Wines from Tuscany | Bolgheri

The cellar at Tenuta Meraviglia is situated in a former quarry. This is not a metaphor, but an architectural choice: the architectural practice Studio Tori has created a winery here that is carved into the rock, thereby restoring the landscape rather than detracting from it. Form follows function follows conviction. This philosophy is carried through into the vineyard: 34 hectares in Bolgheri, planted almost exclusively with Cabernet Franc, on volcanic soils.

Named after the "Seggio" stream, the largest watercourse in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci, this elegant Bordeaux blend embodies the approachability and finesse of the Bolgheri DOC. The historic watercourse rises in the Etruscan Colline Metallifere near Sassetta and flows through the entire Bolgheri region, its alluvial deposits enriching the characteristic clay soils with valuable pebbles. This harmonious cuvée comes from the prime vineyards of Le Sondraie and Via Bolgherese. The vines, which are around 19 years old, thrive on well-drained, stony soils with a layer of clay and high magnesium and iron content – ideal conditions for this international blend of grape varieties.

A Bolgheri Rosso with a distinctive character and a clear sense of origin: the vines used for this blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grow on calcareous, well-drained soils near Castagneto Carducci. A deep ruby colour with violet highlights. Ripe cherry, blackberry, Mediterranean herbs and a hint of cedar characterise the bouquet. Powerful on the palate, with dense fruit, well-integrated acidity and finely textured tannins. The finish is long, spicy and underpinned by mineral freshness. A young Bolgheri Rosso with character, approachability and remarkable depth. Be sure to let it breathe. SUPERIORE.DE

Set amongst the hills of Bibbona, where the vineyards of the Alta Maremma overlook the Tyrrhenian Sea, this distinctive cuvée is the result of an ambitious project by the Antinori brothers. The name Insoglio is a poetic reference to the places where wild boars root around in the ground – a symbol of the wild, unspoilt nature of the Maremma landscape. Composed mainly of Syrah, complemented by Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine displays an intense purplish-red colour with violet highlights.

"The Beautiful Threshing Floor". The name evokes the old threshing floor where grain was dried and threshed: a down-to-earth, rural term for a place that has taken on a ganz andere Klang in the modern world of wine. Tenuta Bell’Aja is situated in Bolgheri, in the Località Le Sondraie, near the famous avenue of cypress trees which Giosuè Carducci immortalised in his 1874 poem “Davanti San Guido”. The poet saw his childhood here; San Felice saw a terroir here that was to become his third great playground. The soil of Bolgheri is different from that of Castelnuovo Berardenga: sandy loam, brooding, well-drained – no galestro, no limestone, but rather the alluvial deposits of a coastal climate that lend Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon a suppleness that heavy soils simply do not allow.

In Bolgheri, less than four kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea, lies that "El Dorado" of Italian winemaking which the legendary Oenologist André Tchelistcheff once visionarily recognised. Here, on the volcanic soils between an ancient cypress-lined avenue and the Tuscan coast, Le Volte emerges as the accessible calling card of a winery whose name is synonymous worldwide with uncompromising quality. The cuvée, comprising 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, is vinified separately by grape variety in small stainless-steel tanks to preserve each variety's individual characteristics. Following malolactic fermentation, the wine matures for ten months, partly in used Ornellaia barriques and partly in concrete tanks – a deliberate balance between structure and fruit expression.

In 1977 – two years after Sassicaia – Pier Mario Melini became only the second person ever to plant vines in Bolgheri. What seemed like obstinacy at the time is now known as Grattamacco. The estate is situated on one of the appellation's few hills, 100 to 200 metres above sea level, on quartz-rich sandstone, white clay and calcareous marl flysch – soils that counter the Mediterranean climate with a continental freshness. The Bolgheri Rosso 2024 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and a hint of Petit Verdot – vinified in steel, then aged for six months in neutral barriques. The damp spring and hot summer of 2024 were broken by refreshing rainfall in early August: a classic, slow ripening process that endowed the wine with both freshness and structure.

