
and tannin. The historic Chianti blend we all know was born.
In the 1970s, some Tuscan producers came to believe that the
legal rules governing the production of Chianti were too restrictive. These vintners wanted to make
wine outside of the allowed Chianti zone. They coined the term “super Tuscan”
to distinguish their wines from the inexpensive, low-quality wines that were
associated with the term vino da tavola, or “table wine,” that they were forced to put on the label.
They are among the most
enthralling and diversified wines in Italy, Some people define super Tuscan as
a Tuscan blend made with Cabernet Sauvignon or other international varieties. Others define
it as a wine that breaks ranks with Italy’s strict Denominazione di Origine
Controllata (DOC) quality regime.
Others define it as any expensive wine from Tuscany.
But even with this new DOCG in place
the Super Tuscan idea would not let up, so in 1992, partly in response to this
popularity, the government created yet another acronym, IGT, Indicazione
Geografica Tipica, which was in a way a direct reflection on France’s Vin de
Pays or Country wines. A designation allowing for experimentation, as long as
the grapes came from the area the wine was being made. And so it came to pass
that from then on Super Tuscans were to be dubbed IGT, and most still are to
this day.
There are some of these trailblazers though that have since been
awarded their own DOC, especially in Bolgheri where it is said the first Super
Tuscan was made by Tenuta San Guido called Sassicaia, a blend of mostly
Cabernet Sauvignon. Both Bolgheri and the Sassicaia estate have a received DOC
status.
So to drink a Super Tuscan is to drink a wine made in Tuscany
that uses the IGT label. It doesn’t follow the traditional DOCG rules, but
still uses grapes grown in the Tuscan region.
The truth is super Tuscan is all
those things—and none of those things. A super Tuscan can be a 100
percent expression Sangiovese with absolutely no
international varieties. It can be a DOC wine, and in fact many are, and
it can span any price point from $12 to $275.
Below mentioned are some
affordable “super tuscans”
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