SUPER TUSCAN 2010 INVESTMENT PARCEL* - £3,255 ALL IN PRICE
(PRICE INCLUSIVE OF MANAGEMENT FEE)

*INDIVIDUAL CASES ALSO AVAILABLE

FOCUS ON: SUPER TUSCAN 2010s

Super-Tuscan wines have been experiencing an increase in demand over the last few years, offering buyers strong scores and value for money. The powerhouse Italian region is currently experiencing strong demand from Asia, Europe and the Americas. James Suckling recently noted that Super Tuscans 'globally lead the way in Fine Italian wine trading' and also stressed that high end wine collectors in Hong Kong and Shanghai are particularly keen on wines such as Tignanello, Ornellaia, Masseto & Sassicaia. This is reflected by Italian wine sales increasing year on year since 2009, with the limited production aiding the mass appeal.

Whilst the start of 2013 saw early strength of Bordeaux performance, the recent disappointment of the 2012 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign has left the market flat for the past couple of months. In fact, it has been the Super-Tuscan wines that have been buoyant in trading throughout the summer and are the best performers this year to date;

Looking more closely at the top performing wines from the region, it is only really the Antinori low production wine; Solaia that has dragged its heels in terms of performance. Below is a graph tracking the 5 year performance of the top wines from the region;

TIGNANELLO 2010 - £500 PER 12

• The flagship wine of Piero Antinori who helped revolutionise the Italian wine scene and in particular the wine making region of Tuscany.

• Best value high quality vintage in recent years with a score of 96 points from Antonio Galloni.

• Global brand power - experiencing strong demand from Asia, Europe and the Americas.

• Highest production but drinks the earliest out of the 3 wines, leading to rapid reduction in supply.

"Antinori's 2010 Tignanello is stunning, as it has been since I started tasting the component wines in 2011. Firm yet sweet, silky tannins form the backbone for this gorgeous, vivid wine. Dark red cherries, plums, cloves, mint and sage inform a Tignanello that impresses for its delineation, nuance and power. Clean, saline notes support the mineral-drenched finish. The 2010 isn't huge, but rather is a vertical wine endowed with tremendous energy and vibrancy. I can't remember a Tignanello with this much crystalline tension and pure energy. Simply put, the 2010 Tignanello is a magnificent, towering wine from Antinori."

Score: 96/100 - Antoni Galloni; Vinousmedia.com (August 2013)
 

SASSICAIA 2010 - £1,030 PER 12

• Best value high quality vintage in recent years with a score of 96 points from Antonio Galloni. (£250 cheaper per case than the 2008 also scored 96 pts).

• The 1990 (90pts) trades @ 2,900 per 12 and going even further back, the 1988 (88pts) trades @ 2,700 per 12 & the exceptional 1985 (100pts) trades @ 14,500 per 12.

• Considered one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines and the only wine from a single estate in Italy to enjoy the privilege of being granted its own DOC (Sassicaia DOC).

"The 2010 Sassicaia is intensely saline, savory and energetic. Rosemary, sage, plums and black cherry notes meld into graphite, crushed rocks and a host of other more mineral-inflected nuances. Beautifully persistent and chiseled in the glass, the 2010 is ultimately all about energy. This is going to be a fascinating vintage to follow."

Score: 96/100 - Antoni Galloni; Vinousmedia.com (August 2013)
 

ORNELLAIA 2010 - £1,300 PER 12

• Worldwide reputation as one of the finest and most expensive Super-Tuscan wines.

• The 2010 vintage marks the 25th Anniversary of the estate. A celebratory logo was exclusively designed for Ornellaia 2010 and silkscreened in gold and ivory.

• High Scores of 97 pts in '09 and '10 with the 2010 vintage widely considered the better of the two across the board.

"One of the highlights of the vintage on the Tuscan coast, the 2010 Ornellaia is dazzling. A tightly wound, powerful wine, the 2010 is going to need a few years in the cellar to show the full breadth of its potential and class. Still, it is impossible to miss the wine's pure pedigree and class. Freshly cut flowers, mocha, tobacco, grilled herbs and plums burst from the glass in this beautifully layered, polished Ornellaia. The 2010 is vivid, nuanced and precise from start to finish. I can't wait to see how it develops over the coming years. Today, the 2010 is all about precision, vibrancy and saline-infused energy. I very much like the way the wine continues to open up in the glass. In 2010 winemaker Axel Heinz increased the Merlot quite a bit in order to give the wine a little more richness, while Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, both challenged by the weather, were used sparingly. The 2010 is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot."

