Producers may also produce the DOC Rosso di Montepulciano as a younger alternative to Vino Nobile. Carmignano rates special mention as a wine singled out for protection by the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1716. Pomino, which was also cited in the decree of 1716, is a high altitude DOC zone with a red that blends Sangiovese with Cabernet and Merlot and a special white which includes Chardonnay and Pinot. Among numerous other DOC reds, Morellino di Scansano, grown in the coastal hills of the Maremma, is strongly on the rise. The production of upscale table wines, which began as a trend in the 1970s, became an essential factor in the general improvement of Tuscan reds.
Cult wines continue to prosper.
Yet Sassicaia, the pure Cabernet that in the 1970s helped convince the world that Italy could make noble reds, now has a DOC of its own under the Bolgheri appellation. Antinori's Sangiovese-Cabernet blend of Tignanello served as the model for Tuscany's new style of red wine aged in small oak barrels or barriques instead of ancient casks. Then came Cabernet-Sangiovese blends and, later, reds from Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Nero. The pride of many a Tuscan winemaker is the rich Vin Santo, which is DOC in many zones around the region. Pressed from partly dried grapes and aged in small wooden barrels, Vin Santo can be an exquisite dessert or aperitif wine.