Skip to main content

We are all familiar with the top 'Super Tuscans' from Bolgheri... Sassicaia, Ornellaia & Guado Al Tasso, however until Friday of last week the Grand Vin tasting team hadn't had the pleasure of drinking the flagship wine from Tenuta Argentiera.  The 2016 'Bolgheri Superiore Argentiera', a Bordeaux blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, absolutely blew us away with it's depth, balance and polished tannins.

It showed the classic Cabernet aromas combined with stunning minerality and a finish that lasted for over a minute!  It had all the class and sophistication of the very best wines in Bolgheri and it has everything in place to age well for at least 20 years.  The great thing for the consumer is that it is available at a fraction of the price of it's more well-known neighbours!  Given the quality, we are sure it won't stay that way for long....





Tenuta Argentiera recently appointed Leonardo Raspini as general manager of the estate, who previously worked at Ornellaia for 14 years and helped to shape much of the identity of the Bolgheri appellation.

This is an estate that is definitely heading places and the 2016 really deserves a place in your cellar!


The 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Argentiera is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, and the Cabernet Sauvignon logically feels and tastes most prominent. This is a dark and penetrating Tuscan red that is beautifully elevated, thanks to the extremely elegant and buoyant quality of the aromas. They lift gracefully from the glass with light-footed, almost fleeting character. However, don't underestimate the power and the concentration of the wine, because this vintage delivers both with abundance. I've had my eye on this estate since the vineyards were first planted some 20 years ago, and there is no doubt that this vintage brings Tenuta Argentiera into a new era as a Bolgheri protagonist.

97pt, Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

  New Release: 2021 Produttori del Barbaresco Riserva 'Crus' Collectors Case Today we are delighted to offer some brilliant mixed cases of 2021 Riserva Barbarescos from Produttori del Barbaresco , providing a unique opportunity to sample the different “terroirs” of the Piedmont region.  The 2021 vintage is already regarded as one of the all-time greats for Barbaresco, and Italian wine authority, Antonio Galloni, has awarded some HUGE ratings for the wines!   'This is a superb set of new releases from the Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative. The Produttori remain the single most important producer in Barbaresco because of the quality of their wines and the scale of their deep reach into many markets around the world. The Produttori’s 2021 Riservas are fabulous. It’s an extremely consistent vintage across all nine wines, somethi...

Silvia Vannucci's Piaggia Carmignano Riserva 2019 & 2020 Piaggia Cabernet Franc Poggio de’Colli

  We all know the story of Super Tuscan wines, how in the 1970's the likes of Antinori broke the rules and introduced French grape varieties to Italy. Hold on. Re-wind. Quite far, in fact, back to the 1500's when Henry II of France married Catherine de Medici. The French gifted the Medici family some Cabernet vines, which they planted in their vineyards in Carmignano. Carmignano is a tiny 110 hectare appellation in Tuscany, protected from the cold of the north by the Apennines, and from the vagaries of coastal weather by the Montalbano hills, with soils rich in clay and schist. It already had a great reputation for growing local varieties like Sangiovese - by the 1700's it had already been given a protected classification - and it has been blending these with Cabernet varieties for hundreds of years. Roll forward to the 1970's, and Maur...

An extract from The Drinks Business, "On the third day of Christmas…" 10 December 2025, by Colin Hay

An extract from The Drinks Business , "On the third day of Christmas…" 10 December 2025 By Colin Hay " On the third day of Christmas, my true love is starting to lose a little of her early-season festive cheer. Perhaps this self-assembled mixed case of Champagnes will help?  The wines : In a similar vein, another (self-assembled) mixed case – Christmas turns out to be quite a lot of work this year for my true love! The concept:  It’s not Christmas without Champagne and I’ve had the good fortune this year to taste a fair bit of grower champagne that has really impressed me. So I’ve splurged a bit here in proposing a mixed case of no fewer than 9 bottles – 3 non-vintage, 6 vintage. And, at the risk of getting into a little bit of trouble, one of them is not Champagne at all – but, instead, a rare wine from the UK that would fare very well in a blind tasting alongside similarly prices top producer Champagnes. It comes from Paul-Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath MW’s j...