Le Macchiole is the home of single-varietal wines. Messorio, the pure Merlot. Paleo Rosso, the pure Cabernet Franc. Lo Scrio, the pure Syrah. Three radical choices, three wines that demonstrate what a single grape variety can achieve in Bolgheri. The Bolgheri Rosso takes the exact opposite approach – and is no less compelling. Since 2004, Cinzia Merli, widow of the founder Eugenio Campolmi, has been producing this wine from the estate's young vineyards: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah – all four together, in a blend that draws on the classic Bolgheri tradition of the "Bordolese taglio" whilst adding its own distinctive character. Hand-harvested, 15 days' maceration in stainless steel, followed by ten months' ageing in 70% used barriques and 30% cement tanks. The younger plots lend the wine that fresh, approachable energy which Le Macchiole describes as the estate's "calling card".

The label features a delicate illustration of a wild boar hunt: a pack of hounds is closing in, whilst the wild boar stands its ground. Le Difese – this is the precise Italian term for the wild boar's tusks, those sharp teeth with which it defends itself as a last resort. A fitting image for a wine that is Tenuta San Guido's most approachable – yet one that does not compromise on character. Le Difese is the estate's only wine to contain an indigenous Tuscan variety: Sangiovese from the Chianti-Rufina area, combined with Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyards of Tenuta San Guido. Two Tuscan souls in one cuvée – the international variety and the native one. Fermentation in stainless steel, malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, followed by four months in used French and American oak barriques. Six months in bottle. Fresh, direct, approachable.

From the legendary San Guido estate, the cradle of Sassicaia, comes Le Difese, a wine that combines the essence of two worlds: the international class of Cabernet Sauvignon with the Tuscan soul of Sangiovese. Named after the golden boar tusks on the label – a symbol of the wild Maremma –this blend, first created in 2002, embodies the accessible side of an icon. After gentle hand-picking and temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks, Le Difese matures for twelve months in French and American barriques, followed by three months in the bottle.

The name Il Bruciato, literally "the fire", recalls a historic, catastrophic forest fire on the Guado al Tasso estate: in the early 20th century, a vast area of woodland on the estate was completely destroyed by fire. Ever since, the wine has told the story of this event in a poetic way – and of the reconstruction, which is also a symbol of perseverance, identity and the connection between the landscape and wine. Since its debut vintage in 2002, Guado al Tasso has used this wine to pursue the idea of an accessible Bolgheri red that remains true to its origins and terroir. The vines grow in the immediate vicinity of Bolgheri Superiore, and the wine is vinified with precision and an eye for balance.

Like a precious legacy, this wine is steeped in the history of the Serristori patrician family, who acquired the Donoratico estate in 1512 and built the magnificent villa in 1660. From the shadow of these historic walls springs a wine that embodies the soul of the Tuscan Maremma – where the salty murmur of the Tyrrhenian Sea meets the warm hills of Bolgheri. In the vineyards of Argentiera – the estate within the Bolgheri DOC that lies closest to the coast and is also the highest in elevation – the grapes ripen amidst Mediterranean scrub and the endless blue of the archipelago. Here, on just twelve hectares of the Villa Donoratico vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot take root in sandy and rocky soils, whilst the subsoil is permeated by marine flysch rock – a geological memory of seas long past.

The address is Castellina Marittima, twenty kilometres north of Bolgheri – just outside the DOC boundary, which determines what name a wine is permitted to bear. A bureaucratic formality that makes no difference in substance: 14 hectares of organically farmed vineyards on fossil-rich soils composed of minerals, iron ore, shell limestone and alluvial sand, facing the sea, with significant day-night temperature fluctuations – these are the conditions for which Bolgheri is famous.

It was almost a silent revolution when Michele Satta decided to set the stage for Sangiovese in Bolgheri. While all around him his illustrious neighbours – sassicaia, Ornellaia, Guado al Tasso – were dancing the international Bordeaux party, the non-conformist from Varese dared to do the unthinkable: he planted the pure Tuscan soul in an appellation that was supposed to breathe French elegance. Cavaliere – the knight – does not bear this name by chance. It is Michele Satta's personal crusade for the grape variety that he reveres as "Tuscany's emblem of elegance and nobility". Today, he is the only producer in Bolgheri who takes on this challenge with the same passion as the international varieties.

