Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Bolgheri Rosso Magari is a dark, rich and exuberant wine that so faithfully reflects that unique Gaja signature. There's nothing not to love here. The wine drinks beautifully and smoothly, caressing all the senses with sensual silkiness. The 2015 vintage delivers plump and extra supple fruit that further underlines the house style at Ca' Marcanda. Dark berries and spice intermingle with seamless intensity. The wine offers firm grip and long-lasting power on the finish. This is Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Magari is more herbal and darker fruited, with terrific minerality in its blackcurrants, black cherries, spring flowers, and earthy aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, seamless, and elegant on the palate, with fine tannin, it’s going to keep for a decade or more. The blend is 60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Petit Verdot, and like the Promis, it spent 12 months in barrel.
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.