Bolgheri 2021: Overview of a milestone vintage and top-scorers

Bolgheri 2021 vintage rating 5/5

One of Bolgheri’s finest ever vintages, combining vibrant fruit, fresh acidity and ripe tannins with impeccable finesse and poise, showcasing exactly what the territory is capable of.

Winter rains ensured that there was sufficient underground water for the vines to access throughout the three-month summer drought.

This year, the Bolgheri DOC marks its 30th anniversary. It’s a milestone to celebrate, but it’s not a very long time in wine terms, especially for a zone which claims some of Italy’s most internationally recognisable labels: Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Michele Satta, Guado al Tasso and Grattamacco among them.

It’s hard to pin down exactly what has made Bolgheri so successful in a relatively short timespan, but fairly liberal regulations and a penchant for international varieties has attracted a real mix of winemakers from across Italy and further afield: Piermario Meletti Cavallari (Grattamacco) arrived from Bergamo; Michele Satta from Varese; the Antinoris from Florence.

More recently, Stanislaus Turnauer (Tenuta Argentiera) arrived from Austria, Konstantin Nikolaev (La Madonnina) from Russia, and Alejandro Bulgheroni (Tenuta Le Colonne & Tenuta Meraviglia) from Argentina. The point is that the majority of wineries in Bolgheri today are operated by ‘outsiders’.

The opportunity to make wines with international grapes in one of Italy’s most prestigious areas isn’t the only factor which attracts investment; the territory itself offers something unique, even compared to the rest of Tuscany.

Scroll down to see the top Bolgheri wines in 2024

During the long summer days, the vines absorb the sunshine which reflects gloriously off the sparkling Tyrennhian sea, while the constant coastal breeze provides cooler evenings which help the grapes to achieve complete phenolic ripeness before picking.

Bolgheri is the antithesis of a monoculture: it’s renowned as much for its fruits and vegetables as it is for its wine. There’s a lushness to the area, from the legally protected hillside woodlands which shade the highest, most prestigious vineyards and also preserve humidity, to the colourful summer flora and fragrant macchia, or wild Mediterranean herbs, which lend a wildness that is broken up here and there by statuesque cypress trees, narrow roads, fruit trees, olive groves and – if you look carefully – regimented rows of vines.

There’s little in the way of modern development due to tight restrictions on construction – hotels by the seaside this is not.

In the past two or three vintages, there has been a subtle shift towards more balanced, thoughtfully made wines in Bolgheri. In some cases, this involves reducing the percentage of Merlot in a blend; in other cases it might involve using larger barrels or older wood. In a few cases, it involves the use of amphorae and other alternatives to oak.

Other techniques include using a portion of whole-bunch fruit, longer and more gentle macerations, later racking into barrels, and even shorter ageing before bottling. Whether a reaction to the warmer, drier summers of late, or an attempt to stay relevant with consumers, it’s no bad thing to see the Bolgheri juggernaut adapting.

To Cab or not to Cab?

Increasingly hot and dry summers are causing pause for thought in Bolgheri. Much has been made of Bolgheri’s varietal zeitgeist, Cabernet Franc. Although plantings of this variety are nudging the dial towards those of earlier ripening Merlot, it’s more a case of any changes reflecting replantings rather than brand new vineyards, since the allocated vineyard area in the Bolgheri DOC is effectively maxed out.

Lamberto Frescobaldi (president of Frescobaldi Wines, which owns both Ornellaia and Masseto) told me earlier this year: ‘People are focusing on the variety [Cabernet Franc]; you have to focus on the site.’

Of course, site is important, however it’s also clear that Cabernet Franc has a more important role to play in Bolgheri’s future than it does now. ‘Cabernet Franc has bigger berries, so can be more resistant to incipient dehydration,’ explains Grattamacco’s chief winemaker, Luca Marrone.

Opportunity

‘The main issue for Bolgheri in the future is to build on its current success,’ Riccardo Binda, outgoing director of the Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia consorzio, tells me.

It seems like one such avenue of opportunity is working on the quality and the style of the Bolgheri Rosso DOC wines, especially as the category represents a significant 64% of production (source: Bolgheri & Bolgheri Sassicaia consorzio).

Frankly, in comparison to the quality of the flagship Superiore wines, there’s far too much variability among the rossi. The 2022 – the current vintage for the entry-level Bolgheri DOC category – was a tricky year emphasising concentration and richness, which I don’t think helped when combined with the typical barrique ageing.

