Castello di Bolgheri Superiore 2021

The Castello di Bolgheri Superiore 2021 is one of the finest ‘Super Tuscan’ reds I have encountered in some time. There are a handful of top Tuscan Estates whose wines are amongst the most sought after, collectable and traded worldwide. Geographically, Castello di Bolgheri sits, smack bang, between two of the most famous, namely Sassicaia and Ornellaia. For those of you who know these wines, they will need little introduction. For those of you who don’t you can think of them as the equivalent of Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux terms. The pinnacle of their kind and far from inexpensive either. I have a yearly allocation of Ornellaia’s top wine which tends to sell out on release. Any subsequent bottles retail at £235 each. Sassicaia is even more punchy. (Too punchy in my book but that’s for another day.) However it isn’t just geography that makes Castello di Bolgheri a relative (important to note that I might add) bargain. (I mean I often park my 5 year old Skoda Octavia Estate next to my mate’s new, full fat, Range Rover. They both hold a lot of wine but I’d happily swap with him. Although he is a very generous bloke, he’s not that generous.) Both Sassicaia and Ornellaia buy some of Castello di Bolgheri’s grapes for their two ‘second label’ wines, the Guidalberto and Le Serre Nuove. However Castello di Bolgheri hold back their very best for crafting this beauty. Back to the car analogy briefly, you can think of the Castello di Bolgheri as a VW Phaeton W12. All of the underpinnings of a Bentley, complete with the bells and whistles, but without the draw of the brand. For now that is. I’d definitely put this one down in the ‘Watch This Space’ category. Especially as is scored only two points less than Sassicaia, at around a quarter of the price. True ‘Super Tuscan’ wines are often made from typical Bordeaux varieties, over traditional, Italian ones. (Tignanello is an one notable exception that is Sangiovese led.) In this case it comprises of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. (As yet another aside please be a touch sceptical of any company who advertises their so-called ‘Super Tuscan’ red, made from these grapes, which is now heavily discounted. They will usually have a bottle of Sassicaia on show to back up their claims. They like to say it is made from these grapes but in another advert state it is mainly Sangiovese with a touch of Merlot. They also have another company which racks up prices to the max so they can offer a seemingly out of this world discount price. They also will charge you a hefty membership fee after 3 days as well. Just try a bottle of my Toscana Rosso da Uve Leggermente Appassite Duca di Saragnano instead. A lot less faff all round.) Taste wise this is a rich, dark, powerful, brooding red which is just coming into it’s drinking window. Has quite a while ahead of it too if you want to hide some away and see how it develops over the next few years. Toasty blackcurrant, plum, liquorice, spice, tobacco notes, cream, smoky notes and a War & Peace length finish. Truly world class and from one of the greatest Tuscan vintages in the last 20 years. I started out with a fair bit of it but had it on tasting and the reception was overwhelmingly positive. Hoping to be able to source some more before it runs out.