Winemaker Notes
To describe a wine is always necessary to decipher the landscape of origin, then place it in the environment that generates it to appreciate nature. Villa Donoratico is a very large and complex wine that never falls into banality, showing a character deeply attached to his area of origin. Matured in oak casks, extraordinary in its drinkability and his fidelity to the type that can give way to the sensations of red fruits on the nose, and slightly spicy on the palate with a nice ending note reminiscent of licorice.
Blend: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot.
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The Argentiera estate is situated on the coast of Alta Maremma, about 100 km west of Florence in the DOC appellation of Bolgheri. The estate is part of the historic Tenuta di Donoratico dei Serristori, an influential Florentine family that in 1512 acquired this land from the Medici family. Today this property is owned by Corrado and Marcello Fratini, well known entrepreneurs from Florence, and by Marchese Piero Antinori. The estate is planted with specialized vines all of which have the appellation DOC Bolgheri. The vines have an average age of 4–5 years and are situated on a plateau at an elevation of 150 to 200 meters above sea level, the highest altitude level in Bolgheri. Argentiera’s vineyards, located only 2 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, benefit from breezes that provide consistent ventilation to the vines. They are surrounded by verdant macchia mediterranea, Mediterranean underbrush. Soils of various compositions are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah - international vines very much representative of the Bolgheri area. In fact, here, these vines assume their own character and reach proven elevated quality standards.
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.
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.