Score: 97/100 - Antoni Galloni; Vinousmedia.com (August 2013)
 

FOCUS ON: 2010 VINTAGE

"In my view, 2010 will go down as one of the great all-time vintages in Tuscany. The wines show beautifully delineated aromatics, punchy fruit and vibrant, mouth-watering acidity, a combination I personally find very appealing, especially at the dinner table."

Antonio Galloni

The 2010 vintage across the board is not only one of the best ever vintages in Tuscany, it is also a vintage that offers fantastic value and will be drinking earlier than most typical 'investment-grade' wines. There is clearly both short and long term merit to the Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Tignanello; see the vintage comparison charts below that outline both the value against recent vintages and against older back vintages;
 

ANTINORI, TENUTA TIGNANELLO (20-30,000 CASES):

The wine which led the way for the Super-Tuscan movement which swept the world before it; the evolution of Tignanello represents a number of historic innovations for Italian wine: the first Sangiovese to be aged in French-style barriques, the first abandonment of the mandatory portion of white grapes in a Tuscan red wine blend and the first wine to adopt the non-native Cabernet Sauvignon. From 1971 to this day, Tignanello is around 85% Sangiovese, with Cabernet varieties making up the remainder. It is a warm, velvety and inviting wine with an opulent palate that often boasts black cherries, spices, vanilla and tobacco, and smooth, silky tannins.


 

TENUTA DELL'ORNELLAIA, ORNELLAIA (12,000 CASES):

Traditionally based heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Merlot and Cabertnet Franc in the blend, the character of Ornellaia varied from vintage to vintage. Emerging in 1985, it experienced a giddy rise in popularlity and became Decanter's 'Wine of the Year' of 1998. From 2006 onwards, the estate introduced a project known as Vendemmia d'Artista, in which an artist is chosen for collaboration with each new vintage, designing packaging for limited edition formats of the wine. These perform very well at auction, historically: a 20th anniversary Salmanazar of Ornellaia 2005 was sold for a little under £21,000 at auction at Christie's New York in 2007. Masculine and closed in its youth in a truly fantastic vintage, this has a rich, buttery confit cherry palate and overall a supple and balance profile. It is nevertheless approachable earlier than the often-austere Sassacaia.


 

TENUTA SAN GUIDO, SASSICAIA (15,000 CASES):

Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia (15,000 cases): With a terroir similar to that of Graves, with gravelly topsoil and loam, the grand vin of Tenuta San Guido is quite reminiscent of Left-Bank Bordeaux on first meeting. Many critics have likened its style to that of the top-quality Margaux estates, though with a fresh and balanced citrus acidity on the finish that reveals its Italian origin. The vineyards from which Sassicaia originates fall into three distinct zones of differing microclimate and altitude, making for a complex wine indeed. Like the top wines of Bordeaux, this toasty, plummy wine is highly concentrated with great ageing potential. The 1985 vintage for example, the most celebrated ever to come from Tenuta San Guido, is currently drinking perfection though with legs to mature for another decade. James Suckling, Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker have all been vocal about their admiration for Sassicaia, with Suckling generous in his praise for recent vintages saying that they are the best to emerge from the estate since the 1980s.


 

CONCLUSION:

Taking a case of each wine will offer investors exposure to three of the key players from what looks set to be one of the best vintages for Super Tuscans. The top brands from this region have far outperformed the more traditional markets for fine wine and seem to be improving in quality year on year, leading to increasing levels of demand.

With a perceived lull in appeal for the Bordeaux Left Bank First Growth staples, and the more sought after Burgundies now going for a considerably higher outlay, the best Super Tuscans have never looked more inexpensive and desirable.

SUPER TUSCAN 2010 INVESTMENT PARCEL* - £3,255 ALL IN PRICE
(INCL. MANAGEMENT FEE)



*individual cases also available
 

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