Super Tuscan Advice for 2020 season

[Mac60]

I'm planning do another Super Tuscan this year, I'm looking for some advice from those of you who have blended grapes using Sangiovese & Cab. What % of blend in the mix?
For the last few seasons I have been making with 3 grapes.
62% Sangiovese Brunello
34% Cabernet Sauvignon
4% Alicante
I'm thinking about substituting the Alicante my main reason for using it was the color, it seems to add a nice deep color to the wine.
My idea was to use either Petite Verdot or Petite Syrah, are these as deep/dark as Alicante?
Also was thinking about adding some Cab Franc?
Would love your input.. Thanks
Mike.

 

[kevinlfifer]

I emulated a Super T with 75% Cab Sav juice, 25% Sangiovese juice and 4 lugs merlot grapes. I toast my own oak. Turned out good enough to claim BIS in our county fair. Not the same as a CA fair. Plenty dark enough with the merlot grapes.

 

[jgmann67]

I agree - Merlot is something to consider. I’m also thinking about a ST blend this fall. I might do a field blend a see what the wine gods give me (if not with all three, I might do the cab/Merlot together and blend the sangio after a year in bulk).

 

[pgentile]

I like your sangio to cab ratio. Petite Verdot or Petite Syrah are good for this, inky in color like Alicante. Alicante can make a good wine on it's own, I used it to blend and stand alone this past year. But like the other two better. My opinion cab franc would be better if you wanted to replace the sangio.

 

[CDrew]

No advice, just some comments as I really like this style of wine.

I like the "no rules" part of it. Super Tuscans are French Bordeaux varieties hijacked to, then grown in, Italy, and then blended with the local Sangiovese. That idea got hijacked to California where just about any amount of Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot, Carmenere, and Syrah(a Rhone!) can be tossed into a blend and called a "Super Tuscan" though no one actually calls it that! So if you find a California one, it's always a crap shoot exactly what you get, but they tend to be good and good with food. I had one recently called "Sottovocce" or something like that that was terrific.

I think the Sangiovese makes a very pleasing wine with food, so if I were to do this, I'd probably try to emphasize the Sangiovese like @Mac60, with the others for added flavor and color. Petite Sirah is plenty dark for color if that's what you want but the Syrah is just as dark and more traditional at least in California. But there are no rules, especially for home wine makers!

 

[Donz]

My 2016 was 40% Cab 30% Merlot 30% Sangiovese. It was probably one of the best wines I have made to date.

2019 I did 40% Cab 40% Sangiovese 20% Merlot. Still young and need for improvement.

 

[kevinlfifer]

Forgot to disclose the volume It was a 50+ gal batch so 36 gal Cab Sav, 12 gal Sangiovese, 4 lugs merlot (8 gal)

I emulated a Super T with 75% Cab Sav juice, 25% Sangiovese juice and 4 lugs merlot grapes. I toast my own oak. Turned out good enough to claim BIS in our county fair. Not the same as a CA fair. Plenty dark enough with the merlot grapes.

 

[Ajmassa]

I'm thinking about substituting the Alicante my main reason for using it was the color, it seems to add a nice deep color to the wine.
My idea was to use either Petite Verdot or Petite Syrah, are these as deep/dark as Alicante?
Also was thinking about adding some Cab Franc?
Would love your input.. Thanks
Mike.

A few months before 2017 harvest I exclusively drank commercial ST’s taking note of my preferences and their ratios. I found that I preferred a blend w/ sangio as the lions share. And barrel aged > steel tank.
My blend was 50% Sangiovese and 25% ea. Merlot/Cabernet. What I did NOT account for was just how light the sangio grapes actually were. Noticeable right away at crush. In hindsight I should have changed the ratio or added a PV/PS/Alicante like you’re doing.
I’m very familiar w/ Alicante. I’d say that’s the safe play. Crazy dark yet very little tannin & ‘umph’ so you’re able to darken w/o altering the taste profile.
And even tho I have zero personal experience with PS/PS— I’d use instead of Alicante in hopes of adding a touch of muscle to the blend aside from just color.

*and regarding CF— hell yes! Because....well why not? Adding some franc (or merlot) just makes it a more fun blend imo. And Super Tuscans are meant to be fun! So go big!
Sangiovese, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Petite Sirah. Lock it in!

 

[cmason1957]

I think I have come up with my blend for a Super Tuscan. Provided you can call it that. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, and since the place I am getting juice (no grapes available) doesn't have and Sangiovese, Carmenere. Probably doing a big Field blend, but might do them all seperate and blend, who knows.

 

[crushday]

This is some information I was reading this evening from the brehmvineyards.com site on Super Tuscan blends:

Super Tuscan Style – 2 pails #1817 Cabernet Franc and 1 pail #1818 Sangiovese: Sangiovese has proven to be a wonderful companion for Bordeaux varietals. This Tuscan inspired grape combination blends and enhances each other. Prepare the must for fermentation by adding to the 3 pails: 1.8 liters of pure water, 64 grams/2.3 oz. of tartaric acid, and yeast nutrient once fermentation begins, and again at 17° brix.

 

[NorCal]

I’ve grown to like Petit Verdot over Petite Sirah as that ”spice” to add color and a nice back end. For the grapes I get, the PV is way less tannic and seems to be in the background, where PS will fight for the dominant flavor when added in amounts greater than 5-7%. Just my experience and I’ve been adding PS to my Cab Franc almost every season. This last year my Cab Franc has no PS, but 4% PV

 

[tullamore]

i agree with CDrew - there are no rules - no right or wrong when it comes to the super tuscan wines
this all came to be in the 70's when italian wine makers were frustrated with the strict wine laws that couldn't make them be more creative by adding other varieties to their wine - like merlot, cab save, sirah, etc... -then in the early 90's came the creation of IGT a designation that gave the wine makers the go ahead to be more creative
my super tuscan is this - 50% sanjov, 20% cab sav,10% merlot, 5 %cab franc, 5% sirah - all co fermented - when finished i drop in - my ace in the hole - petit sirah
there is no such thing as a bad wine - just some are better than others - lol!
unless its oxidized -then that's bad