The Italian Wine Renaissance; Brunellos and the Super Tuscans
I LOVE wine. It has been an important element in my pursuit of happiness since I attended the Loyola University Rome Center in 1973-1974. I LOVE Italy and have been blessed with the opportunity to return many times since my days as a student. Although my interest and consumption of wine has been broad based (France, USA, Spain, Argentina, Germany, etc), I have a deep seated and rather irrational affection for Italian wines. At times, a purely romantic attachment, rather than a rigorous intellectual judgement. Italian wines have an erratic and uneven history quality wise. Fortunately, the joy I experience in visits to Italy has now been reinforced by dramatic improvement in the wines being produced there. Italy has experienced a wine renaissance in the last 30 years. The elite Italian wines can now stand toe to toe with the best vintages from Bordeaux or Burgundy. Most encouraging has been the development of a new generation of winemakers focused on terroir, advanced farming techniques, organic and biodynamic practices and just an overall commitment to quality. The wine revolution has spread to regions previously associated with low quality wines- eg Sicily, Puglia, Campania, Lazio. All good! I recently shared my thoughts on the explosion of niche wineries from Mt Etna in Sicily, based on my trip there with Vines Global. Today, we focus on Tuscany, specifically my love of Brunello di Montalcino and “Super Tuscan” wines. We have been consuming Tuscan wines for years but a Vines Global trip in October 2023 was an “immersion" type effort and now is a good opportunity to share my observations. It is also timely because we are expecting delivery in late February of our very own Brunello vintage- the 2020 Galahad. See our label above!
A few words about our 2023 visit. We stayed in Pienza, a classic Renaissance village in southern Tuscany. We stayed at “The Townhouse.” We recommend the town and the hotel. Pienza was the brainchild of Pope Pius 2. It is a Unesco Heritage site. The views of the Val D’Orcia valley below are stunning. A mosaic of hills, vineyards, olive groves, a photographer’s bonanza. Pienza is a great walking town with markets, boutiques and excellent restaurants. It is an excellent base to tour the wine regions of Montalcino and Montepulciano. Siena is 90 minutes away. The cathedral in Pienza is impressive and "The Townhouse" has a charismatic owner and a wonderful restaurant- in addition to ultra comfortable Tuscan decorative rooms.
We visited multiple wineries during our visit. We explored several Brunello and Super Tuscan vintages. We had dinner with Frances Mayles, author of “Under the Tuscan Sun.” She was great and her husband was a riot. We did a wine dinner with the proprietor of Casanova di Neri and did blending and tastings at Cupano and La Fiorita wineries. We met with superstar wine consultant Roberto Cipresso. The wine education was intense and rewarding. Let’s drill down on Brunellos and Super Tuscans.
The explosion of quality wine production in Tuscany was a forerunner of the wider Italian wine revolution. Until the 1970’s, most Italian producers focused on low quality, mass produced, cheap wines. Eventually, Italy began to grow economically and the demand for better wines increased - the taste for excellence became a movement. Italian winemakers learned there was a potential lucrative international market for their wines, but recognised they needed to up their game to compete with the French and domestic American production. The first step was to establish “standards” that created regulations which would lead to premier wines. The “DOC” system stated in 1973 and the “DOCG" elite classification was created in the early 80’s. Today, 30% of Italian wine production is DOC or DOCG. Another classification- IGT- was established for wines using less traditional Italian grapes- eg Cabernet Sauvignon. Importers and consumers now rely on these quality benchmarks and the market has been responsive. Quality is recognised and it sells big time. There were 11 Brunello producers in 1960. Today, there are almost 300. 70,000 bottles were produced annually in the 70’s- today it is approaching 4 million bottles a year. The critics love Brunello!
