Bolgheri 2019: Vintage report plus 50 top wines

Bolgheri 2019

The 2019 vintage is particularly floral. The major defect in some wines is higher alcohol when not properly balanced, however the tannins are almost always good – more grainy than velvety, yet rarely hard. Merlot is particularly restrained in this vintage.

5/5

The most iconic scene when one arrives in Bolgheri, on the coast of Tuscany, is without a doubt the stunning cypress-lined road – the Viale dei Cipressi (a Unesco heritage site) – but from a winemaking perspective, the Bolgherese is the road to look to.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Bolgheri 2019 wines

Tasting the wines of Bolgheri year by year unveils clear differences between the vineyards below and those above the Bolgherese road, referred to as ‘sottostrada’ and ‘soprastrada’ respectively.

From a technical point of view, below the Bolgherese lie the flatter, sandier and lower altitude vineyards, plus more westerly vineyards closer to the sea at just a few metres above sea level. Above the Bolgherese, the land gently climbs eastwards toward hills and the ‘magona’, as the forest surrounding the appellation is known. The altitude here is slightly higher, reaching up to 100 metres above sea level. The slopes are also slightly steeper and the soils richer in clay and often in limestone.

The quality of the fruit is a bit more restrained and the tannins more tight-knit and elegant in the wines made from grapes picked ‘soprastrada’, while ‘sottostrada’ fruit is slightly brighter on the palate and the structure is looser, especially in young wines.

Despite marked variations, it would be wrong to assume distinct differences in Bolgheri such as there are in the wines of Burgundy along the route N74, for example, since blending is so prevalent here.

Bolgheri 2019 vintage conditions

The Bolgheri 2019 vintage allows us to explore such details due to its consistency. For several reasons it is proving to be a very interesting vintage in Bolgheri, deserving five stars.

‘After a normal winter, budding took place the first week of April,’ explains Axel Heinz, managing director of Ornellaia. ‘The cold and rainy conditions throughout April and May significantly slowed down the vine’s vegetative growth, leading to a 10-day delay in flowering compared to the average.

‘Very hot weather with no rain suddenly arrived in June, reaching temperature peaks of 37°C at the end of the month. The weather stayed warm and sunny throughout the summer with temperatures 2°C above average and 45 consecutive days without rain.

‘The long dry period was interrupted by two days of rain in the last week of July, bringing the temperature back to the seasonal norm, with ideal conditions for ripening. The harvest began slowly on 5 September. As usual, the last week of September brought lower temperatures, which made it possible to preserve great finesse and aromatic freshness. Sunny conditions returned after another episode of rain on 21 September which allowed us to conclude the harvest of the later ripening varieties on 4 October.’

Developments in Bolgheri

There are two new labels being released for the first time this year with the 2019 vintage: Il Castellaccio’s Bolgheri Superiore, from the great, steep subzone of Segalari, and Villanoviana’s Ferrugo label, a 100% Merlot which seems in countertrend to the region’s current fascination with Cabernet Franc.

Some of the garagistes of Bolgheri, such as Fornacelle with their Guardaboschi Bolgheri Superiore, performed quite well and compete with the great estates in 2019 without having to make severe selections.

I Greppi is worthy of attention due to improved vineyard management, while Caccia al Piano is now bottling their Bolgheri Superiore exclusively from the outstanding vineyard of San Biagio, close to the historical vineyard of Sassicaia.

But the biggest news of this vintage arrives from one of the most important wines of the area. Tasting Masseto 2019, the broad shoulders of the wine were immediately clear, with outstanding grapey tannins enriched by fine-tuned oak. Though not an official statement from the winery, Axel Heinz explained that 10% Cabernet Franc was used in the blend, giving way to a change in persona for this celebrated 100% Merlot.

‘We did it again in the 2020 vintage due to a spectacular quality of Cabernet Franc, but it is too soon to say that this will be the new blend of Masseto. We will decide year by year,’ he added. Definitive or not, for a non-Merlot enthusiast like myself, I can’t help but wonder why they didn’t make this change sooner – this 2019 is gorgeous.

In addition to Masseto’s inclusion of some Cabernet Franc for the first time, Gaja has reduced and subsequently eliminated Merlot from Ca’ Marcanda, Ornellaia has increased its percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, and Argentiera launched a 100% Cabernet Franc, ‘Ventaglio’. According to the consorzio, the hectares planted to both Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are increasing.

On the one hand, these changes have contributed to the 2019 vintage being great, while on the other hand they hide the marginality of the climate with warmer and warmer vintages. The critical positioning of vineyards in relation to the Bolgherese road should become more and more important in the future.

The Viale dei Cipressi represents the history of the area and all its beauty; the Bolgherese road represents a critical border for great and sublime wines, which in the 2019 vintage are aplenty.

Aldo’s top Bolgheri 2019 wines

See the score table with all 50 wines rated for this report

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