Taking the Edge Off Super Tuscans’ Identity Crisis, Plus Napa 2023 Shines On: Weekly Tasting Report

We’re just hitting our stride in our Tuscany tastings this year, with James holding down the fort in Il Borro alongside Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli while they work their way through the latest cache of producer offerings – and take a number of summer tasting trips throughout Western Europe and farther afield.

For those in the Wine World who have argued that Super Tuscans are suffering an identity crisis – if not a market-related one – the latest tastings suggest a measure of caution, according to Aldo. One defining element, he said, has emerged with clarity: the Mediterranean climate, and the unmistakable influence of the sea.

It’s true that a certain model of Super Tuscan wines is under pressure. Brands that never truly established themselves, for one, along with merlot-based wines, whose early-ripening fruit increasingly forces harvests into late August during the hottest vintages. The role of so-called “monster” varieties such as petit verdot has also continued to diminish.

Yet, paradoxically, the warmer the vintages become, the more clearly Tuscany’s Mediterranean climate reveals itself – especially in wines grown along the coast, just a few miles from the sea.

The broader stretch of the Tuscan coastline begins in the north – first at Castellina Marittima and then at Riparbella, straddling the border between the provinces of Pisa and Livorno. These hills are recognizable from afar by the wind turbines that crown their ridgelines. This is a visible reminder of the dry, windswept conditions that make the Mediterranean character of these wines so unmistakable.

Castello del Terriccio is a vast estate, rich in biodiversity shaped by the surrounding Mediterranean scrubland. Remarkably, the property occupies more than half of the municipality’s entire territory, stretching from the Tyrrhenian coast to elevations of nearly 600 meters (about 2,000 feet). It is easy to understand why the vineyards were planted only in the most favorable sites.

Historically, the estate’s flagship wine has been Lupicaia, built around cabernet sauvignon with a small proportion of petit verdot and crafted under the experienced hand of Carlo Ferrini. Vintages such as 2006 and 2010 have achieved cult status among collectors of great Tuscan reds.

Today, however, those celebrated years must make room for another. The Castello del Terriccio Toscana Lupicaia 2021 (98) is a gem of intensity and Mediterranean style, with aromas of underbrush, myrrh, lavender, rosemary, flowers, bramble fruit and hints of leather and cloves. It’s full-bodied and velvety with elegant tannins alongside refreshing acidity, and drinkable now due to its finesse although it’s peak is about 10 years away.

A short drive farther south lies Riparbella, whose higher vineyards conceal scattered pockets of volcanic soil. They lend the wines greater depth and spice, but above all a distinctive personality that sets them apart.

Two estates deserve particular attention here. Caiarossa, conceived according to the principles of ecological architecture and organic and biodynamic farming under the ownership of the Jelgersma family of Chateau Giscours, and Duemani, the project of winemaker Luca d’Attoma, widely regarded as Tuscany’s leading interpreter of Cabernet Franc.

Caiarossa once leaned toward a rich, extracted style. Over the past several vintages, however, the wines have become noticeably more poised and refined, perhaps thanks as well to vineyards that have now reached full maturity. Assisted by the character of the growing season, the Caiarossa Toscana 2023 is a graceful, full-bodied yet restrained wine with aromas of straw, angelica, cloves, bramble fruit and cocoa powder. Its firm structure is well balanced by fruit, and it also has an amazing licorice finish.

The Duemani Cabernet Franc Costa Toscana 2023 (97), meanwhile, is restrained and elegant, showing spicy dried eucalyptus, mint and vibrant, mature bramble fruit with a whiff of cedar. The long, well-woven finish is reminiscent of blond tobacco. Balance and elegance also define the Monteverro Toscana 2023 (98), still on the Tuscan coast but much farther south. Here, too, the wine has clearly benefited from the cooler, lighter 2023 growing season.

Another area that impressed with its combination of grace and power, elegance and depth was Panzano in Chianti, represented by two classic IGT wines. On one side stands the Fontodi Colli della Toscana Centrale Flaccianello della Pieve 2023, and on the other, the equally compelling 2023 Giorgio Prima from La Massa (97).

Meanwhile, Tuscany’s white wines continue to gather momentum, led by the rediscovery of Trebbiano Toscano. One of the finest examples is Luca Sanjust’s Petrolo Trebbiano Toscana Bòggina B 2024 (97), particularly compelling in the delicate 2024 vintage.

James called it “one of Italy’s best whites,” and this shows in its aromas of honeysuckle, lavender, chalk, salt and dried lemons, as well as some apples and orange blossoms. It’s medium-bodied with a racy finish, with gorgeous texture and length.

Shine on, Napa 2023

We also continued our tastings of Napa’s terrific 2023 vintage, which is notable for its outstanding consistency, not to mention being one of the best years of the past decade. Staff Writer and Critic Ryan Montgomery will soon have his report on all the Napa red wines the JamesSuckling.com tasting team has sampled over the past year, which is heavily focused on the 2023 vintage but includes plenty of 2022 and other bottlings.

But right at the top of the list for this week was Tim Mondavi’s 50th anniversary bottling of his Continuum Napa Valley Sage Mountain Vineyard (99 points). The 2023 version shows all the clarity and freshness of the vintage but is still mountainous in nature while capturing the optimal moment at picking. Expect this wine to be celebrated for decades to come. Further down the Vaca Range ridgeline, Dalla Valle once again underscored the pedigree of eastern Oakville with another outstanding cabernet sauvignon, the Dalla Valle Napa Valley Maya 2023 (99).

The MacDonald family, meanwhile, continues to reinforce its reputation as one of Napa Valley’s benchmark producers with the velvety and austere MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Oakville 2023 (99). Graeme MacDonald’s wines remain among the purest expressions of Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, and this wine backs that up to the hilt, with it intense aromas of black fruit, graphite, iodine, bay leaves and crushed stones. It’s simply a legendary wine from one of Napa’s greatest vineyards.

Other highlights among Napa Valley 2023s include an unusually strong set of Louis M. Martini cabernets and two equally outstanding reds from Shafer Vineyards.

The Martini winery has transformed itself in the past three years to focus much more intensely on cabernet sauvignon and Napa Valley, after at least 15 years of producing many more items, from different grape varieties and different appellations.

Their streamlined offerings today are exemplified by a terrific, polished, pure Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Lot No. 1 2023 (98), which is made solely from the Longwood Ranch in southern Napa. Contrasting in style, their Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder 2023 (98) has the intensity of a Pauillac, intricate, firm and laced with fine tannins.

Shafer Vineyards, in the Stags Leap District, has gone through its own transition, with a new owner three years ago and a new CEO this year. Yet winemaker Elias Fernandez is the steady hand on the wheel. He produced two particularly memorable new releases.

“2023 was the longest hang time ever, in my 42 years,” Fernandez said. With that hang time, and by extending the post-fermentation maceration from about 20 days in the past to 45 days in 2023, the Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Stags Leap District Hillside Select 2023 (98) is particularly cool, composed and velvety.

And the Shafer Vineyards Napa Valley Relentless 2023 (98), named for Fernandez’s drive toward perfection, is one of the few Napa syrahs to gain and hold a great reputation. The 2023 bottling reinforces that reputation. It tastes elegant, spicy, meaty and deep without being heavy. 

Check out all the tasting notes below for all the 379 wines we rated over the past week from the United States and Italy. There are lots of excellent cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and chardonnays from the former and some lush merlots, syrahs, trebbianos and of course Super Tuscans from the latter. And stay tuned for our annual Chianti Classico tasting report by Aldo, coming to you next week on JamesSucklling.com.

– Aldo Fiordelli and Jim Gordon contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

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