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Top picks Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Following a recent tasting of Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019, db’s Italian wine correspondent Filippo Bartolotta reveals his top picks.
In the first article recounting his recent trip to Bolgheri, Bartolotta explains how the Bolgheri DOC has increasingly produced wines that are less about the varieties (mostly international varieties) in the blend and more about the terroir where they are grown. Established as an AOC in 1994/5, the region lies close to the sea where the salty clay is combined with sand, and is subject to a huge amount of Mediterranean sun, which combines to give its wines great complexity and intensity.
Wines from the region are divided into Bolgheri Ross Doc, which has with no ageing requirement and offers lighter, ready to drink wines, and Bolgheri Rosso Superiore, which has two years of aging, one of which is in oak.
This gives a its wines power and intensity, along with “some distinguishing aromas of sweet, ripe dark fruit with Mediterranean herbs, balsamic notes and a savoury long finish”, Bartolotta points out.
For a run-down of his visit to the region, see here.
1. Podere 7. Il Superbo Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Coconut and cola. Officinal herbs with a cruncy and reactive mouth with so much salt and minerals. I love the combination of mustard and cola notes with a great tension a very balanced finish. 94/100
2. Tenuta Meraviglia. Maestro di Cava Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Very minty and peppery with a black cherry savory style and a long distance runner athletic muscular structure. Lean but not light, great cumquats and sour cherries. 95/100
3. Donne Fittipaldi. Bolgheri Superiore 2019
Lovely red driven fruit with a really serious mineral action and balsamic power. Intense sea-breeze combined with dark prunes and a very velvet touch with an elegant oak spice finish. 93/100
4. Chiappini. Guado dei Gemoli Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Vanilla, black fruit, big and bold but also with so much energy and juice. Not a fun of the overly extractive wines but this one has got so much refreshing acidity making the impossible possible. Keeper. 94/100
5. Ornellaia di Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2019
Super elegant extractive block buster with anything you would want to have in a big red: black fruit, tobacco notes, big body but elegant refreshing finish. Some eucalyptus and very lingering. 96/100
6. Campo alla Sughera. Arione. Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Very intense blueberries and wild berries with a strong cinnamon and Christmas pudding like nose. Plenty of menthol, prunes and echinacea with seductive oak spices on the palate. 92/100
7. Guado al Melo. Atis. Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Crazy combination of floral perfumes and very dark extractive fruit. A very full bodied sample with a very body builder structure. Very focused fruit, good grip and a yummy reactiveness. Needs time. 91/100
8. Grattamacco. L’Alberello. Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
One of my favorite of the lot. I loved the red fruit and the mountains strawberries combining with pencil shavings and licorice. Great tannins, so much sapidity and tension. Good now, great keeper. 97/100
9. Guado al tasso. Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Extremely attractive, with so much black driven fruit and a lot of intriguing contrasts: minerality meets power over a very serious architecture. Important vino for aging, already showing well now. 96/100
10. Michele Satta. Maria Nova Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2019
Salty, mineral and with a more transparent and red driven fruit then the rest in the tasting. Some elegant peppery notes, and a great cherry driven and sage finish. Austere and tight, needs time. 92/100
11. Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Bolgheri Superiore Sassicaia doc 2019
I love the mouth of this wine so much with its red driven fruit. So focused so full of mediterranean herbs, tropical hints and elegant four wheel drive delicate power. Juicy, salty humeboshi finish. 98/100
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