Winemaker Notes
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Impressive depth here with lots of dark cherries, black pepper, cocoa powder, roasted red pepper and grilled herbs to the nose. Full-bodied and intense on the palate with plenty of silty tannins that meld with the dark fruit and fine spices. Lengthy and really fine-grained. From organically grown grapes. This should drink well within the next decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Podere Sapaio 2020 Sapaio needs a few moments in the glass before the wine starts to sing. You get a fully loaded bouquet that borrows from ripe fruits, balanced spice, sweet cinnamon, clove and a grounding note of mineral or crushed stone. The fruit covers the palate generously with depth, tight structure, integrated tannins and more layers of dark fruit that unfurl with time. I would wait a year or two before drinking this wine, but it would also fit into a medium to long-term drinking window. The blend is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 20% Petit Verdot.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, supple and expressive, offering black cherry, blackberry, violet, mineral and spice aromas and flavors. This red builds on the palate to the saturated finish, with lively acidity and civilized tannins. Shows fine balance and length, though this is still a bit compact in the end. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2033.
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Vinous
Darkly floral and rich, the 2020 Sapaio opens with an intense burst of crushed blackberries and cherries offset by savory herbs. It’s soothingly round, with cooling acidity and a core of tart raspberry fruits that saturates toward the close. This finishes firm and tannic as rosy inner florals resonate over a staining of sour cranberry. The Sapaio is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Be patient with the 2020 as there’s a lot going on beneath the surface.
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.