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Home , Antinori, Italian wine, Tignanello (wine), Tuscan wine

Super-Tuscans: One of ’s Great Families by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW

Super-Tuscan are the oddballs in grapes of a producer’s best . hen you think of this triumvirate because they are not a Like all great wines, it’s ageworthy, usu- Italy’s greatest wines, DOCG category—Italy’s highest official ally needing at least ten years from its you think “red.” Yes, category of wine—and they are relatively date to mature, just like W new, having existed for less than three and Brunello. Italy’s white wines are better decades. But in their brief existence, they Another way to define a Super- than ever, but with the possible have definitely helped to establish Italy is by its price; any wine in the realm of great wine. from —other than Brunello di exception of Jermann’s Vintage What is a “Super-Tuscan?” It’s an —that costs over $50 retail Tunina, none have reached the elite, small-production Tuscan wine (and some can go as high as $150 to usually styled for international palates, $200 a bottle, especially in great vin- “great” category yet. Most critics with oaky character from aging in tages) is a Super-Tuscan wine. agree that a short list of Italy’s French barriques, and fairly pro- The principal grape varieties that pro- nounced fruitiness for a European wine. ducers use to make their Super-Tuscan great wines would include the It’s usually a wine that goes by a spe- red wines include various combinations following – and they’re red: cial, proprietary name, and it often con- of , , tains internationally fashionable grape , , and/or ; a • Barolo and varieties, especially Cabernet few producers also include Nera Sauvignon—although some Super- and/or Petite Verdot. The few Super- • Tuscans are made entirely from Tuscan whites that exist are invariably • Super-Tuscans Sangiovese. It’s a wine made from the made from . The Birth of the Manetti of Montevertine and Fabrizio Super-Tuscan Category Bianchi of Monsanto started making red wines that because of their grapes could Whereas Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino not legally be called ; these wines wines date back to the 19th century, Super- were often entirely Sangiovese, and had the Tuscan wines as a category originated in legal status of Vino da Tavola () the late 1970s. The first Super-Tuscan wine, with a geographic indication of Tuscany. Sassicaia, actually was born in 1944, when But it was not until a producer with the the late Marchese Incisa della Rocchetta stature and marketing clout of Piero founded his wine estate, , defied the DOC Chianti regula- outside the coastal town of . At tions—with his 1971 , released in that time, the only world-renowned red 1978—that Super-Tuscan wines gained criti- wines were Burgundy and, especially, cal mass. Suddenly, in the early 1980s, . Incisa della Rocchetta admired scores of other notable Chianti producers Bordeaux wines, and believed that began releasing elite reds. These wines were Bordelais varieties would grow well in the so impressive that the humble designation, warmer, sea-level Tuscan coast rather than Vino da Tavola, became a badge of honor the cooler, hilly, inland Chianti zone. And so for Italian wines. Indeed, some of Italy’s he created Sassicaia, 75 percent Cabernet best wines in the 1980s and early 1990s Sauvignon and 25 percent Cabernet Franc. were Vino da Tavola-designated rather than But the wine wasn’t commercially available DOC or even DOCG. Today, most Super- until 1968, and it wasn’t sold worldwide Tuscans carry the IGT Toscana, Indicazione

The introduction of Super- Tuscan wines was the best thing that happened to the Tuscan wine business in this past generation.

