Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red color with a nose expressing complex cherry, plum, and spice tones on a backbone of leather, black pepper, and almonds. Mint and eucalyptus sponsor the spice tones coming from perfect Cabernet Franc vines while sweet tobacco leaf notes offer depth supported by vanilla and toffee oak notes.
Blend: 48% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Rich aromas of currants and plums with chocolate and walnut undertones. Full-bodied and chewy with layers of tannins. It’s a big wine and very juicy with a polished and long finish. Needs five to six years to soften. Best after 2027.
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Wine Spectator
A dark, brooding red, yet also smooth and complex, revealing black currant, blackberry, plum, loam and sweet spice flavors. Beautifully balanced and fluid, with a long, detailed aftertaste that flexes the tannins. Impressive. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2040.
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Decanter
‘The weather during summer was regular and dry, without excessively high temperatures and only a thunderstorm by the end of August that brought 40mm of rain, which became fundamental for the final stage of grape maturation. Waiting for the perfect polyphenolic maturity of the reds led to harvesting abundant Merlot grapes endowed with remarkable fruit,’ commented Leonardo Raspini, managing director of the estate. Argentiera typically shines for its reddish fruit in this hilly southern part of Bolgheri, and here we have an intensity of red fruits, mostly cherry, which dominates the notes along with a floral touch. The style is juicy with refined, velvety tannins, zesty acidity, and a polished, elegant palate impression. The use of oak is balanced, with a soft toastiness and restrained tobacco aftertaste. Still tight at the moment, this will need bottle ageing to soften it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Argentiera 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Argentiera is not as profound or long as we've seen in recent past vintages, yet this remains a proud and careful hot-vintage expression of 48% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. The fruit intensity starts off with a bang, and the wine revs high into sixth gear for the first few moments. However, the experience is just a bit shorter overall. You might want to give it more time in bottle.
Rating: 94+
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in 1940s on his San Guido estate, and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia. Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bogheri DOC appellation.