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Bolgheri: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know

Bolgheri: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know

Introduction

Nowadays we are more attracted by famous labels than fascinating histories behind the bottles. We understand that it’s nice to spend an unusual amount of money to celebrate special occasions. What we don’t understand is how people can spend too much on a daily basis without being aware of what they are drinking.

Confusions may occur when it comes to famous places such as Tuscany that accounts for 11 DOCGs and around 40 DOCs. We are quite confident we don’t need to mention anything regarding Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. However, we believe some elucidations about the distinction between “Bolgheri DOC” and “Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC” are needed.

Reading today’s article will make your life easier. As the wine jokers are here today to make clear once for all the important history and characteristics of Bolgheri and its denominations.

Bolgheri and Its Two Denomations

Bolgheri wouldn’t be famous if it wasn’t for Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. This pioneer was literally in love with Bordeaux and its distinctive style, therefore he planted Cabernet Sauvignon grapes of the famous Château Lafite. His success was very much related to the fact that Bolgheri’s mesoclimate was similar to Bordeaux’s one. He started then aging the wine in small new French oak barrels and the magic happened even in a small district located on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea: Maremma.

We aren’t here to focus on the origins of the Super Tuscans today, however, we want you to know that there are two interesting denominations in Bolgheri, the place where these priced wines were born. Since there are too many misleading pieces of information out there, we truly wanted to make clear the differences between Bolgheri DOC and Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC once for all.

Figure 1: Dramatic Bolgheri’s landscape (ilvinaccio.com, 2017)

Bolgheri DOC

First of all, we want you to know that this denomination exists since 1983.

Secondly, we want you to understand that Bolgheri DOC isn’t just about red wines. When it comes to this denomination, there are different styles you have to consider for the sake of your knowledge. You could be surprised to know that there are actually more white than red styles under the Bolgheri DOC denomination.

Without any further ado, we are about to point out all the styles of wine that you can find within the Bolgheri DOC. Not only this, but we will highlight all the law requirements for any style so that you won’t get confused anymore when discussing this fascinating denomination.


StylesGrapes
BiancoMax 70% Vermentino
Max 40% Sauvignon Blanc
and Trebbiano Toscano
Max 30% Other white grape varieties
authorized in Tuscany
VermentinoMin 85% Vermentino
Max 15% Other white grape varieties
authorized in Tuscany
Sauvignon BlancMin 85% Sauvignon Blanc
Max 15% Other white grape varieties
authorized in Tuscany
Rosso0-100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and/or Cabernet Franc
and/or Merlot
0-50% Syrah, and/or Sangiovese
Max 30% Other red grape varieties
authorized in Tuscany
RosatoSame as red style
Table 1: The styles of “Bolgheri DOC” (The Wine Jokers, 2020)

As you can see, white wines in the Bolgheri DOC appellation are predominantly based on Trebbiano Toscano, Vermentino, and Sauvignon Blanc. If the presence of Vermentino or Sauvignon exceeds 85%, grape variety may be specified on the label.

It doesn’t work the same way for the red version of Bolgheri DOC though. To be more specific, “Bolgheri DOC” will appear on the label even though the wine is made 100% from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Or at least we have never seen the contrary in our tasting experiences so far. Bolgheri Rosso DOC wines are usually of high quality, but the difference in blends and location of the vineyards may affect their style.

To be even more specific, you may read the term “Superiore” or the name of the vineyard when it comes to Bolgheri Rosso DOC. This is the case of the famous “Bolgheri Superiore DOC – Ornellaia”, which we are sure every wine lover knows. The word “Superiore” means that the wine aged at least 24 months, 12 of which in oak barrels before being released.

Figure 2: The spectacular label of “Bolgheri Superiore DOC – Ornellaia” (winedecoded.com.au, 2020)

Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC

The situation is completely different when it comes to “Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC”. Sassicaia got the DOC status because its wines were (and still are) thought to have great potential. The deep and complex personality of wines coming from these specific vineyards (the equivalent to the France parcels also known as “lieux-dits”) departed from the other Bolgheri’s wines and therefore deserved an appellation on its own. This is how Bolgheri Sassicaia became Italy’s only single-estate wine to be granted its own DOC since 1994.


StyleGrapes
RossoMin 80% Cabernet Sauvignon
Max 20% Other red grape varieties
authorized in Tuscany
Table 2: The styles of “Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC” (The Wine Jokers, 2020)

The majority of wine books and online sources (unreliable!) are giving wrong information. According to them, it looks like only Syrah, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot can be part of that “Max 20%” of the bland. But that isn’t quite right! Even we were surprised to know that 49 grape varieties can actually be included by law in that part of the blend. It turns out that grapes such as Pinot Nero, Sagrantino, Schiava Gentile, or Tempranillo can be used too. You don’t believe in what we are saying, do you? Well, the “Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC disciplinare di produzione” (page 6-7) will change your mind right away.

In addition, it must be clear that there is one and only style within the Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC. This is the unmistakable red wine that saved Tuscany’s reputation when the quality of Chinati’s wines was collapsing. Even more remarkable is the fact that this appellation has been created only for one product: the sought-after Sassicaia.

By law, the DOC must age 24 months, 18 of which in small oak barrels (max 225 liters).

Figure 3: The distinctive cork of “Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC” (winenews.it, 2020)

Conclusions

As you can see Bolgheri has got two different DOCs: “Bolgheri DOC” and “Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC”. The first one is broader and makes red, white, and rosè wines. The latter is more specific and it only includes reds.

This is a denomination created only for a singular estate just like it happens in France, to be more narrow in the northern Rhône, with the “Château-Grillet AOC”. This is a small appellation including only one producer (hence, one singular estate).

The take-away of the article is that so great are the Sassicaia’s vineyards that the Italian system had to give them its own appellation system within the broader Bolgheri DOC. And you now know the reason why we have to pay more than 100€ to buy a bottle of Sassicaia (or even more in exceptional years such as the 2015 and 2016 vintages, when Parker assigned them a score of 100/100 points).

This is just up to you. How much are you willing to spend to sip the wine that has been awarded as the best in the world?


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