Italian wine rules can be a cage.
In Tuscany, to be labeled Chianti, you had to follow a formula. For a long time, that formula actually required the inclusion of white grapes in what was supposed to be a red wine.
A group of producers in the 1960s and ’70s looked at those rules and said: this is holding us back. We can make world-class wine if we use the grapes we want — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc. The Bordeaux varieties.
But doing that meant their wines couldn’t carry the prestigious DOCG designation. They’d have to be labeled as simple table wine — Vino da Tavola. Literally the lowest classification in Italy.
They did it anyway. And the wines were extraordinary.
That’s how the Super Tuscans were born. Rebels who chose quality over classification.
Full Italy collector’s guide on the channel.
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