After our morning in Suvereto, we spent the afternoon in Bolgheri. This DOC was made famous by Sassicaia, the first ‘Super Tuscan’, which started as a pet project of the Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who liked Bordeaux wine and planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot at his wife’s property Tenuta San Guido in the 1940s. His wife was the aunt of the current generation of Antinoris, and they realised that his wine was very special and in 1968 it was commercialised, winning blind tastings of Cabernet Sauvignons from around the world, and of course Parker points. The wines were initially marketed as table wines, but since the creation of the DOC in 1983 there has been a massive expansion in vineyard planting, and pretty much all the appropriate land is now planted to vines.
Our first Bolgheri visit was Vilanoviana, a project which grew from a holiday home for Marco and Barbara Moncelli who came from Modena in 2006. At that time it would have been mad not to have a go at growing grapes and then making wine, so they did, with excellent results. They also make their own olive oil and balsamic vinegar, though they send the latter to age in Modena.
Barbara, with the help of Matteo, welcomed us, and sat us down for lunch – it was lovely to sit outside, if a little windy!.
Over lunch we tasted four of their wines, a Vermentino/Viognier blend followed by three Bordeaux blends, finishing with a 2021 vintage of their Sant Uberto Bolgheri Superiore, which had recently won the accolade ‘Best wine of Bolgheri’.
Unusually we had a third visit to make, not far from Vilanoviana. La Vigne di Silvia is the winery of the Fuselli family. Silvia and Stefania are the daughters of Carlo and Lavinia, who came from Le Marche back in the 1950s, with thirty or so other families who had been share croppers and had the chance to buy land in the newly drained Bolgheri region. Carlo became a major supplier of basil to the Italian food industry, but was persuaded by the sisters to start growing vines and then to make wine. It helped that Silvia had retired from a 25 year career in professional soccer (at national and international level), and she and Stefania, who had been a sommelier in New York and has a degree in agricultural science, were happy to return to the place they grew up and it is they who lead winemaking.
All the family assisted our visit. Stefania energetically described their organic approach to viticulture amid the vines (they even use willow to tie in shoots rather than plastic tags), while Lavinia and Stefania hosted our tasting with delicious local produce, including frittata made from their own eggs. Carlo had taken a break from tending basil to ensure we were well looked after, and we had a great time. They are in the middle of a building project, by the autumn they will be able to make wine in their own winery, but we were able to enjoy the afternoon sun on a verandah beside the existing building.
Our tasting of a Vermentino/Verdicchio blend, followed by their Cabernet Sauvignon/Franc blend (unusual in Bolgheri for not including Merlot) and finished with two vintage of their Itineranti. Great acidity kept all of the wines fresh and inviting, the reds had great depth of flavour and good tannins. The Itineranti was a wonderful example of Cabernet Franc, a grape I particularly love.
Lavinia’s efforts in the kitchen ensured we would not be eating out that night in Siena!
Once again we were sorry to say goodbye, but saying “arrivederci” made us feel better – this is definitely a place to return to.