until the early 1980s, when della Geografica Tipica, designation, and a few, Rocchetta’s nephew, Piero Antinori, began such as Sassicaia have DOC status. exporting his uncle’s wines. Today, most Montevertine introduced its Super- of Sassicaia are more than 90 per- Tuscan, Le Pergole Torte (100 percent cent Cabernet Sauvignon, with a small per- Sangiovese), with the 1977 vintage; centage of Cabernet Franc and, lately, a lit- Castello di Rampolla followed with its tle bit of Merlot. Sammarco (80 percent Cabernet, 20 per- If Marchese Incisa della Rocchetta can cent Sangiovese). Piero Antinori’s younger be called the Father of Super-Tuscan wines, brother, Lodovico, founded his own estate certainly Piero Antinori is the Godfather. in Bolgheri, Tenuta dell’, and Antinori’s own first Super-Tuscan , made not one, but two Super-Tuscan Tignanello (80 percent Sangiovese; 20 per- wines: Ornellaia (60 percent Cabernet cent Cabernet Sauvignon) played a big role Sauvignon, 25 to 30 percent Merlot, 10 to in the saga of the Super-Tuscans. Back in 15 percent Cabernet Franc and Petite the early 1970s, Chianti wines had poor Verdot) and Masseto (100 percent Merlot). sales and a poorer image. Many producers Piero Antinori added a second Super- felt hindered by the rigid DOC regulations, Tuscan, Solaia, with the opposite blend of which stipulated that Chianti could contain Tignanello, 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon no more than 70 percent Sangiovese, with a and 20 percent Sangiovese. All of these required minimum of 10 percent white new Super-Tuscan wines, including the varieties ( and Malvasia) and up original Super-Tuscan, Sassicaia, garnered to 20 percent other red varieties such as rave reviews from the wine critics and . Producers such as the late Sergio became sought after by wine collectors. With the new infusion of capital into Tuscany In addition to the wines Lamaione, 100 percent Merlot and the restoration of the region’s reputation, all of already mentioned, here are (Marchesi de’) a sudden Chianti—especially Chianti Classico— some of our other favorite Luce, 50 percent Sangiovese, 50 per- improved in both quality and sales. No small factor red Super-Tuscan wines (list- cent Merlot (Frescobaldi) was that, bowing to pressure from the producers, ed in alphabetical order), Macchiole, 95 percent Sangiovese, 5 authorities altered the DOC regulations several along with their com- percent Cabernet Sauvignon (Le times, now allowing Chianti to be entirely Macchiole) position and the producer: Sangiovese, or even to contain up to 25 percent Il Pareto, 100 percent Cabernet Cabernet Sauvignon. The introduction of Super- Sauvignon (Nozzole) Tuscan wines was the best thing that happened to Cabreo Il Borgo, 80 percent Percarlo, 100 percent Sangiovese the Tuscan wine business in this past generation. Sangiovese, 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon (Ruffino) (San Giusto a Rentennano) And yet Super-Tuscan wines are not popular Prunaio, mainly Sangiovese (Viticcio) among all lovers. Some complain that Ca’Marcanda, 50 percent Merlot, 40 they’re too international in style—that oaky flavors percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 per- Sassello, 100 percent Sangiovese play too big a role—or that international varieties cent Cabernet Franc (Angelo ) (Castello di Verrazano) such as the Cabernets, Merlot, and Syrah dominate Cepparello, 100 percent Sangiovese I Sodi di San Nicolò, Sangiovese, the wines. But even lovers of traditional Italian (Isole e Olena) some Malvasia Nera (Castellare di wines can usually find some Super-Tuscan wine Flaccianello della Pieve, 100 per- Castellina) they like, especially those that are entirely cent Sangiovese (Fontodi) Spargolo, 100 percent Sangiovese Sangiovese and not too oak-influenced, such as Le Fontalloro, 100 percent Sangiovese (Cecchi) Pergole Torte. (Fattoria di Felsina) Summus, 40 percent Sangiovese, 40 Although Super-Tuscan wines can technically Grattamacco, Sangiovese, Malvesia percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 per- come from anywhere in the Tuscan region, in Nera, Cabernet Sauvignon cent Syrah (Castello Banfi) practice most of them are either made by Chianti (Grattamacco) Excelsus, 60 percent Cabernet Classico producers or, increasingly, by producers Guado al Tasso, 60/65 percent Sauvignon, 40 percent Merlot (Banfi) on the Tuscan coast. Some larger producers, such Cabernet Sauvignon, 25/30 percent La Vigna di Alceo, Cabernet as Piero Antinori, make Super-Tuscan wines in Merlot, 10 percent Syrah (Villa Sauvignon, Petite Verdot (Castello dei both locations. Antinori) Rampolla)