Central Italy Wines

Tuscany is home to three of Italy’s most famous wines: Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and, of course, the Super Tuscans. Read on to find out more about each of these iconic wines... 

Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello is the Italian wine that will most likely appeal to Bordeaux lovers, those that find Barolo’s acidity a little too much, and the very best Brunellos – and there are a few – can sit at the high table in terms of the world’s great wines.

The wine is named after the grape variety that it is made from. Brunello is essentially the same as Sangiovese, Italy’s most planted variety. The variety is relatively thin-skinned and , similarly to Pinot Noir, is particularly sensitive to where it is planted.

As with much of Tuscany, Montalcino is stunningly beautiful. The vine-growing area of Brunello di Montalcino surrounds the hill, or mount, of Montalcino itself, and the view from the top of the hill is stunning.

Compared with Montepulciano to the east and Chianti to the north, Montalcino’s climate is much more Mediterranean: summer is considerably warmer which helps to ripen Sangiovese. Moreover, Montalcino is just 45 or so kilometres from the coast, and the valley of the river Ombrone serves as an air-conditioner: cool breezes coming up the valley not only keep the growing conditions dry and healthy, they also make for cool nights – diurnal temperature changes adding great complexity to the grapes and the wines that come from them. To the north of Montalcino, the valley of the Arbia performs the same task and this combination of warm sunshine and cool breezes plays a considerable role in making Montalcino special. Then it starts getting a little more complex.

A facile but useful method is to divide the estates into those that face roughly south and those that face north. The respective owners of these vineyards make clear arguments for the properties of each, and convincing arguments are made by those that own plots on both sides. Broadly speaking, south-facing vineyards produce the more powerful, masculine wines whilst the estates on the northern slopes produce wines with a little more elegance and finesse. Growers with vines in both parts, such as Gianni Brunelli, have an advantage here and tend to make wines that are more consistent from vintage to vintage. Growers facing north, such as Valdicava or Le Chiuse, tend to do better than their friends in the south in hotter vintages.

So Brunello is clearly more complex than Bordeaux, for instance, though arguably easier than Burgundy. Similarly to Burgundy, the grower is very important: one highly-regarded grower in the region told us that he thought there were around 30 or so growers that achieved “real grower identity” and that would seem about right. Similarly to Piedmont, there is a modern vs traditional angle, which revolves largely around the use of barriques though, as in Piedmont, many growers who embraced French oak in the 1990s are reining in their use of it, and it should be noted that Sangiovese does not stand up to barrique in the same way as Nebbiolo does.

What is also significant is that, despite its greatness, Brunello di Montalcino is a relatively new wine: Brunello was born in the late 19th century (whereas the Cistercian monks were making wine in Burgundy in the 12th century). Moreover, the region has grown significantly and many estates date from the 1980s and 1990s.

Montalcino is, of course, subject to vintage variation though hasn’t had a genuinely poor vintage since 2002. The consensus of opinion is that 2004, 2006 and 2007 are the strongest of the currently available recent vintages and 2010, yet to be released, is a cracker. That said, the variety of terroir in the region is such that there will always be exceptions to the general rule. The most recently available vintage, 2009, is a good one, though its successor will almost invariably overshadow it.

To conclude: there is something clearly very special about Montalcino, perhaps the only region in the world where Sangiovese achieves true greatness.

Tuscany – the SuperTuscans

Along with Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany is home to a stable of wines that have collectively become some of the most famous wines in the world. These are cult wines in the world of fine wine; names like Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Tignanello are now firmly entrenched as some of the greatest wines of Italy.

Born from frustration with the local wine-making regulations, and inspired by the wines, and grape varieties, of Bordeaux, the first of the SuperTuscans came onto the market in the late sixties. The first commercially available vintage of Sassicacaia was 1968 (though it had been made as a family reserve wines since 1948) and Piero Antinori ’s first vintage of Tignanello was 1971.

The success of Sassicaia and Tignanello was clear by the 1980s, and this new breed of wine was born. Most of the wines are based on Bordeaux blends, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot being the key grapes used, and they can be exceptional. Masseto, the 100% Merlot from Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, is Italy’s answer to Pétrus and one of the most sought after wines in the world, and older vintages of Supertuscans have shown that they can age, and improve just as well as the best of Bordeaux.

Other top SuperTuscan wines are Solaia (Antinori), Tua Rit Redigaffi, le Macchiole Messorio and Ugolaia from Lisini.

Tuscany – Chianti

In terms of size and importance Chianti is Italy’s greatest wine region. Chianti is made in the hills between Florence and Siena, primarily from Sangiovese though up to 20% of Canaiolo and other grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot are allowed.

By far the most important wine is Chianti Classico, where good quality is assured thanks to the tightening up of the DOC and DOCG regulations in the 1980s. Chianti Classico Riserva is a further step up in quality, and can be viewed as a more authentic, genuinely Tuscan, alternative to the SuperTuscans.