Tenuta Argentiera - Bolgheri Superiore - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc 2019 ~ Bolgheri, Italy

97/100 Raffele Vecchione - WineCritics.com
95/100 Decanter
95/100 xtraWine
93/100 Adrian van Velsen
91/100 Kerin O'Keefe
98/100 Falstaff (2018 vintage)
96/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage)
95/100 Decanter (2018 vintage)
93/100 vvWine (2018 vintage)
93/100 Doctor Wine 2021 - Daniele Cernilli (2018 vintage)
91/100 Wine Spectator (2018 vintage)
19/20 Weinwisser (2018 vintage)
17.5/20 Vinum Wine Magazine (2018 vintage)
Bronze - Raffele Vecchione - WineCritics.com (2018 vintage)
97/100 Falstaff (2017 vintage)
97/100 Raffele Vecchione - WineCritics.com (2017 vintage)
96/100 Decanter (2017 vintage)
95/100 Doctor Wine 2021 - Daniele Cernilli (2017 vintage)
95/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)
94/100 Robert Parker (2017 vintage)
90/100 Din Vin Guide (2017 vintage)
17+/20 Jancis Robinson

3 Bicchieri - Gambero Rosso
5 Grappoli - Bibenda 2021 (2018 vintage)
4 Viti - Vitae (2018 vintage)
3 Bicchieri - Gambero Rosso (2018 vintage)
Tre Stelle Oro - I Vini di Veronelli (2018 vintage)
Tre Bicchieri - Vini d'Italia 2022 (2018 vintage)
Vino Top - Guida Go Wine (2018 vintage)
Top Wine - Slow Wine 2021 (2017 vintage)
2 Bicchieri - Gambero Rosso (2017 vintage)
Tre Stelle Oro - I Vini di Veronelli (2017 vintage)
5 Grappoli - Bibenda 2021 (2017 vintage)
4 Bottiglie - Espresso, Ristoranti e Vini d'Italia (2017 vintage)
Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2011 vintage)
Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2009 vintage)
Gold - Selection Mondiale des Vins Canada (2009 vintage)
Gold Outstanding - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2008 vintage)
Commended - International Wine Challenge (2008 vintage)
Gold - International Wine Challenge (2006 vintage)
Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2004 vintage)
Gold, Trophy - International Wine Challenge (2004 vintage)

Decanter "In Argentiera 2019 there is more Merlot than usual, raised to 50% of the blend, supporting the perception of a good quality vintage in Bolgheri. The blend is then composed of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. Graceful, restrained dark fruit aromas shine in the glass, with cassis, plum and chocolate. Despite its fruitiness, the Merlot is more leafy than ripe, very classic and elegant. On the palate the wine is thick and dusty yet ripe, with crisp acidity leading to a red fruit and clove finish."

Kerin O'Keefe "Made with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, this offers aromas of mature black-skinned berry, aromatic herb and a hint of bell pepper. The structured palate features mature black currant, espresso and licorice alongside fine-grained tannins. Drink through 2027."

Raffele Vecchione - WineCritics.com "Solid and compact in the main matrix it shows dark notes reminiscent of black plums, blackberries, black tea leaves and burnt sage. Full body, soft tannins with fine grain, precise and perfectly extracted and an iconic finish pure image of beauty and purity. Better from 2022."

Decanter "Crimson and perfumed with notes of milk chocolate, cassis and wild herbs - such as eucalyptus leaf - this Argentiera is broad and supple. The attack is firm and intense with cassis fragrance yet extracted on the mid-palate. Graphite minerality emerges sustained by crisp acidity. This vintage confirms the new, improved style of this wine is able to perform quite well even in less concentrated vintages." (2018 vintage)

James Suckling "Aromas of plums and berries with some chocolate and vanilla undertones. Full-bodied and layered with soft tannins that are bright at the end. Currants and blackberries. Currant bush, too. Love the tannin texture to this."

vvWine "(From clayey soils around 200 meters above sea level. The year 2018 was rather cool in Tuscany. 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot). Medium ruby. Complex nose, shows more spiciness than the Villa Donoratico, cloves, cinnamon and some eucalyptus, fine toasted notes, including moist stone. Powerful on the palate, full-bodied, round and yet very elegant, the wine is well structured, has ripe, silky tannins, good acidity and sensitively dosed wood, everything is in its place here, very balanced and nuanced up to the long-lasting, finely spicy departure. Class! Now until 2035+, 93 vvpoints" (2018 vintage)

