As an unabashed fan of Italian wine I was thrilled when I discovered that Bolgheri would be one of the stops on my most recent trip to Italy. Those readers who are not as geeky as I am about Italian wine may ask, "What is so special about Bolgheri?"

Bolgheri is a charming little Medieval town on the Tuscan coast.  Bolgheri also has given its name to the DOC which in years past was known for its relatively ordinary white and rose wines. How did it become an internationally known wine region producing some of Italy's most expensive and sought after wines? In 1974 Decanter Magazine arranged a blind tasting of mainly Bordeaux wines. They threw in a six year old Italian wine made with Bordeaux varietials (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot) named Sassicaia.
                                                                                                   Entrance to the town of Bolgheri.

The 1968 Sassicia won over an assortment of the wines from Bordeaux and soon became known as one of the first "Super Tuscan" wines. The tasting was also a discovery for Italian producers in the area. Bolgheri would no longer be known as an area that produced just white and rose wines.

In the 1930s the Antinori family inherited an enormous estate in Bolgheri, Tenuta Belvedere. The story is a bit convoluted but from the original estate three separate estates were carved out; Sassicia, Ornellaia and Guado al Tasso. 

Tenuta Guado al Tasso is a spectacular estate which today covers over 1,ooo hectares, 300 of which are planted with vineyards. Wheat, sunflowers and olives are grown on the remaining lands. The vineyards are mainly planted with Vermentino, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah located in the heart of the region know as the Bolgheri amphitheatre.

The estate is much too large to explore on foot so we opted for the lazy way.

The flagship wine of the estate consistently scores 94 to 95 points from the wine publications. Antonio Galloni describes the 2007 currently available in stores as "Screaming Bolgheri. Sweet grilled herbs, mocha, spices and blackcherry jam are woven into a generous expansive frame. 94pts." The little brother of Guado al Tasso, Bruciato is a great introduction to the wines of Bolgheri and available for about a third of the cost.

Paul Quaglini

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