Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
Under new ownership by the Mondavi family, this Bolgheri estate offers a choice collection of wines from Ornellaia in keeping with recent trends. The Masseto ’99 is a rare example of a mono-varietal Merlot derived from the grapes of four vineyards, each with its own soil type and unique structure. This leads to an extraordinary complexity that combines power with finesse and densely packed tannins with alcohol-derived sweetness rounded off by a long and expansive finish.
With the Bolgheri Ornellaia, you have a spectacularly mouth filling palate that reveals sound, ripe fruit and provides an irresistible vital finish while the red Le Volte ’00 is great for its body and softness. Be sure not to miss the Poggio alle Gazze ’01, the last of this line, no longer being produced.
Tenutasanguido
The estate of Tenuta San Guido encompasses 2,500 hectares with woodlands covering two thirds of the area along with the Dormello-Olgiata Thoroughbred Training Center and the Oasi of Bolgheri, Italy’s first private bird sanctuary.
Rising from the Tyrrhenian Sea and extending to the hills beyond the castle of Castiglioncello, the estate rises over one thousand feet above sea level providing a striking landscape and a fabulous microclimate. Surrounding the estate are 650 hectares with verdant pastures, olive groves, and fields cultivated for cereals as well as the small but significant portion devoted to vineyards.
Follow the cypress – lined Viale di Bolgheri, which runs through the heart of the Tenuta San Guido estate to the castle and village center of Bolgheri. Where it meets the Via Aurelia there is a circle of cypresses surrounding the famous obelisk built by Giuseppe della Gherardesca for Nobel Prize winner Giosuè Carducci. Nearby, see the church of San Guido, built at the start of the 18th century by Simone Maria della Gherardesca. .
Michelesatta
This privately – owned estate was founded in 1984 and has been slowly growing in size and in the variety of its vineyards. The owner, an expert in farm management, moved from Varese to Castagneto seeking to achieve the highest level in the growing and making of wines. He built the original cellar in 1988 with the first product, the 1990 vintage made from Sangiovese grapes aged in 220 liter oak barrels. In 1992, casks of 10 and 35 hectoliters began to be used to allow the maceration to take place. An experimental vineyard was planted in 1991 (2.5 hectares) with cabernet sauvignon and merlot showing great expression and character.
In 1997, the estate grew by another seven hectares as bordering vineyards were added and planted. At that time, the cellar was enlarged by excavating the rock underneath the hill below the vineyards and all the reds were aged in barriques. Ten more hectares of adjoining vineyards have since been added as well as long-leased land nearby for additional plantings. The estate now totals 25 hectares and shows great potential for future vintages.
Grattamacco
Sicilian businessman Claudio Tipa now leases and manages this historic estate owned by Piermario Meletti Cavallari, the man known as the “driving force” for transforming Bolgheri over the last twenty years. Tipa has taken a ten – year lease on Grattamacco in addition to his other 300 hectares of vineyards near Montalcino. Grattamacco’s consultant oenologist Maurizio Castelli continues his role here while Tipa leads the great Bolgheri estate forward.
Most notable in Grattamacco’s current line is the Grattamacco Rosso ’99, a blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon that shows splendid overall harmony and elegance. While it just gets better with age, it has a solid, full-bodied, concentrated structure with an aromatic range of wild berries and spice ending with an enthralling finish. The Grattamacco Bianco ’01, which tastes similar to a great Riesling, offers an enjoyable blend of vermentino and trebbiano with a fresh fruity character over-a light veil of oak, and even offers mineral notes.