Winemaker Notes
The grapes were harvested manually, with saelection on the vineyard and as well as before destemming.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This sophisticated, Bolgheri red has dense aromas of black and blue fruit that easily dominate the fine, toasty and bitter-chocolate oak character. Fleshy, but not a jot too ripe, the silky tannins give the long finish a lot of appeal. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Though tightly packed and supported by a dense matrix of tannins, this offers appealing purity of the black currant and blackberry fruit. Concentrated yet lively, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, spice and mineral. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2021 through 2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Over the years, this wine has become its own brand. Its attractive price point and accessible drinking style makes this a very popular choice in the wine bars and restaurants of Bolgheri. In this balanced vintage, the blend for the 2016 Bolgheri Rosso Varvàra is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. The wine ages in oak for 12 months. It offers dark fruit, spice and leather that find seamless integration. Some 80,000 bottles were made.
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.