2000 Castello del Terriccio Tassinaia

Castello del Terriccio is in Castellina Marittima, in Tuscany, Italy. The estate includes 4,200 acres, though just 150 acres are vineyards. Until only a few years ago the estate was a share cropping enterprise that supported 60 families who grew olives, fruit, grains and other agricultural produces. The first grape vines were planted in the early 1990s, and today the estate produces 350,000 bottles of wine annually. Now part of the international Kobrand portfolio of wine and sprits producers, Castello del Terriccio has won numerous 3 bicchieri awards from Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading wine journal. The estate’s red wines are so-called Super Tuscans, made from Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Merlot and Sangiovese. There are also white wines. The signature wines are the Lupicaia, Tassinaia and Castello del Terriccio bottlings.

Tuscany, or Toscana in Italian, is Italy’s best-known wine region and its most diverse. Historically Sangiovese was the primary grape grown in Tuscany and Chianti was considered the purest expression of Sangiovese. Sangiovese and its many clones are still important, and they are the grapes used for the Tuscan appellations of Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Chianti, Chianti Classico and Carmignano. But in the last 50 years innovative producers, many of them in southwestern Tuscany in the area called Maremma, have also planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The tradition defying producers have blended those varietals with Sangiovese to produce dazzling wines that do not conform to Italy’s appellation regulations. Such wines are called Super Tuscans and cannot be labeled with either of Italy’s highest level quality designations, which are in order of status Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantia, (DOCG), and Denominazione di Origine Controllata, (DOC). (This has not at all hindered the demand for Super Tuscans, some of which are consistently among the world’s most admired and well-reviewed wines.) Tuscany has six DOCG appellations and thirty-four DOCs. Though famous for its red wines, Tuscany also produces whites made primarily from Trebbiano and Vernaccia. There are also many Tuscan Indicazione Geographica Tipica (IGT) wines that are often an innovative blend of traditional and non-traditional grapes. This relatively new appellation status was started in 1992 as an attempt to give an official classification to Italy’s many newer blends that do fit the strict requirements of DOC and DOCG classifications. IGT wines may use the name of the region and varietal on their label or in their name.