Tuscany has to be up there as the favourite of all the countries and regions that we have visited on the Waud Wine Club Tour du Vin. It has a stunning climate, amazing culture, great history and most importantly, an incredibly diverse range of wines for many wine lovers to participate in.
Tuscany is now most famous for its Super Tuscan wines with Sassicaia and Ornellaia the standouts that are considered investment grade wines by many. These have a premium price tag, however, can back it up by their global demand. From a region famous for Chianti, with the main grape varietal Sangiovese, the famous Super Tuscan wines replicate a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as the main varietals.
Sassicaia at about £275 per bottle and Ornellaia near the £250 mark are out of most people’s price range for ‘everyday’ drinking. However, do not fear, there are plenty of high-quality options available to you at a more accessible price.
Without leaving the Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia) vineyards, you can try their second and third wines of Guidalberto and Difese, which are more reasonably priced – or check our Le Serre Nuove and Le Volte from Ornellaia, which are equally as good as the wines from their premier neighbours.
Moving onto wines that really excite the imagination, why not try the wines from Tua Rita – where we have the stock Rosso dei Notri at about £20 a bottle. Or the slight gear change up and have the Perlato del Bosco. Two great wines at a fraction of the price of the show-stopping Sassicaia and Ornellaia.
The Allegrini family are incredibly well-positioned in Tuscany – and two of our favourite vineyards include San Polo and Poggio Al Tesoro. San Polo in the Chianti region of Montalcino produces beautiful Brunello wines, that are real eye-openers, where the wines from Poggio al Tesoro make wines similar in style to Sassicaia but also making white wines such as Solosole, that make wines out of 100% Vermentino for example.
If you haven’t been on holiday to Tuscany and you are thinking of giving it a whirl – we could not recommend Tuscany enough – and we are very happy to introduce you to some top gun growers if required.