Vinum Wine Magazine "Bold nose of black cherries, leather and tobacco; Sturdy structure with powerful, close-meshed tannins, plenty of juice and smoothness right through to the end. Convinces with its balanced design." (2018 vintage)

Raffele Vecchione - WineCritics.com "Ripe and captivating, it alternates sensory fullness in the notes of raspberries, currants, cherries and not very ripe wild strawberries. Floral background that certainly does not go unnoticed. Full body, soft tannins and a slightly oxidized finish. Probable deviation in the bottle. Retaste." (2018 vintage)

Wine Spectator "This red offers a fine balance between savory wild rosemary, thyme and sage notes and black currant fruit, with an underlying hint of iron, matching ripeness and freshness with chalky tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032. 5,500 cases made, 750 cases imported." (2018 vintage)

Falstaff "Rich, dark ruby. Opened on the nose with notes of tobacco and some juniper, then lots of dark berry fruit, profound. Full and creamy on the palate, it opens with grippy, pithy tannins, liquorice and wild berries, and a lot of sweet enamel in the finish." (2017 vintage)

Raffele Vecchione - WineCritics.com "Exciting in the glass a wine of rare beauty that shows in the pedigree the excellent quality of the top players. The sensory notes are lost and found merging divinely and at times revealing themselves for what they are in the nuances of cherries, black cherries, wild strawberries, grapefruit juice and tangerine peel. The vibrant background gives acid notes reminiscent of white yogurt and lime juice and project towards the tasting of a wine of extreme charm. Medium-full body, delicate and tiptoe the sweet and soft attack of perfectly ripe tannins and a final growing in the intensity and perception of the volume that remains in the precise track traced by a vertical line that describes the length of the great wines. Wow, excellent work leads this Bolgheri to be one of the best wines of the 2017 vintage in Italy. Better from 2021." (2017 vintage)

Decanter "Despite its position at the southern end of the appellation Tenuta Argentiera is one of the highest estates in Bolgheri, with vineyards between 120 and 240 metres above sea level providing the grapes for this wine. The altitude increases the night and day average temperature differences, improving phenolic ripeness. The conversion from cordon to guyot training is increasing the freshness of the grapes. The blend doesn’t change, remaining 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. In 2017 the winery decided to avoid the production of Ventaglio, the 100% Cabernet Franc cru. Argentiera, however, is really good, confirming the usual grace of the wine with more density and power. On the nose a funky note of merde de poule follows clean, dark fruits with buttery and slightly leafy aromas, while the firm yet ripe palate ends with a dark chocolate character." (2017 vintage)

Robert Parker "This is a beautiful wine that is climbing fast on a podium of the best in Bolgheri. We saw that ascent clearly with the 2016 vintage. The 2017 Bolgheri Superiore Argentiera is a 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc blend that delivers the pedigree of the estate. However, those hot-vintage considerations are hard to avoid. The wine opens to dark and sultry fruit with blackberry and dried currant. Those fruit tones are followed by spice, campfire ash and potting soil. The wine works up great momentum on the bouquet, but we get those astringent 2017 tannins on the close. Production was 80,000 bottles." (2017 vintage)

The Argentiera estate is situated on the coast of Alta Maremma, about 100 km west of Florence in the DOC appellation of Bolgheri. The estate is part of the historic Tenuta di Donoratico dei Serristori, an influential Florentine family that in 1512 acquired this land from the Medici family.

Today the property is owned by Corrado and Marcello Fratini, well-known entrepreneurs from Florence, and by Marchese Piero Antinori. The estate is planted with specialized vines all of which have the appellation DOC Bolgheri. The vines have an average age of 4–5 years and are situated on a plateau at an elevation of 150 to 200 meters above sea level, the highest altitude level in Bolgheri.

Argentiera’s vineyards, located only 2 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, benefit from breezes that provide consistent ventilation to the vines. The vineyard is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah; vines very much representative of the Bolgheri area.

Bolgheri is an outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa Della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in the 1940s on his San Guido estate and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia.

Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends.