Wines of Tuscany

Deceuninck Patrick, Columniste
27 01 2020

Photo : Toscane - Pixabay
Rudi Maes

Italy has an unrivalled diversity of wines. Every year, wine professionals gather in Tuscany for the "Anteprime di Toscane", organised by the various Consorzio. This year, everything takes place from 15 to 22 February 2020 at various locations. Each is the perfect opportunity to make surprising discoveries in this world-leading wine region.

More than two-thirds of Tuscany is made up of hills and mountains, which have created ideal conditions for wine-growing for thousands of years. The great variety of wines reflects the variation of the terroir. Tuscany is made up of two geographical areas: the Tyrrhenian Coast area, which stretches from the province of Livorno, past Grosseto to the border with Lazio, and the Central Hills in the provinces of Florence and Siena. Most of the vineyards in the provinces of Pisa and Lucca are located inland, where the warm, maritime climate produces wines that resemble those of the coast.

Designations of origin
In Italy, the system of designating quality as in other wine regions is both fascinating and complicated. It does not say much about the quality. The highest quality level would be DOC(G) (denominazione de origine controllata e garantita), followed by DOC (denominazione de origini controllata). The reality is more complicated. Around 1960, Tuscany was in a particularly difficult situation. Economic shifts but especially the deterioration of wine quality were at the root of this malaise. In the 1970s, the quest for quality led to a decline in compliance with the criteria for awarding quality. The winegrowers adopted practices from other countries such as California and France such as French grape varieties (like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah and Merlot), temperature-controlled fermentation and the ageing of wines in barriques. An outdated assemblage, as with Chianti with its obligatory proportion of white wine, or the outdated vinification methods as with Brunello were abandoned. Not only that, they also started to create a whole new range of top wines. This is how the "Super Tuscans" came into being during this period.

Super Tuscans
The recovery in the 1970s saw one producer after another coming up with spectacular new wines that did not comply with the rules of quality appellation. The first examples of this new style were the "super Tuscans": the Sassicaia from Bolgheri and the Tignanello from Antinanori. Especially the Tignanello, a cuvée of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon (80-20 ratio), paved the way for other famous wines such as Camartina, Vigorello, Grifi, Balifico, Cabreo, Monte Vertine or Convivio. The "dissidents" were at first forced to label their wines as simple table wine, vino da tavola (VdT), but the "Super Tuscans" were born! At the beginning of the 90s, a special designation of origin (IGT) (Indicatizione Geografica Typica) was created for these wines.

Grape varieties
The star among the indigenous blue varieties is Sangiovese, which forms the basis for Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano. This grape has the remarkable ability to express any terroir and microclimate. As a result, each wine-growing region can distinguish itself in terms of taste and typicity despite the same grape variety. For white grapes, the vernaccia (of San Gimignano) is leading.

Chianti
Tuscany is the home of Chianti wine. For nostalgic-tourist purposes, the wine is also delivered in the well-known basket bottles (fiaschi). The quality of the wine ranges from moderate to very good. North and east of Florence we find all the better areas of Chianti, especially the fresh wines of Chianti Ruffina. The wine is made from 70-100% Sangiovese grapes, with each winemaker adding red grapes such as Canaiolo Nero, Colorino, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and white grapes Malvasia Bianca and Trebbiano toscano.

There are basically two types of Chianti: if there is no further indication on the label, then it is the "annata" or "novello": wines that are released on the market in the year of harvest, usually at the beginning of November. These wines are often characterised by carbonic maceration and are intended to be drunk young.
When the condition of two years of barrel aging and six months of bottle aging are met, the wine may be called "Riserva". It will gain in complexity and aromatic richness with age. The addition of "Superiore" means that the wine has 1% more alcohol than the "ordinary" version.

Chianti Classico
South of Florence stretches the historic Chianti Classico zone with its various microclimates. The star of the Sangiovese grape shines here. This quality wine can be recognised by the typical seal of the Consorzio Chianti Classico with a black cockerel on it. Here we find, among others, a "Super Tuscan" from the famous Antinori family that has been making wine for 26 generations. The grapes come from the Tignanello vineyard in the heart of the Chianti Classico appellation.

Brunello di Montalcino
If Chianti is the most popular wine in Italy, the Brunello is certainly one of the most renowned. Unlike the Chianti, it is only made from a clone of the Sangiovese grosso grapes. The creation of this wine is due to Feruccio Biondi-Santi. Not only did he fill the first bottle officially named brunello di Montalcino in 1888, but he also carefully selected the appropriate grapes for it. Good Brunello is very powerful, is characterised by tannins when young and unfolds a wonderful aroma reminiscent of herbs, game, fennel and wild tobacco after the maturation period. The second wine from this area, which is already good to drink when young, is sold under the name rosso di Montalcino. Last but not least, the sweet Moscadello di Montalcino is bottled here from Muscatel grapes.

Nobile di Montepulciano
Another beautiful high-quality wine, the vino nobile di Montepulciano comes from the picturesque Montepulciano and its surroundings. This is a relatively small town in southern Tuscany, enthroned more than 600 metres above the Chianti valley - famous for its cattle - and above Lake Trasimeno in Umbria. These wines generally have an excellent reputation among connoisseurs and what makes them special, among other things, is that the Vinos Nobiles di Montepulciano spend two to three years in French barrels before being sold. The second wine of the region is, as elsewhere, marketed as "rosso".

Vernaccia di San Gimignano
The region's most important white wine comes from the area around the "Manhattan of Tuscany", the city where 14 medieval town towers still dominate the skyline. Tasty white wines with DOCG status are made here from the Vernaccia grape.

Along the coast - the Maremma area
In the west, in the hills on the Tuscan coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, wine is also grown, and not just any wine. Here they make refined Bordeaux-inspired wines by blending the Sangiovese grape with other grapes.
The Maremma area used to be swamps that were drained under the Mussolini regime. This was followed by the planting of the first vines. This gave rise in 1968 - in the village of Bolgheri - to the first 'Super Tuscan', one of the best red wines in the world, the Sassicaia.
Further south in the province of Grossetto, in and around the village of Scansano in the Maremma region, the Morellino di Scansano DOC is produced. Morellino is the local name for the aforementioned autochthonous grape variety Sangiovese and makes up at least 85% of this wine.

Vin Santo
Truly Tuscan is the Vin Santo (literally 'holy wine'), a wine of raisined grapes that matures in small wooden barrels. Vin Santo is sometimes sweet, slightly sweet or dry, but invariably expensive to make. The better Vin Santo has a DOC, of which there are now more than 10. Malvasia and trebbiano are the most used, but in some areas pinot blanc, pinot gris, chardonnay and sauvignon are allowed. A characteristic conclusion of the Italian meal is eating dry almond biscuits, cantuccini, which are dipped in Vin Santo.

It goes without saying that Tuscany has a lot to offer wine lovers. The variety of its products, its history, the artisanal craftsmanship of many of the local wineries, and the taste of Sangiovese which goes perfectly with meat and game dishes in particular, make Tuscany a leading global wine region with unparalleled possibilities and discoveries.

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