Maremma: Little Known Tuscan Wine Zone
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Celebrated Super Tuscan, noble Brunello di Montalcino, or traditional Chianti Classico are the wines that mostly come to mind to the wine buff when the Italian region of Tuscany is mentioned. This is especially true overseas, in the New World, where the knowledge of Italian wines still sketchy, despite the fact that Italy is the number one wine importer to the US, where it accounts for around 30% of all imported wine (data by Italian Foreign Trade Institute).
There are, however, little known zones which produce excellent, surprising wines. One of such zones is the Maremma, the former brackish countryside in southern Tuscany which was reclaimed in the early part of the last century. The area is characterized by medieval hill towns and villages, the Grosseto plains, and around 160 kilometers of sandy beaches reaching south, toward Ostia and the Roman seashore.
Historically, the Maremma is famous for its butteri, the Tuscan version of the American cowboys who rode on horseback to herd cattle, a tradition kept alive to this day by the Associazione di Butteri d'Alta Maremma (Cowboy's Association from the Upper Maremma). Traditional agricultural products include highly regarded organic beef, goat cheeses, extra virgin olive oil, and honey.
The wines, though, are a more recent staple for the area, and so far have been overshadowed by the many well known regional IGT, DOC and DOCG wines.
In fact, when just 32 years ago, in 1975, the Conti Reggiannini family purchased the Fattoria Coliberto estate in Monteregio, in the Alta Maremma and decided to plant vines in an area that, at the time, was believed to be unfit for viticulture, the neighbors thought that they were in for a historic fiasco. As it turned out, the neighbors were wrong. In fact, in 1994 the estate become the heart of the Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC wine zone. Currently the estate is run by Claudia Reggianini, daughter of the founders, and her husband, Michele Giannini, and produces such gems as the Thesan Riserva DOC, which recently found its way among the best Tuscan wines celebrated by the Tuscan chapter of the AIS (Italian Association of Sommeliers) and found its way among the top positions on the AIS own wine guide, DuemilaVini (TwoThousandWines).
Other wines produced by Fattoria Coliberto in addition to the elegant, harmonious Thesan Riserva DOC, (90% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Franc) include the red Laran and Morello, both 100% Sangiovese, and two whites: Aurora (90% Vermentino, 10% Chardonnay) and Venelle.
Another noteworthy estate in the area is Caliscana, which was born from the love for two renowned wine zones on either side of the pond: California and Tuscany (Cali-scana, from the Italian spelling Toscana). The winery was founded and is owned by Roberto Crea, a world renowned scientist in biotechnology whose name is linked to the discovery of synthetic insulin, which saved thousands of diabetic patients. It is located at the foothill of Capalbio, in the village of Poggetti, in an area which enjoys the daily balmy breezes from the Tyrrhenian sea.
Currently Caliscana produces five red wines –Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Merlot, Occidental (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese, and 10% Merlot), and Polyphemus, a superior wine made with 100% Cab– in addition to a delicious white, Fior Fiore, made with 100% Ansonica, a native Tuscan Maremma vine which thrives particularly in the Capalbio area.
The soil of Maremma is rich in iron, copper, lead, zinc and pyrites, giving the wines a pronounced minerality that northern Tuscan wines often lack. Yet one still tastes the warmth of the Mediterranean sun in these wines, so much so that famous chef, Joseph Bastianich, came up with a new name for the best bottling from this wine zone: "Super Meds.''
These wines are not easy to find in the US, or anywhere outside of Italy, or Tuscany, but the US consumer can purchase them online at Emporio-Italia. The quality/price ratio of the wines mentioned above is decidedly on the side of the consumer, and range from $16.90 for the Fior Fiore Ansonica, to $42.20 for the excellent Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC Thesan Riserva.
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