Bolgheri - The history
Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted the first Cabernet vineyard in Castiglioncello di Bolgheri in 1944. The first bottle of Sassicaia, with the same label we know today, appeared in 1968.
The DOC certification for the red wine came only in 1994, and regulates Bolgheri Superiore and Bolgheri Sassicaia wines, as the first example of Italian cru. It took many years to recognize that the brilliant insight of the Marquis Incisa had created a unique phenomenon in the history of Italian wine: that phenomenon which makes Bolgheri wines a full and grand expression of terroir, wines which are deeply linked to the soil and climate of their territory.
Wines with an original and personal character and raced, the most famous of which are the result of a perfect adaptation of the Bordeaux grape varieties to the Bolgheri climate, a Mediterranean expression of Cabernet and Merlot, which is just as fascinating as the Atlantic expression offered in their original territories. The vocation to greatness though, is also expressed with the traditional autochthonous Sangiovese and Vermentino varieties, which are still very common in the area.
Sassicaia is among the greatest wines in the world, but it is not alone. Starting already in the 1980s, other producers, who are also famous now, joined together with the "legend" to prove that the entire territory, and not just one wine, is "great." The area covered by the DOC Bolgheri certification has expanded rapidly in the last ten years, going from 250 hectares at the end of the 90s, to 960 hectares today. There are currently 33 members of the Consortium, out of 45 companies which operate in the territory.
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