Grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon

"Mature wines can be compared to a person who impresses not through strength, but through the wisdom of age. These wines have a tremendous personality, a very special charisma." (Alois Lageder)

Guidalberto bears the name of a man who shaped the Bolgheri landscape forever in the early 19th century: Guidalberto della Gherardesca, the visionary agricultural pioneer who created the famous cypress avenue – the Viale dei Cipressi – was created. What was initially intended as a practical demarcation between different areas of cultivation became the iconic silhouette of an entire region. 2023 marks a turning point for this exceptional wine. For the first time, Tenuta San Guido is positioning its Guidalberto separately from the legendary Sassicaia – a deliberate move to demonstrate that this is not a "second wine", but an independent interpretation of the Bolgheri terroir. As Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta puts it: "You can't compare them. They are completely different worlds." The 2023 vintage is a synthesis of 55 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 45 per cent Merlot. While the Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure and depth, the Merlot brings the silky texture and accessible sweetness that makes Guidalberto so distinctive. Fifteen months in French and American barriques give the wine its characteristic balance between strength and elegance.

Every year, Fratta is a groundbreaking blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that you can't help but love. Fratta proved the Veneto's potential for winemaking when it was first produced in 1977, the year Angela Maculan (a second daughter) was born. Deep, complex fruit bouquet, rounded off with fine sweet spices, tobacco and coffee. On the palate, beautiful lines and a sharp focus with dry mineral tones framing dark fruits, dried cherries and exotic spices. Fratta is a bold and big wine and there is no doubting the broodingelegance of this highly personalised expression. SUPERIORE.DE

In the early decades of the 19th century, one man shaped the landscape of Bolgheri like no other: Guidalberto della Gherardesca, an ancestor of the Incisa family, commissioned the construction of the area’s first mills and churches, laid out fields and designed the Viale dei Cipressi – that famous avenue of cypresses which Carducci immortalised and which still marks the entrance to Tenuta San Guido today. This wine is dedicated to the pioneer of this landscape. Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, who had long maintained that he wished to produce just one wine, recognised in the mid-1990s the potential of new plots along the Viale dei Cipressi, on clay-loam soils that proved particularly well-suited to Merlot. The first harvest was in 2000. Today: 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, from vines with an average age of 18 years. Hand-harvested, short maceration, indigenous yeasts, malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, followed by 12 months in French barriques, approximately 40% of which are new.

Guidalberto bears the name of a man who shaped the Bolgheri landscape forever in the early 19th century: Guidalberto della Gherardesca, the visionary agricultural pioneer who created the famous cypress avenue – the Viale dei Cipressi – was created. What was initially intended as a practical demarcation between different areas of cultivation became the iconic silhouette of an entire region. 2023 marks a turning point for this exceptional wine. For the first time, Tenuta San Guido is positioning its Guidalberto separately from the legendary Sassicaia – a deliberate move to demonstrate that this is not a "second wine", but an independent interpretation of the Bolgheri terroir. As Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta puts it: "You can't compare them. They are completely different worlds." The 2023 vintage is a synthesis of 55 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 45 per cent Merlot. While the Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure and depth, the Merlot brings the silky texture and accessible sweetness that makes Guidalberto so distinctive. Fifteen months in French and American barriques give the wine its characteristic balance between strength and elegance.

LUX VITIS comes from Cabernet Sauvignon vines over 12 years old and contains a small amount of Sangiovese. The 2019 vintage is rich and powerful, with full intensity. A core of dark cherries and blackberries on the palate, framed by sweet spices, bitter chocolate and campfire embers. As with the other wines in the Tenuta Luce portfolio, oak spice and tannins play an important role in the basic style expressed here. Only 6,600 bottles were produced. LUX VITIS will reveal its true treasure only with years of ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

It all began with observation. In 2004, Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted on a three-hectare plot of the Tenuta, on sandy mixed soils. For years, the team watched as these vines grew, matured and developed. And they were surprised by the quality the vines displayed, vintage after vintage. Eleven years passed. Then, in 2015, the decision was made: to make a wine of their own from these grapes. The name was inspired by the essence of the place: Lux Vitis – the light of the vine. "In honour of the light to which all life is indebted."

"The art of waiting" – this is how Tenuta Luce describes the philosophy behind the creation of Lux Vitis. A wine that is in no hurry: three hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in 2004, left to grow undisturbed for eleven years before the first label bearing its own name was printed. And then, vintage after vintage, the same patience in the cellar: 24 months in exclusively new French barriques before the wine leaves the estate. 2021 put that patience to the test. April brought unexpected frost – the vines, which had budded early, were affected, and production was reduced. This was followed by a recovery, a rainy spring and a hot, long summer. The significant temperature fluctuations between day and night during the harvest weeks acted as a counterbalance: they preserved the wine's precision and aromatics. 7,000 bottles – fewer than the previous year, but of great concentration. Concrete vats, 12 days' fermentation, 20 days' contact with the must, malolactic fermentation in barriques, 24 months in new oak.