These wines should be as much ambassadors for the territory as the flagship wines, and in fact the few lighter, fresher examples which I tasted really stood out for their beautiful aromatics, sleek profiles and drinkability. Donne Fittipaldi’s ‘Magnetic’ Bolgheri Rosso (Cabernet Franc aged in amphorae and cocciopesto) is a benchmark in this regard. More like this, please!

Binda’s replacement, Daniele Parri (formerly at Caiarossa, who begins his new role as director of the consorzio on 1 October 2024) adds: ‘The Bolgheri Rosso wines often are a key to have access to a wider understanding of the Superiore and to a better interpretation of the whole territory of Bolgheri.’

2021

2021 is a superb vintage for Bolgheri, with high quality wines produced throughout the denomination. Despite a summer drought, the vines had access to underground water reserves thanks to plenty of rain the previous winter – Gaja’s Ca’Marcanda estate recorded 550mm between October and February.

Just as in 2017 and 2020, spring frosts threatened the vines, and one tactic some estates used to avoid damage was a later pruning, as evidenced at both Ca’Marcanda and Ornellaia.

Marrone notes that ‘the pH [of Grattamacco 2021] is very low – 3.56’, while Gaja’s Ca’Marcanda estate recorded ‘an average pH of 3.3 and acidity levels of 7g/l.’

This reflects the general theme in this vintage of really fresh, bright acidity in the reds, which not only helps to ensure a long life for the wines but also gives the fruit more of a crunchy quality and overall more approachability.

‘2021 has the features of a great Bolgheri vintage,’ Binda confirms. ‘The winter-spring period, characterised by a lot of rain, contrasted with the summer period where it was practically absent. A complementary situation, where the depth of the soil, one of the virtues of our territory, was fundamental to obtaining a great result.

‘In particular, it allowed the plants, even during the three months of absence of rain, to access the water that had deposited in the soil in the previous months’

Albiera Antinori, president of the Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia consorzio ((daughter of Piero and president of the Antinori company), adds: ‘The 2021 vintage was one of the best vintages in the past 10 years…the wines came out very polished, structured but silky, just how we like.’

2022

While 2022 was also characterised by summer drought, there was barely any rain from the end of the preceding winter all the way through until August, leaving very little water in the soil for the vines’ roots to find. But rain eventually arrived in mid-August, just in time to ensure optimal ripening.

Carlo Paoli, general manager and production manager at Tenuta San Guido recounts how they had to make a big selection at harvest time and, unusually, ‘we brought in the grapes in the morning and worked in the cellar with the air-con.’

‘The harvest started early, on average around the third week of August, and ended at the end of September,’ says Binda. ‘Unlike the initial expectations, the wines show not excessive alcohol levels, good acidity and extractions, and maintain that freshness and elegance that is typical of Bolgheri wines.’

He adds that ‘producers in 2022 have learnt from 2003 and other similar hot vintages.’

‘2022 was more difficult because we had heatwaves,’ comments Albiera Antinori. ‘Those who worked hard in the vineyards managed to get good wines out anyway. The objective was to get an earlier harvest to retain freshness, but the wines typically have more colour and thickness [than 2021].’

Marco Balsimelli, Ornellaia and Masseto’s new production director, agrees: ‘The 2022 character is more concentrated than the 2021.’

Bolgheri Rosso: recommendations

Antinori, Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Batzella, Pean, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Caccia al Piano, Ruit Hora, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Donne Fittipaldi, Magnetic, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Campo al Noce, Miterre, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Fornacelle, Zizzolo, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Gaja Ca’Marcanda Margari, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Guado al Melo, Rute, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Le Macchiole, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Mulini di Segalari, Ai Confini del Bosco, Bolgheri Rosso 2021

Podere Prospero, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Podere Roseto, Principe, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Podere Sette, L’Invidio, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Serni Fulvio Luigi, Acciderba, Bolgheri Rosso 2021

Tenuta Le Colonne, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Tenuta Campo Al Signore, Volante, Bolgheri Rosso 2021

Tenuta Sette Cieli, Noi4, Bolgheri Rosso 2022

Tenuta di Vaira, Bolgherese, Bolgheri Superiore 2021

Bolgheri: Top wines from the latest releases

I have tasted over one-third of the wines in this report on at least two separate occasions, sometimes more. When I first tasted the 2021 Superiores in the spring, they were on the whole showing beautifully, but by August they had begun to shut down and most will need some additional bottle age before they begin to open up again.

In the meantime, you can enjoy the 2022 Bolgheri Rossos – or even the upcoming 2023s – but you’ll need to tread carefully as quality is highly variable from producer to producer. 

Just below, you’ll find my top-rated wines from the Bolgheri area tasted this year, including some labelled as Toscana IGT.

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