The title could confuse, however Tenuta Argentiera shouldn’t be an Argentinian vineyard. Slightly, it’s based mostly in Bolgheri, Italy, one of many bluest of blue chip rising areas within the nation.
Some fundamentals:
Argentiera is positioned within the southern tip of the Bolgheri DOC, on the hills of Donoratico, whose splendid vineyards overlook the Tuscan archipelago within the Tyrrhenian Sea. The property’s vineyards prolong for 85 hectares within the municipality of Castagneto Carducci, the gorgeous Tuscan hilltop city that Nobel Prize winner for literature Giosue Carducci known as residence. Right here Argentiera expresses the up to date oenological imaginative and prescient of considered one of Europe’s most award-winning wine-growing areas. The aim is to create wines which are made primarily within the winery, whereas within the cellar we merely attempt to keep the expression of the terroir, preserving the varieties separate to create an ideal mix.
We tasted 4 wines from Argentiera’s slate of 2026 releases over Zoom with winemaker Nicolo Carrara, dialing in from Italy. Ideas on all wines tasted comply with.
2024 Argentiera Situation Bolgheri Blanco DOC – 100% vermentino. Very crisp, very dry, and really refreshing. Grassy and floral up prime, white flowers make means in time for a hearty minerality, crisp lemon peel (and a few lime), and finally a wholesome honeydew character to wrap issues up. Because the wine warms a bit, it takes on a barely creamier physique, with a soothing richness. A stunning wine for the upcoming summer season. A / $30
2024 Argentiera Poggio ai Ginepri – 40% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, 10% petit verdot. A Bordeaux-style mix however aged briefly in chrome steel and used French oak barrels. Mild on its ft and effusive with fruit, that is an exploration of cherry, with lighter parts of raspberry and rhubarb lingering. Hints of mint and chocolate perk up the end, which is in any other case crisp and fairly refreshing, with a mild bitterness providing a cleaning edge. I favored this higher as an aperitif greater than consuming it alongside dinner. B+ / $30
2024 Argentiera Villa Donoratico Bolgheri Rosso DOC – 45% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 15% cabernet franc, 10% petit verdot. That is one other Bordeaux-styled wine with an depth not seen elsewhere within the Argentiera lineup, aged in additional conventional French and Austrian tonneaux, showcasing layers of brambly blackberry dusted with graphite, tar, and crushed shale. The fruit — dense as it’s — manages to push by all of that and endure, although it provides the end a definite pruniness, finally meandering into darkish chocolate. Whereas brooding and intense, it’s by no means notably tannic and may pair properly with heartier pasta dishes. A- / $50
2023 Argentiera Bolgheri Superiore DOC – 48% merlot, 42% cabernet sauvignon, and 10% cabernet franc. A deep and soulful Tremendous Tuscan, bursting with a mixture of purple and black berries, proper from the soar. Layers of florals carry the wine out of what would possibly in any other case be a purer exploration of fruit, and because it develops on the palate, it reveals some barrel-driven parts, together with gentle notes of vanilla, milk chocolate, and a few gritty, virtually gravelly slate notes on the end. Smoldering and gently tannic, with lingering flavors of brambly blackberry. A- / $105
2023 Argentiera Bolgheri Superiore DOC
USD105
