Under The Super Tuscan Sun

A classic 1999 vintage

by Charles Laverick, cl@tastings.com

The wines of Tuscany are about as hot, if not more so, on the U.S. market than other wines from any of the world's great wine regions. In the context of a weak 1998 vintage and a somewhat overrated 1997 vintage, Super Tuscans from 1999 are looking like a good bet for the cellar. (Insiders Club members click Sign up here)

1997 Revisited
Enough has been written about the Super Tuscans from the 1997 vintage to fill an entire collection of books, but five years on it is now possible to look at 1997 with a bit more perspective. As nearly all Tuscan 97's have been vacuumed from retailer's shelves, it is also useful to look at 1997 in terms of the vintages that are now widely available on the market—1998 and 1999.

I have had the opportunity to revisit a number of '97 Super Tuscans this year and I would have to say that I am not impressed with the development of many highly coveted wines. Given the forward structure of the vintage, perhaps this fact should not some as a surprise, but given the sky-high prices and the continuing hype it is certainly an inconvenient truth for those who came out so strongly as advocates of the vintage very early in the wines development.

The reason is simple enough. The 1997 vintage was freakishly warm and this made for wines with high alcohol levels and, in many instances, lower-than-usual acidity levels. The wines also showed a lot of youthful forward, primary fruit flavors. In sum, it was a New-World- style vintage that was flattering to taste from barrel. Though undeniable attractive in youth, the structure and character of the wines does not bode well for longetivity (although Brunello di Montalcinos are an exception).

Given my experience, I would advise consumers with ’97s in the cellar to consume all but a small handful of the very best wines over the next couple of years. They are not getting any better and since the primary fruit character of the wines is what made them attractive in the first place it would be a pity to let it fade in the cellar. If cellar-worthy Tuscan wines are what you are after, you might be best advised to sell your ’97s and invest the profits in what is without a doubt a more classic, age-worthy Tuscan vintage —1999.

1999: Savvy Buy
The 1999 vintage has been somewhat overlooked in the aftermath of 1997 and that may be a good thing for the savvy consumer. Prices seem to have held since 1997 and in some instances the decreased demand may even make for some more attractive pricing at the retail level. The wines from 1999 show great purity with classic acidity that manifests itself in unusually brilliant colors. The alcohol levels are also well—balanced, making for elegant, concentrated, age-worthy, and sophisticated reds that have the generally reserved and suspect Italian media doing back-flips. The vintage was equally successful for Sangiovese and the French Varietal so common in Super Tuscan blends. When the wines of 1999 are compared side-by-side with the full, early maturing colors of the low acid, high alcohol 1997's, The radical difference in the long-term prospects of the two vintages is easy to discern. To be sure, the wines of 1999 were more difficult to taste from barrel as great wines often are but that is not the points. Great wines are sold in bottle several years after the vintage and often enjoyed after several more years of cellaring. This is where the real world and the wine media can often diverge.

1998: Pick and Choose
Currently some 1998s are still available. 1998 was a less-than-stellar vintage in Tuscany that produced earlier drinking wines clearly lacking the intensity and structure of a great vintage. When choosing among the 1998's that remain on the shelves it is important to choose carefully. In Italy, the 1998 Tuscan vintage is seen as a bit of a flop and with 1999 coming out, it is generally being passed over. Nonetheless, as always in a large and diverse region, some very good wines were made. The tiny Tuscan sub-zone of Bolgheri (Sassicais, Ornellaia, etc...) probably fared best, but again, even here the wines should pale in comparison to 1999. If the price is right, however, there is nothing wrong with picking up a few of the better ’98s for near-to mid-term drinking while waiting for the 1999s to develop in the cellar.

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