5 Things You Should Know About Italy's Upstart Super Tuscan Wines! 

1. The wayward child of a great old family in the world of fine wines.

Hear the words "Super Tuscan", and what comes into mind would most probably be a sleek, gleaming new sports car or perhaps a new brand of grime-remover. So imagine most people's slack-jawed amazement when they hear it's a fine wine hailing from Italy, or more specifically, Tuscany.

The rise of Super Tuscans began in the 1970s when winemakers in Tuscany were frustrated with the restrictive regulations imposed by the Italian wine authorities. They sought to create wines that better reflected the potential of their vineyards, pushing the boundaries of winemaking by experimenting with different grape combinations, aging techniques, and terroir.

Super Tuscans are a bit of a wildcard in the wine world that are sometimes made in ways that would make wine purists shudder. You see, in Tuscany the initial wine of the highest qualification would be Chianti, and that was exactly what the region would be known for: A lighter-bodied wine that ultimately doesn't have that much depth as compared to other reds.

As Italy's Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) decreed, such wines were to have blends of Sangiovese and indigenous white grapes. Super Tuscan's, however, embraced international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah.

2.  No one really knows what Super Tuscans are, due to the lack of hard-and-fast rules dictating what they should be.

Think about your classic wines, and the definitions attached to each; Merlot is made with merlot grapes in Bordeaux, while your Barolos are to be made with the Nebbiolo grape variety.

But as mentioned, the nature of Super Tuscans are a bit too blurred, and there remains a lack of hard-and-fast rules dictating what it should be. The general consensus is that Super Tuscan to be a wine that hails specifically from Tuscany and is blended with wine grape variations specifically from France.

The first to try this audacious idea is the prestigious Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido, a pure cabernet sauvignon aged in French oak casks. Owner Marchesi Mario Incisa released the first vintage in 1968 after years of experimenting with Bordeaux grapes in Bolgheri during the 1940s.

The saying "the tallest flower gets plucked" kind of fits here. Being revolutionary and different is a good, thing, but doing so in a community that has roots and methods dating back to the crusades might not be great. 

For context, in Italy the DOCG is Italy's government-licensed judgement panel for wines. Categories of wine quality are separated into four sections: DOCG is the highest, DOC the second highest, IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) comes in third and Vino da Tavola (or table wine) is the lowest.

Super Tuscans were rocking the boat, brazenly using French grape varieties and throwing classic mindsets out the window. Falling out of convention by using non-Italian grapes, it was how Super Tuscans were unceremoniously slapped with the lowest quality labelof ‘vino da tavola’.

Once again deviating from the norm, producers brazenly continued to commit to the release of Super Tuscans. Even more audacious producers priced the wines much higher than the DOCG-level wines. 

3. They sure grow up fast!

Super Tuscan wines are celebrated for their exceptional aging potential. The careful blend of grape varieties, combined with meticulous winemaking and aging techniques, contribute to their remarkable evolution over time. 

Super Tuscans take after traditional Bordeaux wine-ageing methods, as opposed to Chainti's signature ageing in Slovenian oak casks. Bordeaux-style aging emphasizes the development of tannins, acidity, and flavor complexity. This is achieved through the spirits interaction with oak casks, which create a more structured wine with greater aging potential.

With Chianti's traditional base grape varietal, but developed in ways unforeseen before the 1970s, Super Tuscan producers have elevated their wines to a new level of quality and sophistication.

4. There are only a few areas in Tuscany that make Super Tuscans, and that number is growing.

The most prominent of such locations is the coastal Bolgheri area, a village in the province of Livorno, Tuscany. The region houses 85 wineries and counting, and is the birthplace of the Masseto, the most expensive Super Tuscan on the market at more than SGD$1.5k a bottle.

Then there's Saffredi, a cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot mix made by Fattoria Il Pupill. Located in the region of Maremma further down south, it helped the area gain a certain amount of fame in the 1990s.

Of course, there's also the Mazzeis. Florentine nobility and one of the founding families in Chianti, their central Tuscan vineyards responsible for the Il Siepi, an equal blend of merlot and sangiovese.

In addition to these regions, there are other areas In Tuscany popping up with their versions of Super Tuscans. To name a few: The Tenuta di Biserno from Bibbona, Monteregio di Massa Marittima from Grosseto and Petrolo Galatrona from Val d’Arno di Sopra. 

5. How does one identify a Super Tuscan?

First things first, check the label for the region – it should be an IGT designation within Tuscany, not a specific DOCG like Chianti Classico. Additionally, Super Tuscans can also have some form of these other labels: DOC Bolgheri, DOC Sassicaia Bolgheri or DOC Maremma.

Since Super Tuscans often use non-Italian-traditional  grapes, look for a blend that might include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Syrah alongside or even instead of, Sangiovese (the dominant grape in Chianti).

The last point may be a little unreliable depending on region, but the price point can be a clue – Super Tuscans tend to be pricier than typical Tuscan wines due to their reputation for high quality. Of course, please ask the front desk if you're not sure! Nothing worse than shelling out for a bottle only to be sorely disappointed...

The Bottom Line: 

Super Tuscans are a bit like what they sound: New, flashy and one-of-a-kind. Like classic whisky blending with a twist, these new offerings are allowing the wine lovers of the world to try new, wacky combinations previously unthought of, while doing so in an elegant yet experimental way. The wine world has long-ingrained methodologies and classifications, and Super Tuscans have come in and rearranged that whole table. The fact that the Super Tuscan evolution has barely started, and no doubt we'll be excited to see what they can come up next!

Lok Bing Hong A budding journalist that loves experiencing new things and telling people's stories. I have 30 seconds of coherence a day. I do not decide when they come. They are not consecutive.