Bolgheri report 2025: Miraculous results

Following on from a vintage as superb as 2021 would be a tricky task at the best of times, but when the subsequent vintage, 2022, turned out to be extremely arid, prompting plenty of concern during the growing season, the difficulty level ramped up a notch for winemakers in Tuscany’s coastal Bolgheri DOC. Tasting through the vast majority of 2022 Bolgheri Superiore to be released this year – some on more than one occasion – the vintage character is clear: density, concentration, slightly firm tannins, but also loads of freshness. ‘Vintages like 2022 are a bit more complicated,’ Gianluca Putzolu (director, Le Macchiole) tells me. ‘But from the complicated vintages we make the best wines!’ In fact, almost everyone I spoke with in Bolgheri was bullish about the 2022s, despite the tricky season. One or two suggested the quality for them is better than even 2021. Scroll down for the top Bolgheri releases See all 103 wines from the report

[subscriber-content] 2022 in Bolgheri ‘When a vintage is not naturally easy, we pay more attention to the choices we make,’ Fabio Motta tells me. And that really sums up 2022, where attention to detail was key. The winter of 2021/2022 was worryingly dry, meaning that there was very little left in the tank for the parched vines to tap into during the hot summer months. In fact, there was no rain between February and mid-August. The hot conditions accelerated ripening, but then things came to a halt as many vines were under hydric stress. With no rain on the horizon, summer temperatures higher than in 2021, and bunches which were no longer actively ripening, growers were rightly becoming quite concerned. Finally, some mid-August rains quenched the vines and kickstarted ripening. Those rains, confirms Marco Balsimelli (Ornellaia, Masseto) ‘allowed the vines to restart the growing, the ripening process.’ He describes 2022 as having ‘a fresh character…a different style [to 2021] but not less quality.’ [caption id="attachment_560098" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Marco Balsimelli (production director, Masseto & Ornellaia) and Gaia Cinnirella (winemaker, Masseto) at the Masseto winery. Credit: James Button[/caption] Many of the wines in 2022 ooze vintage character. The firmer tannins are a hallmark of an unsteady, stop-start ripening where it was touch and go whether they would fully ripen before harvest, while the deep, rich fruits and compact frames evoke the extreme heat of the summer which in many cases led to smaller berries and reduced yields. But it's the succulent freshness found in so many wines in 2022 which belies the vintage's drought conditions – a miraculous recovery from the brink of despair. The reason for this freshness, in the form of relatively low pH and high acidity, is due to the vines shutting down as the heat and drought of the summer became too much for them. This helped to preserve the acidity in the grapes, which was still abundant when the vines commenced ripening following the August rains. Yet we must also commend the teams working in the vineyards and cellars in Bolgheri, who are now seasoned pros when it comes to dealing with increasingly extreme vintage conditions. ‘Now, we are more prepared,’ says Argentiera’s oenologist, Nicolo Carrara. The Bolgheri consorzio states that the harvest started early, on average around the third week of August. Both Masseto and Sette Cieli confirm that picking began in August. Elena Pozzolini (Sette Cieli) tells me that it was their earliest harvest since the notoriously hot and dry 2017 vintage. Canopy management is a vital tool these days for combatting the scorching effect of the sun’s rays, while humidity also needs to be managed carefully. At Guado al Tasso, new plantings are trained higher off the ground to allow more air to circulate and prevent diseases such as peronospera. ‘20 to 30 centimetres changes a lot,’ states Marco Ferrarese, winemaker and estate director. [caption id="attachment_561028" align="aligncenter" width="860"] Marco Ferrarese (winemaker & estate director, Guado al Tasso) points out some high-trained vines on the estate. Credit: James Button[/caption] A lighter touch Ferrarese states that his next goal is to reduce the potential alcohol of the wines by planting at lower densities than in the past, and using different rootstocks which maintain more vigour, chasing freshness and fragrance over concentration and power. ‘If you reduce the alcohol, you change everything.’ Martina Chiappini at Chiappini agrees, explaining that she is working on reducing the alcohol content by picking slightly earlier than in the past, as well as using a lighter extraction to ‘underline freshness’. This is a sentiment followed at Campo alla Sughera, too. Winemaker Francesco Gagliardi tells me that, ‘2022 was more challenging – hotter than 2021, with intermittent rain…extraction was lower to maintain a good balance.’ And Elena Pozzolini, winemaker at Sette Cieli, says she has had a lighter touch in the cellar since the very hot 2017 vintage, employing what she describes as ‘more of an infusion’ rather than numerous punch downs. Harvest in 2022, she recalls, began in August – as it did in 2017. Some wineries had to be very selective in the vineyard in order to maintain high quality, such as at Podere Il Castellaccio, which reports producing just 800 bottles of Il Castellaccio Bolgheri Superiore 2022 from the less than 1ha of alberello (bush) - trained Cabernet Franc vines. Bringing the fruit into the cellar, some applied a lighter than usual touch. ‘2022 was more challenging – hotter than 2021, with intermittent rain,’ explains Francesco Gagliardi, winemaker at Campo alla Sughera. ‘Extraction was lower to maintain a good balance.’ 'The world of wine is changing,’ Chiappini concludes. An emerging style Cabernet Franc has taken a large portion of the limelight in the last few years, and rightly so. In Bolgheri, it has found the perfect conditions to show its best side, and to me, wines such as Podere Il Castellaccio's Il Castellaccio Bolgheri Superiore and Le Donne Fittipaldi's Magnetic Bolgheri Rosso represent an emerging style where Cabernet Franc and amphorae play a more dominant role. And we now see Cabernet Franc pioneer Le Macchiole introducing some Tava amphorae to Paleo's traditional barrique ageing regime. I'm sure there will be more to follow. [caption id="attachment_560123" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Conical vats in Guado al Tasso's new underground winery. Credit: James Button[/caption] Bolgheri Rosso 2023 In addition to the new Bolgheri Superiore wines – predominantly from the 2022 vintage – hitting the market this year, there are a host of Bolgheri Rosso and Toscana IGTs, mostly but not exclusively from 2023. These tend to be additional wines from the same wineries releasing their Bolgheri Superiore; sometimes styled as a ‘second wine’ a lá Bordeaux, and sometimes a different expression entirely. 2023 was a very different vintage compared to 2022. Early spring frosts led to some losses, and then conditions became warm and wet. Unlike the dry spring of 2022, the persistent rain ensured that underground water reserves were topped up, but also led to breakouts of peronospera (downy mildew) in the vineyards, which required viticultural teams to be on constant standby. 2023 was a year when peronospera was running rampant throughout Europe's vineyards, and even the best ventilated sites in Bolgheri were at risk. Yet Bolgheri was less affected than some other areas of Tuscany thanks to its proximity to the coast and the hills, which provided constant breezes. A very hot start to August affected early-ripening Merlot production for some estates, but then things cooled down following some rain, extending the growing season for the other varieties. ‘There was beautiful maturation in all our parcels’, states Francesco Gagliardi (winemaker, Campo alla Sughera). August rain and even some flash floods in September reduced yields of late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon – Campo alla Sughera and Sette Cieli both report significant losses of Cabernet, as the rains led to grapes splitting. Just as in the spring, careful selection in the vineyard was necessary. ‘In 2023, we didn't do much delestage [racking of the must and returning to the same vessel]. We worked with extraction to manage the concentration,’ says Gaia Cinnirella, Masseto's winemaker, explaining that during the 2023 harvest period, they tasted the grapes in the vineyards every day, and picked plot by plot. Selection in the vineyard was critical in 2023 and yields were down, but overall quality was high and wines are wonderfully aromatic, with a plumper character compared to 2022. ‘I believe 2023 is better even than 2021... nature did fantastic work,’ comments Carlo Paoli (general manager and production manager, Tenuta San Guido). Indeed, tasting Guidalberto 2023 and some barrel samples of Sassicaia 2023, he may have a point. [breakout] Top-rated Bolgheri Rosso releases in 2025: Gaja, Ca'Marcanda Camarcanda, Bolgheri 2022 (95 points)

