Winemaker Notes
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In 1912, Italo Folonari – Ambrogio Folonari’s grandfather – and his brother Francesco purchased the Ruffino company in Tuscany that was famous for its Chianti wine in straw-covered flasks.
After World War II, major changes in terms of economic development and improving standards of living began taking place in Italy. This also affected the wine industry where the Folonari family and Ambrogio in particular were among the first to promote this trend by producing new, high quality wines that contributed to creating the “new frontier” of the Italian wine.
Since 1999 Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari began purchasing land in the Bolgheri area, right below the ancient town of Castagneto Carducci, 70 km south of Livorno. The area is blessed with a very favorable climate, tempered by the sea breezes from the nearby Tirrenian Sea. The terrain, a mixture of clay and sand, for the most part slopes slightly toward the sea. It has proved to be extremely well-suited to the Bordelaise combination. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and white varieties like Vermentino reach veritable heights of quality.
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.