In the 1970s a handful of Tuscan aristocrats decided to break their own country’s wine laws — and made wines so good that Italy eventually rewrote the rules around them.
There is a version of the Tuscan dream that is all cypress trees and golden light, and it is real. But behind the postcard lies one of the great rebellions in wine history — the moment a few visionaries in Tuscany defied their own appellation laws and, in doing so, dragged Italian wine into the modern world. They are called the Super Tuscans.[1]
The rebels of Bolgheri and Chianti
The story begins on the Tuscan coast at Bolgheri, where the Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta had planted Bordeaux’s Cabernet Sauvignon — not the local Sangiovese — on his estate. His wine, Sassicaia, reached the market with the 1968 vintage and stunned tasters: a Tuscan wine that drank like a great Bordeaux.[1] Inland, in Chianti, Marchese Piero Antinori followed in 1971 with Tignanello — Sangiovese blended with Cabernet, aged in French oak barriques, and, scandalously, made with no white grapes at all, in open defiance of the Chianti recipe of the day.[1]
The great paradox
Because these wines broke the DOC rules — wrong grapes, wrong blends, wrong methods — the law could only classify them as vino da tavola, humble “table wine,” the lowest category of all.[1] And yet they sold for more than the celebrated DOCG wines around them. The English-speaking wine press coined a nickname for these gloriously illegal bottles: Super Tuscans. The paradox was impossible to ignore — some of the finest, most expensive wines in Italy wore the label of its cheapest.
The best wines in Tuscany were, on paper, its worst. The law had no choice but to change.
How the rebellion rewrote the law
Italy blinked first. In 1992 a new legal category, IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), was created — a respectable classification that finally gave the Super Tuscans a home above table wine.[2] Two years later, the pioneer itself was honored with its own appellation, the Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC (1994) — the only single estate in Italy with a DOC to its own name.[1] The rebels had won.
| What they are | Top Tuscan wines made outside the old DOC rules[1] |
|---|---|
| Pioneers | Sassicaia (1968) and Tignanello (1971)[1] |
| The twist | Often used Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet, Merlot)[1] |
| The paradox | World-class wines legally labeled “table wine”[1] |
| The fix | IGT category (1992); Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC (1994)[2] |
The dream, and how to taste it
This is what makes the Tuscan dream more than scenery: it is a living, arguing, evolving wine culture, where tradition and rebellion sit at the same table. To follow the older thread, read the history of Tuscan wine and its classic reds — Brunello and Vino Nobile. To taste the whole story in person, our Italy wine tour goes to the source.
Related reading: the history of Tuscan wine · Brunello di Montalcino · the wines of Bordeaux · the Wine History Timeline
Frequently asked questions
What is a Super Tuscan wine?
A high-quality Tuscan wine made outside the traditional DOC rules — often using Bordeaux grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, or Sangiovese in unconventional blends. The first were Sassicaia (1968) and Tignanello (1971).
Why were Super Tuscans once called “table wine”?
Because they broke the appellation rules, the law could only classify them as vino da tavola — the lowest tier — even though they were among Italy’s finest. Italy created the IGT category in 1992 to give them a proper classification.
Sources
- “Super Tuscan” (Sassicaia’s 1968 release at Bolgheri using Cabernet Sauvignon; Tignanello 1971 by Antinori; wines classed as vino da tavola despite premium prices; the “Super Tuscan” nickname; Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC 1994), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Tuscan
- “Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT)” (Italian wine classification created in 1992 to accommodate quality wines outside the DOC rules, including the Super Tuscans), Italian Wine Central. italianwinecentral.com
Want to read more?
Books we drew on and recommend for going deeper on wine history.
9000 Years of Wine: A World HistoryRod Phillips
The World Atlas of WineHugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson
Cork DorkBianca BoskerAs an Amazon Associate, Wine History Tours earns from qualifying purchases. This supports our research at no extra cost to you.