In the hills between Castagneto Carducci and the Tyrrhenian Sea, Grattamacco has achieved a remarkable feat: an elegant Vermentino that brings together terroir, grape variety and vinification methods with rare depth. The grapes come from organically cultivated plots at a coastal altitude – consistently well-ventilated, yet characterised by intense sunshine and a significant day-night temperature difference. The combination of sea breezes and limestone-rich soils produces a white wine of impressive substance.

Michele Satta is one of Italy's greatest ambassadors for the Viognier grape, which he has almost single-handedly brought to this part of the Tuscan coast. His Viognier is sophisticated and seductive, making it the object of desire for wine lovers all over the world. Its inimitable bouquet of apricot and peach exudes an almost cheerful floweriness. Maturation in a combination of cement, oak and amphorae gives this expressive, flavoursome white wine a beautiful note. A dense white wine that spreads softly across the palate with a lovely salty freshness and a long, delicious finish. From the 2024 vintage, it is a 100% Bianco from the Bolgheri DOC. SUPERIORE.DE

"In 2012, I bought the small vineyard Le Gonnare and began to cultivate it. It represents the excellence of the Bolgheri terroir. The soil is clayey and rich in skeleton, which allows for very gradual ripening, a particularly important aspect for Merlot. The character of the wine is therefore Mediterranean, but balanced." Fabio Motta

It was 1991 when Michele Satta planted his first Syrah vine in Bolgheri – an act of rebellion in a still young appellation that was just beginning to find its identity. The visionary winemaker from Varese followed a clear conviction: The Syrah should maximise the aromatic complexity of the Mediterranean terroir and at the same time express his personal identification with the great wines of the Rhône. Thirty years later, this exotic wine has matured into one of Bolgheri's most fascinating single-vineyard wines.

Here, where Ornellaia once sourced its grapes before Marilisa Allegrini acquired this blessed land in 2002, a vision has been thriving since 2008 that only found its perfect form in 2019: Sondraia Bianco - a pure Viognier of such exceptional character that it effortlessly transcends the borders between the Rhône and Tuscany. From just 4.5 hectares, planted in 2008 with a density of 7,936 vines per hectare, a few thousand bottles of a wine are produced each year that epitomises the philosophy of three worlds: Stainless steel for purity of fruit, terracotta amphorae for the verticality of antiquity and French oak barrels for structural depth. The result of this composition is a wine of golden-yellow splendour that already tells its story in the glass.

In 1991, Michele Satta planted his first vines in Castagneto Carducci. No master plan, no blueprint from outside. Just the conviction that this soil, this sea air, this Tuscan stubbornness could achieve more than what Bolgheri already was at the time. The result was Piastraia. Bottled since 1994, a Bolgheri Superiore since 2012 – and in 2023: the thirtieth vintage. Thirty vintages of observation, adjustment, refinement and a constant pursuit of excellence. The blend – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc – ferments varietal-separately in conical concrete vats, using only wild yeasts. No intervention, no shortcuts. 18 to 24 months in French barriques, a fifth of which are new – providing a subtle framework, without dominance.

South of Bolgheri, where the pine trees stand like sentinels and the salty breath of the Tyrrhenian Sea permeates every breath, the vineyards stretch out on sandy, gravel-rich soils. Here, at just 50 metres above sea level, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc find ideal conditions – a composition that deliberately swims against the current of the usual Bolgheri cuvées.

From the vineyards near the historic villa, where the woods stretch right down to the sea, springs a visionary interpretation of Vermentino – a wine that sheds a completely new light on the inexhaustible potential of this ancient grape variety. Scenario embodies Tenuta Argentiera's five years of research – a meticulous exploration of Vermentino's evolutionary potential, which culminated in various vinification and ageing experiments between 2020 and 2022. High up at 260 feet above sea level, in small plots near the sheltering woods, where sea breezes meet centuries-old pine trees, the grapes for this exceptional Bolgheri Bianco ripen. Just 8,000 bottles are produced annually from this carefully curated single-varietal Vermentino – a precious testament to those unique microclimates between the sea and the Mediterranean scrub.