Maestro
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Joined: 10/4/2007
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quote:
ORIGINAL: cgrimes
Maestro,
As someone who knows and loves Italian wine, what do you think about these Super Tuscans (broad category, I know)? My impression is that they are very well-made somewhat seductive wines but I have trouble putting up the money for them when I would easily spend more on a classified Bordeaux. My hesitancy, I think, is more related to my relative inexperience with these wines (have only ever tried them on the young side), than with any quality deficiencies. Many say they are wines without a sense of place created for the international market. This sounds profound, but I would venture there are only a handful of people who have the ability to distinguish a "sense of place"--the rest are just pontificating.
Well, it depends on how much one values this mistical "sense of place".
Tuscany is a wonderful place to grow vines and make wine. One of the best places on Earth, for that matter. I am more interested in having access to great wines than in the "sense of place", but to be fair to Tuscan producers, I think they deliver both.
Firstly, I think Tuscan wines do have their own terroir which differs significantly from Bordeaux's. It is the same situation with the Napa Valley, for instance. In Napa, producers blend the Bordeaux varieties into some wonderful wines (some people call those wines "Meritage"). They share some of the varietal characteristics of Bordeaux wines, but I do think they have a sense of place imparted by the Napa terroir and by the differences in winemaking. The same is true of the Super-Tuscans.
Furthermore, Tuscany does have its signature varietal, "Sangiovese", and that goes into the blend of many Super-Tuscans. When Sangiovese is in the blend, you get not only the difference in Terroir, but also a significant difference in Varietal character.
And, of course, if you are purist and value the "sense of place" more than anything else, you can always buy Brunello di Montalcino. One sip of a good Brunello and you are transported to the Tuscan hills immediately.
I think many Super-Tuscans do not resemble Bordeaux at all. Take Tignanello, for instance. It has enormous character and "sense of place". (The 2005, for instance, is 80% SANGIOVESE, 15% CABERNET SAUVIGNON, and 5% CABERNET FRANC). I think it is a great wine and a collectible for sure.
Of course there are Super-Tuscans that emulate Bordeaux more closely, like the Ornellaia and the Sassicaia. These wines could, in a blind tasting, be mistaken for Bordeaux -- although I usually spot them to be Tuscan wines. (In a recent blind tasting of 2004 wines from Tuscany I though that the Sassicaia was the ringer, which we knew to be a Meritage from Napa.)
So all in all I think many Super-Tuscans are great wines and I do believe they show their terroir too. And I think they can compete rather well on price/performance with both Claret and Meritage.
As a final disclaimer, though, I have a passion for Brunello, and that wine outnumbers my purchases of SuperTuscans on a 4-1 basis. So maybe I am more of a purist then I thought... 
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