Winemaker Notes
Marianova was born as the first experience of the second generation Satta, a blend in equal parts of the best Syrah and Sangiovese grapes. In the Vignanova vineyard the grapes that have most marked my experience in Bolgheri are picked, assembling an unprecedented blend for this area: Marianova is the first Bolgheri Superiore that does not have any Bordeaux grapes in the blend. Through Syrah and Sangiovese they express all the brightness and harmony of this Mediterranean place, which can give wines of very rare depth and complexity, avoiding to rely on concentration and stratification.
Blend: 50% Syrah, 50% Sangiovese
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Satta is one of the very few in Bolgheri to grow Sangiovese, and this is the second vintage of an equal-parts Sangiovese-Syrah blend which repays his faith in the variety. Complex fruit and herb aromas and a tangy intensity on the palate, very firm structure, with an intriguing aromatic finish.
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James Suckling
Aromas of currants, crushed berries and walnuts, as well as chocolate. Full body, juicy tannins and beautiful fruit at the end. Big wine that needs time to soften. A blend of sangiovese and syrah. Better after 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
On first nose, the 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Marianova (equal parts Syrah and Sangiovese) shows savory and barbecue-like aromas with teriyaki sauce and hickory smoke followed by plummy fruit and blackberry preserves. There is a note of sweetness with lots of spice, leather and tobacco at the edges. Of Michele Satta's releases, this wine is the most unlike him in that it is the most contemporary and enriched. This is the second vintage of Marianova (the winery’s latest creation) to be released.
Disenchanted with Italian winemaking laws in the 1970s, a few rebellious Tuscan winemakers decided to get creative. Instead of following tradition, to bottle Sangiovese by itself, they started blending it with international varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah in differing proportions and with amazing success. However, some Tuscan Blends don’t even include Sangiovese. Somm Secret—The suffix –aia in Italian modifies a word in much the same way –y acts in English. For example, a place with many stones (sassi) becomes Sassicaia. While not all Super Tuscan producer names end in –aia, they all share a certain coy nomenclature.
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.