Jason Millar, Melania Battiston and Victoria Daskal tasted 78 wines, with 3 Outstanding and 37 Highly recommended
Super Tuscans under £50: Panel tasting scores
78 wines tasted
Outstanding 3
Highly recommended 37
Recommended 26
Commended 12
Learn more about Decanter's blind-tasting process and scoring system.
Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their red Super Tuscan wines, being varietals or blends from any vintage made using Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc or Merlot, and produced under IGTs Toscana, Costa Toscana or Colli della Toscana Centrale, or DOCs Bolgheri or Maremma Toscana
Super Tuscans might be famous for high prices, big scores and bold flavours, but there was a great deal of pleasure and midweek drinkability in this tasting of wines made in part or entirely from French varieties, mainly bottled under the Toscana IGT.
Our higher-scoring wines certainly offered impressive complexity at fair prices; it’s worth noting that about half the wines tasted in all scored 90 points or more, with many in a more refreshing, midweight style than readers might expect on hearing the word ‘Super Tuscan’.
Take, for example, Gaja’s Ca’ Marcanda Promis, Ornellaia’s Le Volte, Tenuta San Guido’s Le Difese and Tua Rita’s Rosso dei Notri – all lovely wines that readers should buy by the dozen, serve at 18°C and enjoy over a few years.
Indeed, the three judges’ main conclusion from the tasting was that most of these were wines likely to be most enjoyable in their youth.
‘There is no set template for a Super Tuscan’
The zesty, digestible 2024s were pure pleasure, and the 2023s showed finesse in many cases.
By contrast, older vintages were less impressive and mostly warranted drinking up. ‘The strongest wines combined freshness with unmistakable Tuscan character and were drinking beautifully without requiring additional ageing,’ observed Victoria Daskal.
There were surprises, too. Given the bad press the grape has had in some quarters, the Merlot-influenced wines from 2024 were the most consistently delightful wines from any variety.
‘They showed a freshness and elegance that I really enjoyed,’ said Melania Battiston.
Our three Outstanding wines – one Cabernet-heavy, one Syrah-driven and one a varietal Cabernet Franc – demonstrate that there is no set template for a SuperTuscan.
These top wines also come from a broad base: a decade-old organic newcomer from a family in the Florentine hills with a sharecropping heritage; an aristocratic, Antinori-founded estate in the Bolgheri orbit; and a Bulgari-backed statement winery in the far southeastern reaches of the province of Siena.
Super Tuscan may mean everything and it may mean nothing, but readers who look at the scores and notes closely will see that even the less expensive wines here still offer some of the smartest buys in Tuscany.
When it comes to food pairing, it might help to focus more on the Super than the Tuscan.
With classic Tuscan food – maybe bistecca alla Fiorentina aside – you’d do better to reach for a Chianti, but these bold young wines would happily accommodate many other cuisines.
That’s not to rule out beef or lamb being your first port of call, but the beef could be Korean bulgogi (pictured) and the lamb rogan josh. Whereas classic Tuscan wines might rely on slow cooking techniques such as braising, these bright fruit-forward wines would have a natural affinity with a barbecue.
Given the widespread presence of Merlot, you might also think of dishes that work particularly well with its velvety smoothness, such as beef Wellington or even a simply cooked fillet steak.
Duck, too, would be enjoyable; not to mention, if we can start thinking about Christmas already, turkey. With their supple tannins, these wines would also be very enjoyable with a cheeseboard.
See all notes and scores from the Super Tuscans under £50 tasting
The judges
SuperTuscans under £50 panel tasting results
Wines were tasted blind
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