Super Tuscan Wines- Are you still Super?
No wine conversation is complete without a short discussion on super wines from Tuscany. Still a media darling, these wines gained their importance in the early 70’s and continue to gain a strong fan base even today.
Super Tuscan Wines and their roots are much older than most people know. Right after World War II, a young Horsebreeder named Incisa della Rocchetta moved from his home in Rome to a country estate in San Guido, in Bolgheri. He had developed a good friendship with the Rothschild Family of Bordeaux fame. He had also developed a taste for French wines and loved the French way of life..
Rocchetta wanted to see if he could produce French style wine from his vineyards. He brought some Cabernet Sauvignon seedlings from Gironde and planted them in his vineyards. It took many years for the vines to develop fruit worthy of production. In the 60’s he was persuaded to start another vineyard with the help of his nephew Piero Antinori and a French Enologist named Emile Paynaud. Things started to blossom quickly after that. The first vintage 1968, produced around just 3,000 bottles. His wine was named Sassicaia. Winemaker Giacomo Tachis perfected his winemaking and aging skills and the wine really gained much press by the early 70’s.
After the success of Sassicaia, may other wine makers took notice and started to develop there own versions of the wine. Another Antonori, Lodovico, teamed up with famed Napa enologist Andre Tchelistcheff to produce Ornellaia and Masseto, the latter a blend with more Merlot than Cabernet. Others include Solaia, Tignanello, Guado al Tasso.
I think it is safe to say that wines from this region became better wines as modern winemaking skills and better winemakers infiltrated the area. The influence of non- traditional grape varietals also helped. But the question still remains, are these wines still Super?
All it takes is a sip and you will answer the question right off. Yes! These wines have developed even more during the past decade an now rival some of the great wines of the world in their depth and complexity. Did I mention that these wines are also on the most- sought-after list year after year, and they are not cheap wines either! Expect to pay hundreds of dollars in a restaurant or wine shop for these wines, if you can find them.
It just goes to show you how the evolution of the wine making revolution has produced some great stories and a breadth of new wines for the world to enjoy! Now if we could just start a gasoline revolution…………..
