The story of the Super-Tuscan pioneers began in 1944, when the noble Mario Incisa della Rocchetta perceived a likeness between the coastal soil of his Tenuta San Guido estate and that of the Graves appellation in Bordeaux. Both were rocky, as the name Graves suggests. With the assistance of Tancredi Biondi Santi he planted cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux’s Château Lafite and began to make the wine that he later christened Sassicaia, or “stony ground.” Sassicaia was introduced to the market in the late sixties following a quarter century of experimentation, the final years of which involved the notable assistance of Piero Antinori’s winemaker, the esteemed Giacomo Tachis. It immediately challenged the first growths and cult wines of the world, becoming the most collected Italian wine and a cellar trophy of aficionados. (IWM is pleased to have the largest allocation of vintage and current release bottlings.
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While Sassicaia constituted the genesis of the movement, Antinori’s Tignanello ignited its soul. In contrast to Mario della Rocchetta, Piero Antinori desired not to recreate a Bordeaux-style claret, but rather, to convey the versatility and finesse of the noble Sangiovese. Drawing upon the consummate skill of Tachis, Antinori realized his conception in the form of the second official Super-Tuscan—Tignanello—which starred Sangiovese, supported by a minor contribution from Cabernet. This constituted the debut crafting of a barrique-aged Sangiovese and the first modern red wine to include a nontraditional varietal. Tignanello was also among the Chianti zone’s initial productions sans white grapes. Antinori began with Tignanello and went on to produce Solaia in 1978 and Guado al Tasso in 1990.
Unfortunately, success wrought abuse and exploitation, perpetrated most drastically via the indiscrimate usage of international varietals, which served to discredit the native Sangiovese. This depreciation wrought a significant backlash, most notably via the efforts of the late winemaker Sergio Manetti and the flagship of his Montevertine estate—Le Pergole Torte—the first single-vineyard, 100% Sangiovese to be classed as a Super-Tuscan.
Founded by Sergio Manetti in 1967 as a hobby, Montevertine has passed far beyond the realm of a casual pastime and into Toscana's upper echelon, given Manetti's devotion to expressing the inherent quality of Sangiovese. As he believed in Sangiovese’s ability to realize a wine of quality on a solo basis, Manetti took issue with the attention lavished on the Super-Tuscan contingent and what he believed was a compromising position for Sangiovese—continued positioning in blends with the international varietals. He believed that the DOC's efforts to cultivate a wine of universal appeal undermined Sangiovese's image, implying that the grape's nature precluded its expression as a single-varietal wine. Upon withdrawing from the consortium in 1981, Manetti undertook production of various bottlings that honored his conception of Sangiovese, validating its performance sans the use of the international set and introducing only minor amounts of Canaiolo and Colorino for his Rosso bottling. Manetti passed away a few years ago, leaving the estate to his son, Martino. While some feared that Martino would alter the profile of the wines, he has wholly adhered to his father’s principles, providing wines that maintain fidelity to Sergio's vision.
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