Falstaff Magazin International 00/2021

wine / SUPERTUSCANS With

wine / SUPERTUSCANS With its with its Coltassala bottling, Castello di Volpaia, high in the hills above the tiny village of Radda in Chianti, was amongst the first to produce a Supertuscan. < Surrounding the house were some vineyards from which he produced wine. At first, his Montevertine was still labelled as Chianti Classico. But then he fell out with the Consorzio, the powerful association that sets the production rules, because he too wanted to use only red varieties. With the 1977 vintage, Pergole Torte finally debuted – made exclusively from Sangiovese and, of course, labelled as vino da tavola. Just as Tignanello became the first Supertuscan based on Sangiovese and a little Cabernet Sauvignon, Pergole Torte has since been considered the model for all pure Sangiovese wines. By the early 1980s, a tipping PRICE DECLINE AND SOCIETAL CHANGE – THE VITICULTURAL CRISIS OF THE 1970S PROMPTED RADICAL CHANGE. Giovanni Poggiali (o.) and Giuseppe Mazzocolin brought Fèlsina and its Fontalloro to fame. point was reached. A veritable flood of new wines saw the light of day: I Sodi di San Niccolò by Castellare (1977 vintage), Cepparello by Isole e Olena and Sammarco by Castello dei Rampolla (both 1980), Flaccianello by Fontodi, Coltassala by Volpaia, Camartina by Querciabella (all 1981), Cabreo by Rufino (1982) and finally Fontalloro by Fèlsina and Percarlo by San Giusto a Rentennano (both 1983). With these new vini da tavola, Italy now produced red wines for the first time that could “compete with the world“, as Paolo de Marchi of Isole e Olena says. In the following years, there seemed to be no limits to creativity. Every winery produced at least one Supertuscan. The names often followed the well-known models and ended in “-ello“ or “-aia“. Many of these new creations have since quietly disappeared. Nonetheless, the producers of these first-wave Supertuscans are still among the pioneers of modern Italian viticulture and their wines – some of them with cult status – are sought-after across the globe. With the amendment of Italian wine law, these vini da tavola were classified as Toscana IGT from 1995 onwards. In 1996 it became possible to produce Chianti Classico DOCG exclusively from Sangiove- Photos: Filippo Venturi, ANGELO TRANI, Bruno Bruchi Photo, beigestellt 22 falstaff summer 2021

With their Cabreo botting, Tenute Folonari followed the style set by Tignanello. se. Many Supertuscans could have been declared Chianti Classico from that point on. However, in view of the price difference between the best Supertuscans and a Chianti Classico, most producers continued as before. In 2013, another attempt was made to bring these prestigious wines back into the fold with the introduction of the new category Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. Since then, some Supertuscans have actually been labelled as Gran Selezione, such as Coltassala from Volpaia or Sassello from Castello di Verrazzano. Giovanni Manetti of Fontodi, president of the Consorzio Chianti Classico, hopes that more wines will follow. But Renzo Cotarella of Antinori is no fan of the idea. Tignanello, he argues, has become a brand in its own right after 50 years – and it should stay that way. < SUPERTUSCANS The wines are categorised according to the grape varieties they are made from. SANGIOVESE & CABERNET / MERLOT Antinori‘s Tignanello was the model for this style and all follow a similar recipe: predominantly Sangiovese with a little addition of Cabernet or Merlot to lend power and density. Famous wines of this style are: Cabreo (Folonari), Siepi (Fonterutoli) and Camartina (Querciabella). Mr Flaccianello: Giovanni Manetti of Fontodi. Recently he has started using his own, home-made amphorae in his cellar. 100 % SANGIOVESE This style was pioneered by Sergio Manetti at Montevertine with his Pergole Torte bottling. These wines are in that same category: Flaccianello (Fontodi), Percarlo (San Giusto a Rentennano), Fontalloro (Fèlsina) and Cepparello (Isole e Olena). More and more Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines also fall into the category. CABERNET & CO. WITHOUT SANGIOVESE This was pioneered by Sassicaia in Bolgheri and then popularised with Antinori’s Solaia (the latter nonetheless always with a small addition of Sangiovese). This category also includes: d’Alceo (Castello dei Rampolla), Il Pareto (Folonari), Mormoreto (Frescobaldi), Apparita (Castello di Ama). Today, San Felice‘s Vigorello is also made without Sangiovese. Then there are Galatrona (Petrolo), Giorgio Primo (Tenuta La Massa), Oreno (Sette Ponti) and Andrea Franchetti’s wines at Tenuta di Trinoro. summer 2021 falstaff 23