Celebrating the Original Super Tuscans

The Historical Super Tuscans Committee was recently founded to protect and enhance the value of super Tuscans by sharing the history and the vision of the winemakers who created these groundbreaking wines.

- BRUCE SANDERSON

The wines we know today as super Tuscans were originally classified as simple vino da tavola (table wine) because, in the interest of achieving higher quality, they did not conform to the established practices and grape requirements of the region’s DOC and DOCG designations.

Much of the early production of super Tuscans was centered on the region of Chianti Classico. It was here, at San Felice, a small hamlet, and winery in the commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, that Enzo Morganti arrived in 1967. What he found were Sangiovese vines planted in wide rows interspersed with olive trees, with growers aiming for quantity over quality. But Morganti believed in the potential of the grape variety.

He began replanting the vineyards, and in 1968 introduced a wine from 100% Sangiovese called Vigorello. At the time, Chianti Classico was required to be a blend, with the inclusion of white grapes, and a pure Sangiovese wasn’t sanctioned by the DOC regulations. (Chianti Classico didn’t officially became a subzone of Chianti until 1967.) Despite the fact that Vigorello was labeled as a vino da Tavola, the lowest denomination, it was the winery’s most expensive wine.