There are wines that become living memories. There are grape varieties that only discover their true calling when they are far from home. And there is sibling love that survives death and becomes immortal in liquid form. Dedicato a Walter is all of this at the same time – above all a 100% Cabernet Franc of such moving purity that it is one of the rarest and most precious treasures not only of Bolgheri, but of Italy as a whole. Walter Allegrini died far too young in 2003, just two years after he had begun to realise the Tuscan dream together with his sister Marilisa. But his spirit lives on in those three magical hectares of the Via Bolgherese vineyard, the most prestigious area of Bolgheri, reverentially known as the "Soprastrada". This extraordinary plantation with south-west exposure at only 56 metres above sea level benefits from Bolgheri's unique microclimate, where salty sea breezes meet the intense exposure of the Tuscan coast. The Cabernet Franc – the noble grape variety that traditionally ensures elegance and finesse in Bordeaux blends – finds the ideal conditions here to develop completely independently and in its purest form.

Gabbro, produced in small quantities of just 2,500 bottles each year, is the essence of Montepeloso's finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the vines are over 40 years old. Impressively complex bouquet of dark fruits, smoke and grilled vegetables. Powerful and muscular on the palate, revealing its pedigree and great class. Exquisite, complex, nuanced, persistent, long ... Gabbro really does offer everything you need for an unforgettable wine experience at world-class Cabernet level. SUPERIORE.DE

Balisca is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery's vineyards in Panzano. It is deep, rich and very layered, exuding tremendous purity from start to finish. The notes of the grape variety are very finely sketched in a smooth, very expressive wine with lots of personality and character. If there was any doubt that barrel fermentation works better for Cabernet Sauvignon than for Sangiovese, Balisca is proof. SUPERIORE.DE

Camarcanda is a rich Bolgheri Rosso Superiore with a dark bouquet of black fruit, espresso, chocolate, liquorice and tar. The palate is extremely full-bodied, with outstanding depth, dense structure and a firm body. Opulent and long, this wine already shows a wide range of personality. SUPERIORE.DE

2021 – a Tuscan vintage for the ages. In the annals of Bolgheri, this year will be remembered as the one that revealed the perfection of the Mediterranean terroir in its purest form. A rainy winter, which replenished the water reserves for the coming summer, was followed by a growing season of classic elegance: a cool spring initially delayed budding, but when temperatures rose at the end of May, the development of the vines accelerated in an ideal way. The summer of 2021 was characterised by the Mediterranean drought that makes Bolgheri so unique – three months without any significant rainfall, but the vines did not suffer. The deep, sandy soils, enriched with limestone and stones, had stored the winter moisture and continuously nourished the roots. The exceptional day-night temperature difference, which was amplified by the nearby coast, was decisive and gave the grapes the freshness that makes the 2021 so distinctive.

Monumental and very concentrated single-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon with hints of sour cherries and a fine cedar wood and liquorice note. The exciting thing is that Pietradonice is clearly recognisable as a Montalcino growth and yet, with its herbal and spicy character, it is as typical of Neri as it is of the grape variety and therefore seems to come from another larger world. SUPERIORE.DE

Montalcino is Brunello country. Anyone who has anything to do with wine knows that. This makes the decision that Conte Alberto Marone Cinzano made in the early 1980s all the more remarkable: he planted Cabernet Sauvignon in the hills above Sant'Angelo in Colle – in a region that has belonged to Sangiovese for centuries. Not an experiment, not a whim, but out of conviction: That the exceptional terroir of Montalcino can give this grape variety what it cannot find elsewhere. The vineyard bears the name of the Elm grove that accompanies it – olmaia. The denomination has changed over the decades: what once appeared under Sant'Antimo DOC is now labelled Toscana IGT. The wine has remained the same. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, organically grown on 140 hectares of the estate, on soils of galestro and clay, which give the Cabernet the concentrated minerality that has always characterised Col d'Orcia. The grapes ripen slowly, under the dry heat of summer, surrounded by maquis, olive trees and the silence of the hill.

