Region: Toscana
About the Region:
Unquestionably Italy's
most famous wine zone, this region combines its historic foundation
(especially in Chianti) with its drive to enter the next millennium
at the forefront of the wine world (witness the advent of the "Super
Tuscans").
DOC(G)/IGT:
DOCG:
Brunello di Montalcino,
Carmignano,
Chianti,
Chianti Classico,
Vernaccia di San Gimignano,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
DOC: Ansonica Costa dell'Argentario,
Bianco della Valdinievole,
Bianco dell'Empolese,
Bianco di Pitigliano,
Bianco Pisano di San Torpé,
Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia,
Candia dei Colli Apuani,
Capalbio,
Carmignano and Barco Reale di Carmignano,
Colli dell'Etruria Centrale,
Colli di Luni,
Colline Lucchesi,
Cortona,
Elba,
Montecarlo,
Montecucco,
Monteregio di Massa Marittima,
Montescudaio,
Morellino di Scansano,
Moscadello di Montalcino,
Orcia,
Parrina,
Pomino,
Rosso di Montalcino,
Rosso di Montepulciano,
San Gimignano,
Sant'Antimo,
Sovana,
Val d'Arbia,
Val di Cornia,
Valdichiana,
Vin Santo del Chianti,
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico,
Vin Santo di Montepulciano
IGT: Alta Valle della Greve,
Colli della Toscana centrale,
Maremma Toscana,
Toscano or Toscana,
Val di Magra
Grapes:
White
Grapes: Trebbiano, Malvasia, Moscadello, Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Red Grapes: Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo, Colorino, Mammolo,
Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah
*Sangiovese is known in various areas by the following names:
- Montalcino - Brunello or Sangiovese Grosso
- Montepulciano - Prugnolo Gentile
- Chianti Classico - Sangioveto
- Scansano - Morellino
Wines:
Chianti
- ever since the Iron Baron, Bettino Ricasoli, created the official
"recipe" for Chianti back in the mid-1860s, the wine has
undergone many changes. It can be a very bright, simple red (as served
in a straw-covered flask, appropriately named a "fiasco")
or a massive, medium to full-bodied wine with earthy, spicy and violet
notes. Composed mainly of Sangiovese and Canaiolo and/or Cabernet
with occassional traces of the white grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia,
each producer dictates a proprietary style.
Vin Santo - Tuscany's "holy wine," this lush, amber-colored
nectar of the gods is made from passito-style Malvasia and Trebbiano
grapes. It can be either dry or sweet, but it always follows a meal,
served with the local almond biscuits. The wine generally exhibits
a nutty overtone, complimented by rich apricot and dried fruit notes.
Carmignano - a red wine very similar in style and grape composition
to Chianti, this was the first Tuscan red allowed to use Cabernet
in the blend (up to 10%).
Vernaccia di San Gimignano - a white wine made from the Vernaccia
grape. The wine's renown actually lies in the town's towers, and rarely
in the simple, clean, light floral and fruity notes of the wine.
Brunello di Montalcino - considered Italy's most powerful
red, this thoroughbred is produced with the Sangiovese Grosso grape
that Ferruccio Biondi Santi isolated in his "Il Greppo"
vineyard back in the 1880s. By law, the wine must age in cask 3½
years, leaving the wine rich in tannin and secondary aromas and virtually
inaccessible in its youth. The recent introduction of "Rosso
di Montalcino" allows for a wine of similar pedigree but with
less time in oak, forcing the fruit notes to the forefront.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano - similar to Chianti, here Sangiovese
is called Prugnolo Gentile. With the addition of Mammolo to the blend,
the wine reveals a medium body and effusive notes of violets, spice
and earth. "Rosso di Montepulciano" is a younger version,
with loads of primary fruit.
Morellino di Scansano - from the Maremma, the Sangiovese clone
called Morellino produces a medium bodied red with rich fruit overtones.
Relatively unknown, this red is making strong inroads.
IGT - a catch-all category that has risen to new heights in Tuscany
with such inspired creations as the now- famous Super Tuscans,
such as:
- Tignanello - 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet
- Sassicaia - 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc
- Solaia - 80% Cabernet, 20% Sangiovese
