Super Tuscan wines can be expensive and, let's face it, with the Euro kicking the Dollar's butt, finding a Super Tuscan that doesn't break the bank can be a challenge. IntoWine.com asked our panel of wine experts to recommend the best Super Tuscan "Value" wines:
A Sangiovese-less Super Tuscan!?!? Specifically I suggest the 2003 Rocca di Montegrossi "Geremia". I know, I know. There’s no Sangiovese in this Super Tuscan! It’s 60/40 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, respectively. And truly, it is a brutish wine, filled with tannin and body and yet there is a substantial amount of finesse. The 2003 vintage was a beauty for Northern Italy, unlike 2002. Buy Rocca di Montegrossi "Geremia"And if we are looking for value in what the Bolghieri coast and satellite appellations are doing with international varieties, well this is a great place to start. For the money (About $30) you can’t find a more solid example of what can the Italians can do with these varieties. Truly an Italian style, you will not find the Bordelaise anywhere in this wine. It is ripe and full-figured and completely worth the price. Where other Super-Tuscans regularly feature triple-digit prices for a single bottle, this little, inexpensive gem is like the Little Engine That Could, and it does. – Ben Spencer is a diploma student with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and an IntoWine Featured Writer.
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Back in the early 1980s, I remember launching, in Canada, for the first time, a delicious and inexpensive wine called Sassicaia. Buy Antinori Chianti Classic ReservaPiero Antinori was marketing his cousin’s wine and came out to the launch in Toronto. Later we launched an even better “value” wine called Solaia. Those were the days! Luckily, it was cheap enough then that I bought several few cases, along with another of my Antinori favorites, Tignanello, all of which I still have in my cellar. Alas, I can’t afford to drink them! The great Supertuscan wines that I used to sell for around $20 are now triple figures on release, so what to fall back on? Well, you know, to me a super Tuscan wine can be interpreted as a delicious Tuscan wine, not necessarily a, one word, Supertuscan. If you believe that, I have always found that Antinori’s Chianti Classico Reserva is a wine that is not only a great value wine but also a wine that ages extremely well. In fact, I still have bottles of the 1967 in my cellar that drink beautifully. OK, if I am going to cheat and avoid suggesting a “value” Supertuscan [one word], I may as well go full steam ahead and say that one of the best Tuscan wineries I’ve tasted in many years happens to be in, of all places, Virginia USA! Barboursville, owned and run by Italians, is described in its catalogue as a piece of Tuscany in Virginia and I have to say I agree. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful and the wines rival any from anywhere in the world. I particularly like the Octagon, a classic Bordeaux blend, but they also make remarkable Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. - Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO, Broadbent Selections, San Francisco
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Buy CampaccioValue and Super Tuscan are not terms that often are thought of together. Many of these wines have long since passed into triple digit pricing. One that I like, that you can still find for around $25 a bottle is from Terrabianca. It is called Campaccio. A blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, it sees a year in oak and a year in bottle before being released. These wines can be drunk on purchase or cellared for 10 years or more. Right now, I find the 97’s and 99’s are really nice. The oak has integrated, the fruit is still vibrant and they drink so well. They have great fruit, red berries with an earthiness that really develops with age. Like many Italian wines, they have a firm backbone of acidity that really makes these wines ideal at the dinner table. 2004, a fantastic vintage in Tuscany, is the current release. I would certainly recommend buying a few, some for now and some to lay down. - Loren Sonkin is an IntoWine.com Featured Contributor and the Founder/Winemaker at Sonkin Cellars.
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Ornellaia. Solaia. Cabernet Sauvigon. These are what most folks think of when mentions the descriptor “Super Tuscan”. However, one of my favorite “Super Tuscans” is in fact quite unorthodox, as it is comprised of a blend of Sangiovese, Alicante, Syrah, and Carignan. La Mozza is the creation of Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali, whose goal is to create unique and elegant wines utilizing Mediterranean varietals grown throughout the region. The 2005 La Mozza “Aragone” Maremma Toscana IGT $39.99 Is a delicious “Super Tuscan” that drinks beautifully with variety of heartier Italian dishes but doesn’t need to include the triple digit price tags of other more famous Super Tuscans. - Mulan Chan, Rhône and French Regional Buyer, K&L Wine Merchants
In a previous article, we examined Brunello’s 100 plus year history . In Italian wine expressions, that is a relatively short period. Nevertheless, Brunello has established itself as one of the premium wines, not only in Tuscany, but also in the entire world. Brunello di Montalcino has an even more brief history in Italy’s wine regulations. Brunello did not become a DOC until 1966 and has only been a DOCG since 1986. Brunello’s DOCG regulations require that 100% Sangiovese grapes be used. The wines are then aged for a minimum of 4 years (5 years for the Riserva). Traditionally, Brunello required a minimum of three years ageing in wood barrels. That has now been relaxed to two years ageing in wood. In addition, four months must be in bottle (six for the Riservas). The finished wine cannot be released for sale until January 1st of the year five years from vintage year. For example, the 2003 Brunello’s could not be released until January of 2008. Geographically, there is a strictly identified zone surrounding the town of Montalcino, in which the Sangiovese grapes used to make Brunello must be grown and the wines must be bottled. So what type of experience should a good Brunello provide? This simple question is controversial at the moment. Traditionally, Brunello, like other Sangiovese wines, is a pale ruby color. The wine is transparent in the glass with lovely perfumed aromas of cherries and floral notes. It has a powerful elegance about it.
There really is little question as to what the two most famous and prestigious wines from Italy are: Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino. That is not to say they are the best wines, but that they have a history of being some of the best wines exported from Italy. The next series of articles will examine Brunellos (for a review on Barolo see the previously posted three part series on this site ). Brunello di Montalcino is a wine made from grapes grown in vineyards surrounding the hilltop town of Montalcino (about 5 miles south of Sienna) in Tuscany.
Some of the great wines in Italy, and the world, hail from Tuscany. Other articles have discussed Super Tuscans , and some of the great wines based on the Sangiovese grape including Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino . In this article, another great Sangiovese based wine is explored: Vin Nobile di Montepulciano. The name of this wine can be confusing. Long ago these wines became the chosen wine of nobility hence the Nobile part of the name.
The idea of a Super Tuscan wine has been around for decades, but they tend to be a higher price point. So in 1993 Carpineto launch they value version, Dogajolo. This wine offers good tannic structure and acidity. This leads to notes of blackberry, black cherry, light blueberry with soft strawberry, pomegranate and huckleberry. These fruits are muted though, not overt and jammy - the fruit is balanced with the oak, acids and tannins so the wine is ideal for food.
OMG. This bottle was opened about 3 hours prior to drinking and decanted about 20 minutes prior (mostly for sediment). I was just blown away. I thought it would be good, even great, but it was amazing. Purple/ruby in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is awesome. Deep with plums, dark cherries, iodine, slight sandalwood and spice, lush earthiness with lush forest floor notes. On the palate, this is fresh and vibrant. Complex, layered and deep. Dark cherries, earthiness, forest floor notes, slight tea with just a slight drying tannin (in a good way). Great acidity. Worked perfectly
