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.
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Firm and structured, yet with a lush and velvety flow. Aromas of succulent fruit layered with spices, cedar and walnuts. Full and broad on the palate, with a tightly framed, lingering finish. Chewy and long. From organically grown grapes. Try from 2027.
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Wine Spectator
This is stylish and elegant, sporting black currant, blackberry, earth, licorice and spice flavors. Firms up on the finish yet stays long and balanced overall. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2033. 7,500 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.
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.