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Bolgheri Wine Region

Bolgheri Wines are the World’s Best?

Bolgheri, which is located on the Tuscan coast, is one of the highly acclaimed wine regions of Italy.

This, which is lying on the foothills of the Colline Metallifere, has become an internationally popular region after the event that was arranged by Decanter in the year 1974.

Do you know that Bolgheri wines won over an assortment of world-famous Bordeaux wines during this event?
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Yes, the six-year-old Sassicaia won the race! So, what’s wrong in calling Bolgheri wines as the world’s best? Now, know more about this wine region and its wines here…

A Little about the History of Bolgheri Wines

During the 1960s, the famous Tuscan wine industry needed a complete change and Bolgheri was selected as one of the avante-grade regions to help the Tuscan wines to go back into the world market.

An important tactic was adopted here and the Tuscan wine region started a new set of non-DOC wines.

During the year 1968, these innovative wines were named as Super Tuscans. The signature variety of Super Tuscan was known to be Sassicaia from Bolgheri, which was a red Bordeaux-style wine made from the grapes that were believed to have come from the Bordeaux region.

We could say Sassicaia is the major factor which brought Tuscan wines back to the limelight. This wine variety also has the pride of being the Italy’s first wine that was applauded with its own single-state classification. As a result of this, the Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC was created.

Major Grape Varieties of Bolgheri

We could see that three grape varieties are found to be important in this region.

They are the major ingredients of superiore wine which are:

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Merlot

Apart from these three, the major grape varieties that are found to be important roles in the wines from Bolgheri wine region are:

  • Syrah
  • Sangiovese
  • Petit Verdot
  • Vermentino
  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Viognier
  • Trebbiano
  • Malvasia

Wines from Bolgheri

 Italian Red Wine - Italian White Wine - Italian Rosé Wine - Italian Sparkling Wine, Prosecco - Beer from Italy 

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All about the Bolgheri DOC

The set of regulations that are currently active with regards to the Bolgheri DOC came into place during the year 1994.

As per the DOC regulations, the Bolgheri superior should comprise the red grape varieties like Syrah and Sangiovese by up to 50% and Petit Verdot variety by up to 30%.

These wines must be aged for at least 24 months. For the Bolgheri Rosso and Bolgheri Rosé wines, Sangiovese can be used only up to 70%. When these grapes are used in excess, the wines will be classified as IGT and not DOC.

Other grape varieties that are permitted for use in these wines are Cabernet Sauvignon (10 to 80%), Merlot (up to 80%), and local varieties (up to 30%). The plain Rosso wines must be aged for at least 10 months.

For another wine variety Bolgheri Bianco, the appellation laws permit the use of grape varieties like Tuscan Trebbiano (10 to 70%), Vermentino (10 to 70%), Sauvignon Blanc (10 to 70%), and local white varieties (up to 30%).

For the pink Vin Santo, the permitted grape varieties are Sangiovese (50 to 70%), Malvasia (50 to 70%), and local red varieties (up to 30%). These wines must be aged for at least 36 months.

As mentioned earlier, the sub-zone of Bolgheri Sassicaia has its own appellation and is produced from the grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) and Cabernet Franc (15%). These wines must be aged for at least 26 months.

Other Wines from this Region

Apart from the above-mentioned wines, the region is also producing two other varietal wines. These are being produced from the Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino as the major grape varieties. As per the region’s appellation laws, either of these grape varieties should make up to a minimum of 85% in these wines.

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Author

Tharani Rajamanickam

Tharani Rajamanickam

Winewriter

I am Tharani, I have Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. I am passionate about the wine industry and continue to explore, learn and share and I bring in a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep updated with best wines in the world. Stay tuned..

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