If we listen closely, the story of the Super Tuscan isn’t about ego or even innovation — it’s about restlessness. About the feeling, familiar to every winemaker, that the land can say more than the rules allow. In the late 1960s and ’70s, a few Tuscan winemakers grew weary of being told how their wines should taste. They planted Cabernet on windy, maritime hillsides, aged Sangiovese in French oak, and released bottles that defied every classification the government could offer. They called them nothing special — just vino da tavola. The rest of the world called them Super.
Half a century later, these once‐rebellious wines have become institutions — aristocrats born from anarchy. But like all dynasties, they’ve grown self-aware. Many of today’s producers are quietly turning their gaze back toward the soil, looking for the freshness and vitality that first inspired the movement. The best among them use Sangiovese not as an obligation, but as a compass — a way to re-find Tuscany amid the noise of fame.
And that, perhaps, is where the tension lies: between the wildness that made these wines legendary and the polish that success demands. The original Super Tuscans broke rules to taste like Tuscany. Some of their descendants now struggle not to taste like the world.
In the glass, you can sense this negotiation — the ripeness of black cherry against the clean salt of the Tyrrhenian breeze, the whisper of cedar and cypress that reminds you you’re still in Italy, no matter how French the barrels. They are wines forever caught between rebellion and refinement, between muscle and memory.
So maybe the question isn’t How super are they? but How Tuscan do they remain? Greatness here isn’t a fixed point — it’s a kind of homecoming, a return to balance after decades of ambition. The evolution of rebellion, it turns out, leads not to dominance, but to grace.
Wines to be tasted:
2023 Tenuta Sette Cieli "Yantra" $41.99
2020 Capezzana Barco Reale di Carmignano $24.99
2022 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia $449.99
Flight 2
2022 Tenuta sette Ponti Crognolo $64.45
2022 Gaja Ca' Marcanda Magari $139.99
2022 Tenuta dell' Ornellaia $384.99
Flight 3
2021 Aia Vecchia Sor Ugo $43.99
2019 Il Molino di Grace Gratius $38.99
2020 Isole e Olena Cepparello $183.99
All prices listed shown are regular retail. Significant discounts offered on all wines at the tasting.
Due to the their highly allocated nature, some wines may change without notice.
You may also like the following events from Waterford Wine & Spirits Delafield:
- This Tuesday, 18th November, 06:00 pm, Olive Oil, Balsamic & Wine Tasting Experience in Delafield
- This Wednesday, 19th November, 06:00 pm, Wine & Design - Fall Floral Workshop with Flora Elements in Delafield
- Next Monday, 24th November, 05:00 pm, Baby Burgundy Festival in Delafield
