As in it’s a miracle this Super-Tuscan wine made it to the States at all. Rumor has it that two shipments mysteriously disappeared off the docks and never made it into the shipping container. But the wine is here now and drinking great. You may have heard of Super-Tuscans and this is your opportunity to try a great example at a reasonable price (in light of the fact that the most well-known of the Super Tuscans, Sassicaia, goes for upwards of $150 a bottle).

But what is a Super-Tuscan? In Italy, wine laws traditionally only allowed certain varieties of grapes, usually indigenous ones, for wines to be granted DOC status. International varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and others were almost never allowed. Years ago in Tuscany, some winemakers rebelled against these restrictions and planted the grapes they felt would make great wine. The wines were made outside the DOC system, caused international sensation and became known as Super-Tuscans. Even the DOC system bent to the power of these fabulous wines – now there’s a DOC especially for these wines grown in the Bolgheri.

Our Borgeri 2007 from Giorgio Meletti Cavallari ($25) is Bolgheri DOC and contains 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 20% Syrah. Loaded with luscious dark red fruits, well integrated sweet oak and firmed up by grippy tannins, the wine goes great with steak and most any type of roasted meat.