Deep ruby color; black cherry, blackberry, black currant, raspberry, black olive, cocoa, salty minerality, oak spice, cinnamon on the nose and palate.
Dry; balanced and amiable tannins and acidity. Tasty black and purple fruits dominate. Full body. Admirable complexity and length. Super Tuscan blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, 15% petit verdot. Manual harvest, fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Full malolactic conversion in French oak barrels. Aged 14 months in French barriques and tonneaux, followed by three months in bottle before release. Organic wine. 14.5% ABV
Early reviews of this effort comment on assertive tannins and a bit disjointedness. They recommended its drinking window would emerge in 2024 or 2025. They were correct. After four years, the wine pours as elegant and serious with black fruit power and depth. With vineyards located near the Tyrrhenian Sea, the wine enjoys an intriguing lift of saline-minerality from the mid-palate through extended finish.
Massimo Piccin, a 30-year-old engineer in Venice, founded Podere Sapaio in 1999, a big career change supported by his father, Dario Piccin, and business partner and friend Roy Bernard. They located in Bolheri in Tuscany in a modest sharecropping farm in Castagneto Carducci near the seacoast, a 55-mile train ride southwest of Florence, a 38-mile train ride south of Pisa. Bolgheri has become famous for its Super Tuscans—Bordeaux-type blends made in Italy. Bolgheri soil features alluvial deposits, clay, gravel, and marine sediments, resembling the Bordeaux region in France.
The effort puts special emphasis on organic and sustainable. The website notes: “The only possible path is that of ethical and sustainable viticulture. Our philosophy involves a technical approach in which the care and defence of plants must be based on prevention. It is we who interpret the vineyard and transform the grapes into wine. Day after day, year after year, in every gesture, in every simple task. To do this, we choose alternative solutions, not only respecting the rules of organic, but also taking them a step further. From the brown algae and kelp extracts that we use to strengthen the plants, to looking after them with essential orange and propolis oils, Sapaio is a natural inductor, providing invaluable support in cultivation and production rituals.”
Podere Sapaio Volpolo Bolgheri DOC 2021 is admirable and elegant Super Tuscan from Bolgheri, the western Italian region famous for Super Tuscans. Its balance of tannin and acidity frame rich, black fruit flavors with impressive complexity and length, particularly in its price range. Organic wine made by responsible winemakers. $32-40
Pairing—Rich, fatty meats; grilled ribeye, steak fajitas, beef Wellington, roast beef; braised and stewed meats, beef stew with vegetables and barley, beef goulash. Lamb, roast venison, smoked wild boar. Meatballs in tomato sauce, gourmet burgers. Richer poultry and pork dishes; pasta with duck ragout, roast pheasant; grilled, smoked pork, pulled pork with barbecue sauce. Cheese—Premium hard cheeses, aged parmigiano-reggiano, pecorino Toscano, pecorino Romano, aged gouda, aged gruyère, comté; aged manchego, aged cheddar; BellaVitano cabernet cheese (cow’s milk cheese infused with cab). Avoid soft-washed rind cheeses, taleggio; young parmigiano-reggiano.
