|
The Greatest Super-Tuscan Smart Buy Returns.
Podere Sapaio: GAJA Ca'Marcanda Neighbor. 100-Point Winemaker Carlo Ferrini (Casanova di Neri).
Volpolo 2023 at 94 points from James Suckling, Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck, and the Sapaio 2019 at 95 from Wine Advocate. The two wines that blew people away at our Brunello vs. Bolgheri tasting.
|
|
A Personal Note
Dear Artisans,
At our Brunello vs. Bolgheri tasting, two wines blew people away: Podere Sapaio’s Volpolo 2023 and its big brother, the Sapaio 2019.
Bolgheri, on the Tuscan coast, makes Bordeaux-style blends that compete with the best of Bordeaux and Napa Valley. Sapaio is the smart buy of the coast, and it is back.
Gaja’s Neighbor
Sapaio was founded in 1999, a 40-hectare estate between Castagneto Carducci and Bibbona, in Castagneto Carducci, the same commune as Gaja’s Ca’Marcanda, about 1 km away. Look at the map: Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Masseto are all within a short drive. Sapaio chooses to severely under price themselves. Good.
Podere Sapaio and its Bolgheri neighbors
Twice In The Top 100
Wine Spectator put the Volpolo in its Top 100 twice: the 2011 at #22 of 2014 and the 2012 at #41 of 2015, both at 93 points.
Back then the Volpolo sold for about $35. Today the 2023 is $39.99. The price has hardly changed; the scores have not slipped either, with 90-plus reviews vintage after vintage for more than fifteen years and four Tre Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso, including this 2023.
Carlo Ferrini Makes It
Carlo Ferrini has been Sapaio’s consulting winemaker since the estate was founded, and he guided the planting of its vineyards. He is one of Tuscany’s great winemakers: Gambero Rosso’s Winemaker of the Year, Wine Enthusiast’s Winemaker of the Year in 2007, the hand behind Casanova di Neri’s 100-point Cerretalto 2001 and his own Giodo, whose 2015 earned 100 from James Suckling. He consults for Fonterutoli, Barone Ricasoli and San Leonardo, and has worked with Tenuta Sette Ponti.
Two Great Vintages
The 2019 Sapaio comes from one of Bolgheri’s great modern vintages; Wine Spectator rates it 96. The 2023 was a tougher, mildew-prone year that Bolgheri handled well: James Suckling’s team called it “a classic vintage” for the coast, and Jeb Dunnuck found this Volpolo “harmonious and expressive, with both early appeal and the structure to age.”
The Smart Buy
San Francisco’s two-Michelin-star Acquerello has featured the Volpolo (the 2018) as one of three “benchmark Tuscan blends” in its Tuscan Blends selection: “the wine clearly demonstrates the balance between powerful dark fruit, subtle savory notes, and velvety tannins.”
James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits
|
|
Why This Matters
| • |
Three 94s and a Tre Bicchieri. James Suckling, Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck on the Volpolo 2023, Luca Maroni at 95, and Gambero Rosso’s top award. |
|
| • |
Twice in Wine Spectator’s Top 100. The Volpolo 2011 at #22 and the 2012 at #41, at about $35. The 2023 is $39.99. |
|
| • |
A 95-point Sapaio 2019. Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast 95, WinesCritic.com 97. |
|
| • |
Bolgheri’s smart buy. Bordeaux-style blends from the coast that gave the world Sassicaia and Ornellaia, at $39.99 and $124.99. |
|
| • |
Made by Carlo Ferrini. The winemaker behind Casanova di Neri’s 100-point Cerretalto and his own Giodo. |
|
|
|
The Smart Buy
2023 Podere Sapaio Volpolo.
Luca Maroni 95. James Suckling 94. Wine Advocate 94. Jeb Dunnuck 94.
|
|
|
Podere Sapaio ‘Volpolo’ 2023
Bolgheri · Tuscan Coast
|
95
Luca Maroni
|
94
James Suckling
|
94
Wine Advocate
|
|
94
Jeb Dunnuck
|
92
Falstaff
|
92
Wine Spectator
|
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 15% Petit Verdot from organically grown grapes, 14 months in barrique and 6 more in bottle. Plum and dark berries, warm spice, a generous body and ripe, smooth tannins.
Every review on our page is below.
|
Luca Maroni
95 Points
Bolgheri at its densest and purest blackberry and violet stage in the glass of Podere Sapaio. A fleshy and tannic, yet softly harmonious Volpolo 2023, a Sapaio 2021, as always, of supreme and inviolate density, of harmonious soft-tannic suppleness, of an unoxidized, vanilla-like olfactory brilliance. Hats off. Luca Maroni
|
|
James Suckling
94 Points
Firm and structured, yet with a lush and velvety flow. Aromas of succulent fruit layered with spices, cedar and walnuts. Full and broad on the palate, with a tightly framed, lingering finish. Chewy and long. From organically grown grapes. Try from 2027.
