Winemaker Notes
Ventaglio is the first single vineyard on the estate and expresses its peak production in terms of location, soil and climate characteristics and quality of the grapes. Of superior complexity and structure, balanced by its elegance, Ventaglio presents itself as the expressive summa of the Cabernet Franc planted in the Bolgheri area.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Extremely aromatic with pure cabernet franc character with blackcurrants and flowers such as violets and honeysuckle. This is so subtle on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied with superb tannins that are very long and precise. A reference point cabernet franc for the area. 1.5 hectare plot of cabernet franc in the hillsides of Bolgheri surround by natural trees.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Ventaglio pours a reflective red color and offers a very red-fruited profile in the glass. I love its greener herbal notes, which are somewhat pronounced but harken to Loire Valley, and it has bright lift, a floral profile, and notes of redcurrants, graphite, black pepper, and tobacco leaf. The palate is highly elegant and a bit more linear, with fine-grained tannins and a floating feel through the finish. I would be thrilled to drink this wine now or over the coming 15 to 20 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Ventaglio is the vintage hitting the market now. From a cooler growing season, this pure expression of Cabernet Franc is linear and tight with pinpoint focus and layer after layer of deep intensity. The bouquet is fragrant, sweet and savory, all at the same time with enormous length and polished tannins. The bouquet offers red and black cherry, currant, cinnamon and vanilla bean, and there’s a savory floral note with dried rose petal. It’s sweeter on the palate than it is on the nose.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose is all earth tones and metal, like a blacksmith's shop surrounded by a dark wood, as pepper crackles around aromas of stone and wood, but a hint of strawberry provides some levity. That peppery crackle explodes into fireworks on the palate, while enduring earth and berries bring balance. The acid absolutely sparkles around chewy tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Harmonious, this red evokes black currant, blackberry, licorice, iron and cedar flavors. Smooth, with precision balance, vibrant acidity and refined tannins. The extended finish is an enticing mix of dark fruit and fresh herbs, tinged by oak spices. Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032.
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Vinous
The 2018 Ventaglio, the estate’s 100% Cabernet Franc flagship, is a potent, brooding wine. Dark-toned fruit, dried herbs, tobacco, spice and pomegranate are nicely amplified. The Ventaglio is done in a style that emphasizes more extraction than the other wines, but the softness of the vintage has tempered that somewhat.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
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.