Winemaker Notes
An enticing combination of black currant, black cherry, violet, cedar and cigar box flavors highlight. This intense structured red, which needs some time to resolve the tannins, but this shows ample fruit and balance.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An outstanding Bolgheri here that delivers both freshness and some excellent depth and complexity. Plenty of dark cherries and fresh blackberries on the nose with some cocoa powder, dark olives, stones and peppercorn spices. The full-bodied palate delivers plenty of fine, dusty tannins with a juicy, broad middle and a long, focused finish. Bravo! From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
A nose full of dark berries has savory undertones and a stony saltiness that keep things interesting. Berries carry over to the palate, while undertones shift sweeter and more citrusy, before a spicy nuttiness emerges on the finish. Balanced tannins and acidity provide warmth.
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Wine Spectator
A taut, elegant red, with a pure beam of black cherry, blackberry, violet and mineral flavors. Balanced overall, with tannins unfolding as this winds down on the finish. Needs a year or two to open. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The current release of this cuvée, the 2021 Volpolo was bottled in December of 2022 after 14 months in a mix of barrique and tonneaux. The blend is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot. Pouring a deep purple/red hue, it opens to aromas of Mediterranean herbs, blackberry, and mint. Full-bodied on the palate, it’s lush with ripe, plush, textured tannins that provide a silky mouthfeel, and it has a clean finish. Offering a nice balance of fruit and savory richness, with notes of turned earth on the finish.
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.