Montalcino is in Southern Tuscany. The Brunello do Montalcino classification is one of Italy’s finest and has consistently received critical claim and commercial international success. It is a true global luxury brand. The terroir in Montalcino is unique and the production requirements to be classified a Brunello under the new standards are crystal clear- and demanding. The Brunellos are 100% Sangiovese grapes- no exception! The DOC established the Brunello standard in 1966 and the DOCG in 1982. The DOCG regulation, reserved for the best wines, requires 4 years of aging with an extra year required for a “Riserva. ” Two years of the aging must be in oak barrels and 4 months of bottle aging is necessary as well. As an example, the 2020 harvest is leading to wines being released this year. The standards are strictly enforced, but investment has flown into the region. Greater resources are devoted to vineyard management and temperature controlled fermentation. There is more single vineyard vintage production. Biodynamic practices are in vogue. The baseline remains excellent- the vineyards are at elevations of 150 to 500 feet above sea level. There is excellent sun exposure. The climate is “gentle Mediterranean” with predictable and manageable temperature variations. The terroir has deep root systems, excellent drainage and a rich mineral quality. The combination of terroir and exacting production techniques produce wines with freshness, earthiness, balanced tannins and high acidity. They taste GREAT! They possess the cherry and leather combo associated with Sangiovese grapes, but they are wines with texture and depth. They age beautifully. The Brunellos are not clones of one another. Grapes from different elevations and different sun exposures produce wines with different characteristics. You will frequently be surprised when you taste multiple Brunellos- they are all unique. I enjoy most of them, but acknowledge there is some variability among producers. Generally, the mantra “You Get What You Pay For” applies to Brunellos. Also, not all vintages are equal so research the critic rating for particular years before ordering at a restaurant.
Super Tuscans are in another category. They are the “disrupters” of the traditional Italian wine culture. They planted new varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and openly adopted vineyard and winery practices employed in Burgundy and Bordeaux. Wow- we can learn from the French- fighting words!! They focus on blends. They are committed to expressing and capturing the essential characteristics of individual vineyards. Most of the vineyards are close to the west coast of Tuscany. Many “old line” Tuscan nobleman wine producers joined the movement early, invested millions, marketed the product aggressively and created a huge high end market internationally, particularly in the USA. The “Super Tuscan” definition has international panache, another global luxury fixture. Similar to the Brunellos, the wine consumer will need to pay a premium to enjoy these wines on a regular basis. They are EXPENSIVE!
I have been privileged to sample a considerable number of Brunellos and Super Tuscans and am happy to share my recommendations. In advance, I guarantee that many producers not on this list also produce great wines so do your own research. Out of a fit of EGO, I introduced this entry with a photo of our Brunello label- GALAHAD- A 2020 DOCG made in conjunction with the Cupano estate. Cupano was founded in the 1980’s by Lionel Cousin and his wife, Ornella. They are a boutique producer with a single minded focus on meticulous grape selection, hand harvesting and low yields. They were an early adapter of certified biodynamic practices and have, in their own words “Burgundian” sensibilities. Wonderful people- great winemakers- an honour to work with them. Galahad is a blend of Sangiovese grapes from different plots the estate- at different elevations. We only made 12 cases so visit us soon! My Winery recommendations follow.
A. BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
1, Cupano- I love them- our vineyard- home of our wine!
2. Il Poggione; historic estate; old vines; traditional approach.
3. Fuligni; consistent; available widely in US at fine Italian restaurants.
4. Banfi; American owned; big dollars investment in facilities; Italians jealous and locals bad mouth, but quality is very high.
5. Biondi- Santi; The “Yankees” of Brunello winemaking- more awards than everyone else- always highly rated by critics.
6. Solera; The “Red Sox” of the region. Great reputation
7. Casanova di Neri; Tenuta di Nuova is awesome. Winemaker is celebrity superstar!
8. Gianfranco Pacenti; elegant and refined; “All In” on biodynamic practices.
9. Salvioni; small production- hard to find, but worth it.
10; Cerbaioni; Snobby, pricey, but great; very small production.
B. SUPER TUSCANS
1. Tenuta San Guido; Sassacaia is the signature wine- world class.
2. Antinori; Solaia and Tignanello- off the charts- quality wise and price wise!
3. Ornellaia; Sticking with our sports analogies, the “Celtics” of Tuscany.
4. Tua Rita; consistently excellent and slightly more affordable.
5. Tenuta Del Ornellaia; Masseto is the kingpin- exquisite.