In 1944, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the Maremma on a one-hectare plot at the highest point of the estate, in Castiglioncello di Bolgheri. It was a private experiment, intended for family and friends. Until 1967, Sassicaia was enjoyed at the Incisas’ dining table. Then, in 1968, the first vintage was released onto the market – in 1971, as a Vino da Tavola. The rest is history. And not just the history of the Tenuta, but the history of Italian wine as a whole. At a blind tasting in London in 1978 – 33 Cabernet wines from around the world – the 1972 Sassicaia emerged victorious. And Luigi Veronelli was the first to recognise the greatness of this wine. In 1994, Bolgheri was granted DOC status for red wines. And in 2013, the Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC was established: the only Denominazione d’Origine in Italy that is exclusively and irrevocably reserved for a single estate.

"Sassicaia really was our house wine back then," says Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta, daughter of the president of San Guido, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta. "It was more of a wine experiment that was only tested within the family and among friends, until we went on the market for the first time with the 1968 vintage. Today, this wine is all about elegance and balance. We like this style, which is not so much about the body. Sassicaia is a good representative of what we want to convey as a style."

There are wines that have made history. And then there is Sassicaia – the wine that started a revolution and changed Italy forever. The first commercial bottle saw the light of day in 1968, at that time still classified as a modest Vino da Tavola, today the only wine in Italy to be honoured with its own DOC. What began as an experiment by a visionary marchese became a legend. The name says it all: "Sassi" – stones. An idea that Mario Incisa della Rocchetta had in the 1940s is rooted in the stony, calcareous soils of the Bolgheri hills, between 100 and 400 metres above sea level. Inspired by the great wines of Bordeaux, he dared to do the unthinkable: to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in Tuscany, where only Sangiovese had reigned for centuries.

The single-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon Toren is the only red cru from Tiefenbrunner's rare Vigna line and comes from a 0.6 ha micro-location with clay and limestone gravel soils: sparkling garnet red with a slight violet tinge. Very intense and appealing nose, with aromas of cassis, blackberry, tobacco and mint. Rich, concise fruit on the palate, mountains of cassis and cranberries, juicy and dense, builds beautifully with ripe tannins, long final. The name suffix "Secundo" was chosen for this vintage as there was unfortunately only a tiny harvest in 2021 and, unlike its predecessors, the wine is characterised by more finesse and elegance than the usual unbridled power and opulence. SUPERIORE.DE

Ventaglio. A plot of just one hectare whose rows of vines unfold in a fan shape around a centuries-old holm oak with a magnificent crown, while ash, alder and field elm trees form the natural boundaries of this unique amphitheatre. Here, 120 metres above sea level, not far from the hills of Donoratico, the red sandy soils of the coast give way to calcareous clay soils with the characteristic stony skeleton of alluvial origin. Since 2015, Ventaglio has been the Tenuta's first single vineyard and represents a visionary project: exploring the full potential of Cabernet Franc in Bolgheri. Only vinified in exceptional vintages, a limited edition of 2,700 bottles of a wine is produced that forever redefines the boundaries between Bordeaux noblesse and Tuscan terroir authenticity.

There are vineyards that have been carved by nature itself – and then there is Ventaglio. A plot of just one hectare whose rows of vines unfurl in a fan shape around a centuries-old holm oak with a magnificent crown, while ash, alder and field elm trees form the natural boundaries of this unique amphitheatre. Here, 120 metres above sea level, not far from the hills of Donoratico, the red sandy soils of the coast give way to calcareous clay soils with the characteristic stony skeleton of alluvial origin. Since 2015, Ventaglio has been the Tenuta's first single vineyard and represents a visionary project: exploring the full potential of Cabernet Franc in Bolgheri. Only vinified in exceptional vintages, a limited edition of 2,700 bottles of a wine is produced that forever redefines the boundaries between Bordeaux noblesse and Tuscan terroir authenticity.

The heart of the Lageder revolution beats on the spectacular steep slope of the Römigberg, where Lake Kaltern stretches like a mirror at the foot of the vines. Here, on the plot of land that has always borne the name Herz – latin "Cor" – alois Lageder dared to do the impossible in 1986: In an unprecedented act of courage, he planted the first large vineyard in South Tyrol in dense planting on a wire frame, radically breaking with the centuries-old pergola tradition. What began as a scandal became a legend. Working with winegrowers from all over the world – the legendary Robert Mondavi from California and several chateau owners from Bordeaux – inspired Lageder to make this visionary decision. He recognised that the steep south-southeast-facing slopes between 250 and 330 metres, characterised by stony, gravelly dolomite limestone over ancient moraine deposits from the third ice age, had the potential for world-class wines. Here, where warm Mediterranean influences meet Alpine coolness and intense sunshine meets millions of years of geological history, conditions of unique complexity are created.