|
|
Wine Advocate · Monica Larner
94 Points
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 15% Petit Verdot, the organic Podere Sapaio 2023 Bolgheri Volpolo di Sapaio is a charming wine with generous layers of fruit, offering precise notes of blackcurrant and sweet plum. Oak is gently interwoven into the elegantly rich mouthfeel, adding polish without overshadowing the fruit. Fermented in stainless steel and moved into barrique for 14 months of élevage, the 2023 combines freshness and vitality. With 85,000 bottles produced, Volpolo remains a widely available and consistently expressive introduction to the Sapaio style. Drinking Window: 2026-2038. Monica Larner, Feb 2026
|
|
Jeb Dunnuck
94 Points
The 2023 Volpolo di Sapaio, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 15% Petit Verdot, pours a deep purple hue and is immediately appealing, with aromas of blackberry, fresh plum, lavender, and Mediterranean herbs. Full-bodied, it has a creamy, polished texture balanced by fresh acidity and underlying mineral notes. Despite the challenges of the vintage, it’s harmonious and expressive, with both early appeal and the structure to age. Drink 2026-2036. Audrey Frick, May 2026
|
|
Falstaff
92 Points
Rich, dense ruby purple colour. Intense and clear nose with ripe blackberries, followed by cocoa, some forest floor and leather. Very juicy fruit on the palate, well-integrated, sweetish tannins. Retronasal with preserved plums. Elegant, fruit-accentuated finish.
|
|
Wine Spectator
92 Points
This is stylish and elegant, sporting black currant, blackberry, earth, licorice and spice flavors. Firms up on the finish yet stays long and balanced overall. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2033.
|
| Blend |
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot |
| Cellar |
14 months in barrique, 6 months in bottle |
| Made |
85,000 bottles (Wine Advocate) |
| Drink |
2026 to 2038 (Wine Advocate) |
|
|
The Big Brother
2019 Podere Sapaio.
WinesCritic.com 97. Wine Advocate 95. Wine Enthusiast 95. Jeb Dunnuck 94.
|
|
|
Podere Sapaio ‘Sapaio’ 2019
Toscana IGT · Bolgheri
|
97
WinesCritic.com
|
95
Wine Advocate
|
95
Wine Enthusiast
|
|
94
Jeb Dunnuck
|
94
James Suckling
|
93
Falstaff
|
The estate’s flagship: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner: “This is a terrific vintage with 15,000 bottles on the market.”
Every review on our page is below.
|
WinesCritic.com · Raffaele Vecchione
97 Points
Complex on the nose, with notes of black plums, blackberries, sweet caramel, myrtle, juniper berries and nutmeg. Plenty of violet dominates the secondary scene, blending with nuances of hyacinth and guarana. Full-bodied, with decidedly noble, silky tannins and a finish with a slightly bitter close that will soften with time. Better from 2026. Raffaele Vecchione, Nov 2022
|
|
Wine Advocate · Monica Larner
95 Points
The 2019 Sapaio is a classic blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot and 10% Cabernet Franc. This wine has gone from being a Bolgheri Superiore to an IGT Toscana because Massimo Piccin now sources a tiny bit of fruit from outside the appellation in Bibbona. These are beautiful results with a full and generous bouquet and highlights of cherry, dried raspberry, cedar, grilled herb and tobacco. This is a terrific vintage with 15,000 bottles on the market. Drinking Window: 2023-2038. Monica Larner, Jul 2022
|
|
Wine Enthusiast
95 Points
A nose that’s marvelously chameleon-like, offering first cherries and berries with a sweet but serious vanilla undertone, then tangy, sanguine soil and crushed rocks, then bitter roots and spices. The palate is equally layered, then electrified with heat and acid through a lingering finish.
|
|
Jeb Dunnuck
94 Points
The current release on the market, the 2019 Sapaio is the same blend as the 2020 and pours a dark ruby/red hue. Revealing pleasing aromas of graphite, black cherry liqueur, mocha, and baby powder, it’s full-bodied on the palate and has ripe but present tannins. With fresh acidity, an iron-rich, sanguine feel, and salinity on the finish, it has a touch more of an angular feel, but it’s all well-balanced. I like the structure here more than the 2020. This is a very nice vintage of this wine to drink 2025-2036. Audrey Frick, Jan 2024
|
|
James Suckling
94 Points
Dark cherries, dark plums and dried herbs with some lemon zest. Medium to full body with firm, grainy tannins and tangy acidity. Structured and richly tannined, with a juicy finish. Hard not to drink now.
|
|
Falstaff
93 Points
Compact, dark ruby red with a shimmering core. Opens gracefully on the nose with notes of dark chocolate, cigar box and blackberry. Spreads quickly across the palate with firm, fine tannins, plenty of drive and lots of dark fruit through to the lingering finish.
|
| Blend |
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc |
| Made |
15,000 bottles (Wine Advocate) |
| Drink |
2023 to 2038 (Wine Advocate) |
|
|
The Bottom Line
Bolgheri’s smart buy, and its big brother.
The Volpolo 2023 is $39.99, with three 94-point scores. The Sapaio 2019 is $124.99, Wine Advocate 95.
They blew people away at our tasting. I think they will do the same at your table.
Ciao!
— James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leave a comment