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EAT DRINK OFF THE VINE
Italian Superlatives
Nonindigenous grapes continue to enhance the country’s top-tier wines
By Mark Spivak
It all started when Piero Antinori blended some Cabernet into the 1971 vintage of his flagship Chianti Classico to create Tignanello, intentionally violating the archaic Italian wine law. This radical step gave birth to the Super Tuscan revolution and elevated the profile of Italian wine around the world. Today it’s common for international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah to appear in top Italian wines, and the
Super Tuscans are more correctly referred to by the special category they created: IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). Here, we highlight some of the best.
THE BIG THREE: When the supply of Bordeaux coming into Italy dried up during World War II, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta decided to plant his own Cabernet. The wine from those grapes, Sassicaia ($265), was kept for family consumption and not released to the public until 1968, when it instantly became a cult sensation. Solaia ($375), which Piero Antinori created in 1978 from a vineyard adjacent to Sassicaia, is a blend of 75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 percent Cabernet Franc, and 20 percent Sangiovese. Antinori’s younger brother launched Ornellaia ($250) in 1985, and while the exact blend varies, the wine is generally a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, CaberClockwise from bottom left: Piero Antinori; vineyards and net Franc, and Petit Verdot. Ornellaia grapes on Antinori’s Tignanello estate.
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also produces a rare, exotic 100 percent Merlot wine called Masseto ($900). ANOTHER TRIO FROM BOLGHERI: Eugenio Campolmi and Cinzia Merli were pioneers in the region, planting the first vines at Le Macchiole in 1983. The winery is now best known for Paleo Rosso ($110), made from 100 percent Cabernet Franc, and Messorio ($215), composed of 100 percent Merlot. The ubiquitous Piero Antinori understood the area’s importance early on, establishing the Guado al Tasso estate in 1990. Located in the Bolgheri Amphitheater—a plain encircled by rolling hillsides facing the Tyrrhenian Sea—the property has earned raves for its eponymous Guado al Tasso ($125) as well as the small-batch, 100 percent Cabernet Franc Matarocchio ($420). Offerings from Ca’Marcanda, Angelo Gaja’s Bolgheri project founded in 1990, begin with Promis ($45, a Merlot/Syrah/Sangiovese blend) and include Magari ($70, Cabernet Sauvignon/ Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot) and the flagship Ca’Marcanda (an 80/20 blend of Cabernet Sau-
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11/29/21 12:19 PM