Cipriana, Bolgheri 2023 (93)

Le Macchiole, Bolgheri 2023 (92)

Gaja, Ca'Marcanda Magari, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Dario di Vaira, Clarice, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Grattamacco, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Guado al Melo, Rute, Bolgheri 2022 (91)

Le Donne Fittipaldi, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Le Donne Fittipaldi, Magnetic, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Podere Prospero, Bolgheri 2022 (91)

[/breakout] Bolgheri's white resurgence Bolgheri DOC may be best known for its star-studded red wines, but in fact in its first 10 years of existence – from 1984 to 1993 – it was a white-wine-only denomination; red and rosé wines were added to the regulations in 1994. Since the advent of red Bolgheri DOC, the whites have fallen to the wayside, but today there is something of a resurgence. Vermentino is the leading protagonist, but Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier are also permitted. And in addition to Bolgheri DOC whites, you can find a whole host of Toscana IGT examples, which are able to lean on other varieties and winemaking methods not permitted under the DOC regulations. 2024 – the newest vintage for the whites – is described by Martina Chiappini as a year of ‘quality and quantity’ for the whites, and it plays to the fresh aromatics which are sought after in these breezy, coastal white varieties. Guado al Tasso takes this to the next level by using Vermentino clones from Corsica, which I'm told have more aromatic potential than the traditional Tuscan Vermentino. Bolgheri's whites are perfect for lunchtime sipping in the sunshine with a plate of fried fish – save the reds for the evening! [breakout] 10 delicious whites from Bolgheri to seek out: Ornellaia, Poggio alle Gazze, Toscana 2023

Campo Alla Sughera, Arioso Vermentino, Toscana 2024

Chiappini, Le Grottine Vermentino, Bolgheri 2024

Giorgio Meletti Cavallari, Borgeri Bianco, Bolgheri 2024

Campo Al Noce, Vermentino, Bolgheri 2024

Donna Olimpia 1898, Bolgheri 2023

Grattamacco, Vermentino, Bolgheri 2023

Michele Satta, Giovin Re, Toscana 2024

Poggio al Tesoro, Solosole Vermentino, Bolgheri 2024

Tenuta Meraviglia Botro dei Fichi Vermentino Bolgheri 2024

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