Winemaker Notes
Beyond the Viale dei Pini and Villa Serristori, the vineyard traces the border between the summer heat and the fresh breath of the thick vegetation. From sand to stone, the roots of the plants find the right nourishment in the subsoil and guarantee the wine its unique mineral character. A vibrant taste progression that recalls fresh mint and an intriguing note of Mediterranean scrub scents. A wine capable of embedding, in a single taste, the landscape of the Donoratico hills.
Blend: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The deep red/purple 2021 Villa Donoratico displays a flashy and sexy style, with lush aromas of vanilla bean, blackberry liqueur, crushed sage, lavender, and cocoa cascading from the glass. Supple, rounded and inviting, it offers fantastic balance and harmonious structure. It’s a head-turner of a wine from this spectacular vintage, with all the lush fruit you come to expect from this estate as well as an exquisite finish. Give this one some time in the cellar, and the rewards will be high as it moves into its more secondary and tertiary profile with notes of polished leather and Mediterranean herbs. Drink 2026-2040.
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James Suckling
Attractive cabernet-based red with currant and berry aromas and undertones of lead pencil and spice. Herbs. Full-bodied with walnuts, chocolate and fruit. Very fine tannins with a finesse and beauty. Drinkable but better in 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is big wine from a lower denomination that offers good value when compared to the estate's top-shelf releases. The Argentiera 2021 Bolgheri Rosso Villa Donoratico is up front in terms of mouthfeel with lots of immediate intensity delivered to the mid-palate. The wine is articulate and generous with thick layers of black fruit, stewed plum, sweet earth and pressed blackberry. You get everything you want from a Bolgheri Rosso. In fact, you get a wine that tastes more like a Bolgheri Superiore. The blend is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Power and finesse are the hallmarks of the top wines from Bolgheri. The 2021 Argentiera Vino Rosso is a masterful blend of Bordeaux varieties. This wine excels with aromas and flavors of tart blackberries, garden herbs, and chalk. Oven roast a prime rib, invite a few cool pals, and enjoy the night away. (Tasted: February 5, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose begins with black cherries and blackberries, but eventually notes of salt and pepper push to the front. Cherries remain on the palate, with chocolate adding to the rich sweetness, before a complex finish of warmth, spice and dusty chalk. Tannins cling while the acidity sings.
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Wine Spectator
A dense red marked by black currant, blackberry, vanilla, cedar and chocolate flavors, with light-grained tannins adding support. On the chunky side overall, yet with nice length. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
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.