2017 Muralia Babone Toscana Rosso Tuscany 750 ml

The story of Muralia’s Babone is long and complex, so we’ll cut to the chase: This Super Tuscan value entranced our palates immediately, despite being surrounded by 100-point Chiantis and Brunellos, and we’re confident that it will do the same, whenever it graces your table. 

Gorgeously ripe, with a rich and powerful core of black cherry, raspberry, and spicy anise, Babone is deft and light on its feet—the Muhammad Ali of Super Tuscans, with a $20 price that defies reason. 

We don’t blame you if you’re skeptical—the price sounded too good to be true to us, too. But Muralia bucks the trend in the heart of Maremma, the rugged region Robert Parker famously calls Italy’s “wild-west.” 

Muralia founders Chiara and Stefano Casali abandoned their modern careers in Milan to tame this wild frontier, and have spent the past two decades slowly stealing market share from the region’s luxe wineries with value-driven Super Tuscan blends that over-deliver. As James Suckling puts it, Muralia “Sets out with one mission and delivers the goods.”

In Babone, the duo deviated from the Super Tuscan norm, blending Rhône grapes with Sangiovese, amping up the power of this blend and producing a wine with a striking depth of fruit and gentle structure. Rebelling against the status quo has never tasted so good.

Muralia’s Maremma terroir is actually perfect for the blend: Its vast expanses of land and hot, dry Mediterranean climate—similar to the climate that lets Syrah thrive in the Rhône valley. Coupled with the cooling influence of the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west (the crucial factor in ripening Sangiovese to perfection) allow Muralia to deliver the rare Super Tuscan that combines quality and pedigree with serious value. 

At $20 per bottle, Babone demonstrates with dazzling, red-fruited clarity that Super Tuscans can more than satisfy without the three-figure price tags of icons Ornellaia and Sassicaia.