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Super Tuscan

(wine regions, tuscany, italy)

by The Wine Guide

Italian Classification System

DOCG: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita - tasted, tested, and sealed with a government label. These wines adhere to very traditional methods of growing.

DOC: Denominazione di Origine Controllata - considered a step down from DOCG, these wines are still classically Italian and may still be of good value but just have not been submitted to the government for a DOCG designation.

IGT: Indicazione Geografica Tipica - Initially reserved for the most basic table wines, IGT has the advantage of no government regulation. IGT wines do not follow classic Italian wine styles and thus cannot get DOC or DOCG approval. However it is here that you can find Super Tuscans and some very fine, if not authentically Italian wines.

Vino de Tavola: Table wines for every day drinking.

Principal grapes: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Style: Rich, Dark, Powerful
Noteworthy: A Super Tuscan labeled simply "Table Wine" can fetch thousands of dollars.
Best Vintages: 2000, 1999, 1997, 1990, 1988, 1985.

Super Tuscans

What is a Super Tuscan? A wine with a secret alter ego? Well.. no, Super Tuscans describe wines made in Tuscany that do not adhere to traditional Italian wine making regulations. It all began back in the 1970s when Piero Antinori, a man with 600 years of family wine making history behind him, decided that he didn't want to add Trebbiano, a white grape traditionally blended into Chianti Classico, into his red wine. He felt that the white Trebbiano watered down his reds and resulted in an inferior product. Instead he produced a Tuscan made of 100% Sangiovese, and named it Tignanello, after his vineyard. Thus the Super Tuscan was born.

Without the Trebbiano this wine did not follow Italian wine making regulations, however and so when it was given over to the Italian regulating committee it was classified as Vino de Tavola, or "Table Wine". Vino de Tavola is a classification that usually reserved for the most basic, unimpressive wines; the kind you use in cooking or give to unwelcome guests.

Despite the lowly classification Piero's Super Tuscan gained a widespread cult following and soon other producers began to make distinctly non-Italian wines, blending French grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, with traditional Italian grapes like Sangiovesse. Some producers had the gall to make wines with no Italian grapes in them at all! The government, in response to the popularity of these anamolies created the IGT, a class between "vino de tavola" and DOCG to bring Super Tuscans "back into the fold" so to speak. Don't mistake these wines for simple table wines however; Super Hero flavor lies inside.

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