On Sunday, April 10, during Vinitaly, I participated in a tasting with the somewhat lofty title, “Judgement of Verona” (a title that evokes the very famous tasting, “Judgement of Paris,” organized by the late Steven Spurrier in 1976 in which the great wines of Bordeaux were compared with the great wines of California, which came out as resounding winners), conducted by Gabriele Gorelli, the first Italian Master of Wine.
The idea was to compare the Super Tuscans of 16 producers who founded the association “Historical Super Tuscan Committee,” of which Piero Antinori (Tignanello and Solaia) is founder of honor and Paolo Panerai (Domini di Castellare) and Davide Profeti (San Felice), both present at the event, president and vice-president, respectively. The association includes producers with at least one Super Tuscan among their wines, whose rapes come from the Chianti Classico established before 1994 when those wines could only be called “table wines.”
The term Super Tuscan was first used by Master of Wine and journalist Nicolas Belfrage in the mid-1980s in an article that appeared in Decanter magazine. This term later became well known and used as Belfrage identified those wines produced in Tuscany, in the Chianti Classico and Bolgheri areas starting from the late 1960s. They began to have global success, but using so-called international grape varieties or, in Chianti, “pure” Sangiovese did not fall under any appellation at the time and, for this reason, obliged, with all the reputational risks involved, to be labeled as simple table wines. The record is the first two Super Tuscans; both Bordeaux were born in 1968, Sassicaia in Bolgheri and Vigorello in the Chianti Classico area.
The tasting was attended by numerous Master of Wine and representatives of the Italian and international press and critics, each of whom cast a vote on all 16 wines tasted. As explained by Gabriele Gorelli, the objective was not to have a “contest” also because the vintages being tasted ranged from 1990 to 2014. Moreover, the tasting was not blind. Instead, the idea was to evaluate an entire category of wines, which has become a genuine brand, a category, that of Super Tuscans, which, more unique than the rare case in history, was created not by a production specification but by acclamation from international critics. Here are the wines being tasted:
Fonterutoli, Concerto 1990
Castello di Volpaia, Balifico 1993
Badia a Coltibuono, Sangioveto 1999
Castellare, I sodi di San Niccolò 1999
Monsanto, Sangioveto Grosso Fabrizio Bianchi 2001
Brancaia, il Blu 2001
Felsina, Fontalloro 2004
Isole e Olena, Cepparello 2006
Antinori, Tignanello 2007
San Felice, Vigorello 2007
Querciabella, Camartina 2008
Castello di Ama, L’apparita 2009
Albola, Acciaiolo 2009
Riecine, La Gioia 2009
A&G Folonari, Cabreo Il Borgo 2010
Montevertine, Le Pergole Torte 2014
I anticipate the result, at least mine: Promotion with flying colors. All sixteen wines tasted, in my opinion, deserved grades above 90 points. The 90s bottles were still in perfect shape, with a long life ahead, showing all the merits and pleasures that mature wines can bestow. The younger ones, whether from great vintages like 2010 or less fortunate vintages like 2014, showed excellent skills on the part of those who made them interpret grape varieties and vintages for wines that will continue to win palates and challenging markets.
Perhaps the four wines that stuck with me the most were I sodi di San Nicolò 1999 (85 percent Sangioveto and 15 percent Malvasia nera), a majestic wine, still very young, concentrated, and powerful yet fresh and graceful. Tignanello, 2007 (Sangiovese 80 percent, Cabernet Sauvignon 13 percent, Cabernet Franc 7 percent), a spatial, rich, and opulent wine with no edginess, with soft, delicate, and silky tannins and a crescendoing finish. L’Apparita 2009 (Merlot 100%), a wine of out-of-the-ordinary pleasantness, savory and enveloping, with tannins, persuasive and velvety; and Le Pergole Torte 2014 (Sangiovese 100%), an unforgettable wine of rare elegance, with a rich, deep and lively sip and a very long finish.
Let me add: after two years of abstinence, in my opinion, this 54th Vinitaly was a great success, far exceeding eve’s expectations. There was a record number of foreign buyers (25,000, 28 percent of participants, although missing Russians and largely, due to Covid, Chinese buyers). In addition, I sensed a generalized satisfaction on the part of producers who had the opportunity to make new contacts, as well as the chance to reconnect with old ones, as well as to meet customers and enthusiasts in a less chaotic atmosphere than in other editions.
