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PREMIUM

SuperTuscans at 50

These superstar wines, created as a reaction against restrictive Chianti Classico rules, took on near-mythical status and began to command very high prices. As the SuperTuscans celebrate their half-centenary, how are they faring today?

Fifty years since their inception, the wines known widely as SuperTuscans represent some of the top expressions of Italian winemaking today.

Produced outside Tuscany’s most reputable denominations, sometimes using grapes not authorised within those DOC or DOCG regions, often – in a wider region well known for the typical large Italian botti – aged in small French barrels, and always having been sold at incredibly high prices, SuperTuscans have faced something of an uphill battle.


Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for six top SuperTuscan top six recent releases


Defying authority

The term SuperTuscan was first coined in the mid-1980s by the English journalist and Master of Wine Nicolas Belfrage and was then adopted by the English and American press.

‘Super’ – literally ‘above’ – referred to their superiority in both concentration and quality over other Tuscan wines at the time.


Taste of the top: Fiordelli’s SuperTuscan top six recent releases


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