WHILE WAITING FOR THE BIG NAMES, HERE IS THE "REST OF THE WINE WORLD", MADE IN TUSCANY: MORELLINO, MAREMMA, COLLINE LUCCHESI, CARMIGNANO, VALDARNO DI SOPRA, PITIGLIANO, MONTECUCCO, VAL DI CORNIA, ELBA, ORCIA AND CORTONA IN WINENEWS’ 15 BEST TASTINGS

The usual marathon of Tuscan wines, starting with the smaller and/or less structured denominations, has begun in Florence with "Buy Wine" and Previews of Tuscany, the event organized by the Tuscan Region, anticipating the week when the leading Tuscan denominations present their new vintages and wines ready to go on the market (Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Nobile di Montepulciano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano).

There were many good and excellent wines at the tasting tables narrating the other side of Tuscany, the areas not in the Italian wine spotlight that, however, offer interesting and not secondary wines, highlighting Tuscany’s winemaking talent.
These consortia represent smaller areas in terms of hectares of vineyards, which perhaps are not as organized as the so called "big" consortiums, but no doubt they have high level potential and are destined to grow. They are good wines that hold their own on international markets because of their impeccable workmanship, originality and well-defined character.

An appropriate internal organization, which would allow a real preview, is still missing in these consortiums. Consequently, organization among producers is also missing, because it is usually medium to small companies that, for instance, do not own the bottling chain in their wineries and are forced to third party packaging; therefore, they cannot choose to make small consignments intended for such events. In some cases, then, time limits of production regulations on market issue dates do not coincide with the timing of the previews.
However, this year it was possible to build a pretty convincing path of wines for aging and / or about to go onto the market. In other words, the news that wines had not yet gone on the market grew, indicating that the focus on this event has grown and that some organizational obstacles have been overcome.
But let's get to the wines. First of all, we must emphasize the rather significant absence of the Bolgheri Consortium.
There have been, as we said, a great many new wines to choose from and WineNews has compiled a top 15, chosen among from the Consortia of Morellino di Scansano, Montecucco, Cortona, Carmignano, Valdarno di Sopra Consortium, Bianco di Pitigliano and Sovana, Hills Lucca and Maremma Doc, Elba, Orcia and Val di Cornia.

At the Carmignano Wine Consortium tasting table, a special mention goes to the pure Sangiovese "Ugo Contini Bonacossi" 2013 Tenuta Capezzana; an honorable wine with a balanced aromatic profile and a dense and rhythmic taste progression. Carmignano Riserva 2014 Piaggia is an elegant red wine, despite the difficult vintage - pulpy, good, fresh perfume and clean, sometimes only slightly disturbed by a bit of excess oak.
The Cortona Syrah "Il Castagno" 2014 Fabrizio Dionisio wine from Cortona Consortium stands out, even though in this case too, it was a difficult year, with its clean and fresh aromas, vivacious and tasty in the mouth. Orcia "Capitoni" 2013 Marco Capitoni - Podere Sedime of the Consortium Doc Orcia is appreciated for its character and dynamism. Consorzio Vini Colline Lucchesi offered a new wine, "Mille968" 2013 Sardi Giustiniani, Maionchi and Colle di Bordocheo, a Colline Lucchesi Rosso, developed jointly by three companies of the denomination.
It is a wine that has crisp, vivid aromas accompanied by a clean and well-balanced taste. Good news for Bruni Cellar’s Maremma Oltreconfine 2014, at least regarding its entry on the market, but perhaps its most attentive wine lovers might not agree. It has beautiful finesse and elegance with surprising pine traits.
The Consortium of Morellino di Scansano offered three wines not yet on the market: Morellino "Reviresco" 2015 Val di Toro, fragrances of myrtle and juniper, warm and satisfying taste; Morellino di Scansano 2015 Roccapesta, flower and earth scents, tasty and contrasted in the mouth and Morellino Riserva 2014 Alberto Motta, intense and clear aromas with docile and deep taste progression. Montecucco Rosso 2015 Poggio Trevalle is quite remarkable; a totally drinkable solar wine, aromatically accomplished, juicy and dense in the mouth. Elba Bianco 2016 Acquabona has an almost salty taste and a nice, clean smell, recalling the character of its land of origin. The Valdarno di Sopra Consortium has offered "Boggina A" 2015 Petrolo, a Sangiovese worked in amphoras with a beautiful personality and "Borrigiano" 2015 Il Borro in its debut as a wine appellation, characterized by clean taste and lively scents.

Bianco di Pitigliano "The Arches" 2016 Cantina di Pitigliano is very fruity in the mouth with pronounced aromas of flint stone; it is a very drinkable wine and has rocky traces here and there. Last, but not least, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from Val di Cornia "Aldo 917" 2015 by Giomi Zannoni, a powerful but not intrusive red wine with clearly legible aromatic traits and dense and rhythmic taste progression.