The Not-So-Simple Story of Maremma Toscana Wines
-a patchwork of wine possibilities
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Is it me or did it take you forever to write this piece?
Sigh, it did!
I was in British Columbia last week and ironically wanted to keep my writing simple. I decided to write about the Maremma Toscana wine sub-region because of a wine from Querciabella winery that I particularly enjoyed while in B.C.
But it turns out that the Maremma Toscana sub-region is a little confusing, as it has many other sub-regions within its geographic boundaries.
I think we call those sub-sub-regions here at Shades of Grape.
Okay so check out the image. Focus on the red/plum color with the #17. This outline is Maremma Toscana sub-region. All the other numbers represent other (sub) sub-regions. See how confusing this is!
So how did this come to be?
Let’s start with the Morellino de Scansano “(sub) sub-regions” around the town of Scansano. It is focused on wine made with Sangiovese grape. Morellino is a synonym for Sangiovese and wines from this (sub) sub-regions require a minimum of 85% Sangiovese in their wines.
Okay, let’s cut to the chase - I assume that the featured wine is therefore Sangiovese?
Actually no, and this is the story. The Querciabella ‘Mongrana’ Maremma Toscana is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
You may recall the article on the Bolgheri sub-region, which is not within the Maremma boundary (see map) but rather just to the north. Bolgheri was instrumental at changing the Italian wine scene forever. It started with a wine called Sassicaia which was released to the market in the 1970s. It was one of the first very high-quality commercial wines in Italy to be made from French grapes rather than Italian grapes. These wine pioneers wanted to change how the world perceived Italian wines! They wanted to prove that they could make wines of the same quality as Bordeaux, France, outside of Bordeaux and using Bordeaux grapes!
And wow did they achieve that! This resulted in a 400% boost in “non-Italian” grape plantings in Bolgheri from the 1990s to 2010. Eventually Bolgheri became an official sub-region. This worked as there was no red wine sub-region in Bolgheri at the time, so they could build the sub-region wine laws to accommodate the new wines like Sassicaia.
But what do you do if there are already wine sub-regions with a specific character and style of wine with its respective wine laws to ensure this authenticity?
No clue.
You declassify a wine.
Say what?
Say a producer wants to make a wine that has less than 85% Sangiovese, but it falls in the Morellino de Scansano sub-region. Or they want to include grapes that are not allowed either. They would not be able to use the name Morellino de Scansano on the label as it does not meet the wine law restrictions.
The fallback option is to use a regional name on the label such as the Tuscany (Toscana) region. But this gives us no detail about the wine as Toscana is broad in terms of wine styles.
Ah, I get it! It allows them to label the wine Maremma Toscana to give consumers an idea of where it is from, since they are not producing an actual Morellino di Scansano wine.
Exactly.
To recap, the Maremma Toscana sub-region is in part used to accommodate wines that do not meet the restrictions of some (sub) sub-regions in southwest Tuscany. This is called a declassified wine.
Wait a second, is the term declassified a wine euphemism for crappy wine?
No, some declassified wines are very high quality. It is an option for a producer to produce the best wines for their specific fruit, in a given harvest year. Sometimes declassified wines can also be a great value as they do not have the prestigious or historic sub-region on the label.
It must be said that Maremma Toscana is diverse in terms of soils and climate with vineyards across the slopes of Mount Amiata (the dormant volcano), the Maremma coastline, the Argentario peninsula, and the island of Giglio. This allows for a multitude of styles to be made.
In 1997, Querciabella acquired their Albarese vineyards as shown on this article’s first map. This allowed them to expand their land base beyond their Chianti Classico estate. The Mongrana 2005 was the first wine released from these new lands.
I tasted the Querciabella ‘Mongrana’ Maremma Toscana 2019 in British Columbia, and the 2022 in Calgary. I loved both vintages!
What stood out was how balanced the wine is. Some have defined a balanced wine as one where there is little resistance from the glass to your face! This is definitely the case with the Mongrana.
I hope you find a lack of resistance with the Mongrana too!
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Agricola Querciabella ‘Mongrana’ 2019 from Maremma Toscana, Central Tuscany, Italy
Style: Full body old world red wine
Varieties: 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 25% Merlot
This fresh and bright wine has full smooth, chalky tannins with fruit notes of just ripe red cherry, ripe raspberry, ripe red plum, blueberry, and blackberry. It has the additional complexity of cinnamon, caramel, cocoa, earth, and leather completed by a long finish.
Best pairings: Pasta Bolognese, Pizza, Lasagna, Grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms, Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Pecorino.
Serving Temperature: 16-18 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Ready to drink! Pour and enjoy!
Get ahead of Alberta’s April 1, 2025, wine tax increase!
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If you're in Alberta and want a one-on-one wine curation experience, now’s your chance. These private shopping sessions are becoming increasingly popular, so reach out to book your spot!
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SOURCES:
Confederazione Nazionale dei Consorzi volontari per la tutela delle Denominazioni dei Vini Italiani (2024) Federdoc. Available at: https://www.federdoc.com/ (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
Decanter Staff November 29 and Staff, D. (2024) Maremma Toscana doc - unrivalled terroir on the shores of the Mediterranean, Decanter. Available at: https://www.decanter.com/sponsored/maremma-toscana-doc-unrivalled-terroir-on-the-shores-of-the-mediterranean-517760/ (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
The evolution of Maremma (no date) The evolution of Maremma | Meininger’s International. Available at: https://www.meiningers-international.com/wine/styles-regions/evolution-maremma (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Marinig, E. (2022) Maremma: A wilderness worth exploring, Querciabella. Available at: https://querciabella.com/posts/maremma-querciabella/ (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
Terroir – consorzio vini maremma (No date). Available at: https://www.consorziovinimaremma.it/en/terroir-e-vitigni/ (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
Traveling by the glass (2021) Where the wild things are, the wines of the Maremma Toscana Doc, Traveling By The Glass - Posts by Jeannie Boutelle. Available at: https://travelingbytheglass.com/2021/05/04/where-the-wild-things-are-the-wines-of-the-maremma-toscana-doc/ (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
Your 2025 guide to maremma in tuscany region (no date) WineTourism.com. Available at: https://www.winetourism.com/wine-appellation/maremma/ (Accessed: 17 March 2025).
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Great explanation of a wonderful region. Quite complex what they get up to :)
Well done. Declassifying a wine is a true leap of faith, because it assumes a high level of customer knowledge (especially in Europe, where "explanation" on the label are hard to come by).