–Wine Channel: The Bolgheri Wine Region Association manages the Bolgheri DOC and Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC denominations. Mr. Riccardo Binda is the President of the Consortium for the Protection of the Wines of Bolgheri. Greetings, President, can you tell us some data about the historical background and current prospects of the Consortium?
-Binda: This Consortium, often referred to as the Consortium of Bolgheri, was founded in 1995 and was actually born at the same time as the Bolgheri red wine denomination. The Bolgheri denomination itself was founded in 1983, so it is not particularly recent and was set in a time when the denomination was only protected for white and rosé wines. In 1994, however, it also expanded into red wines, which have since then become the real heart of the region. Thus, when we allowed the certification of the quality and origin of our red wines, the association was born. At the time, the association consisted of just seven companies, essentially in the area where the Bolgheri wines were produced, and today the number of members has expanded almost 10-fold, reaching almost 70 (67 to be exact). All in all, the area has grown a lot and the number of producers is constantly increasing. What was once 190 hectares of vines is now almost 1,500 hectares and we have produced almost 7.5 million bottles of wine. 25 years on, it can be said that it began with an explosion, with an initial boom, and now we have entered a phase of maturity where Bolgheri is developing its image and consolidating its production, so the goal for the future is to live up to all that the producers have done in the last 25 years.
–Wine Channel: Sassicaia is probably one of the best-known Italian wine brands in the world and is well known in other countries. This brand has largely contributed to the development of the Consortium and also to the fact that the Sassicaia DOC is on the protected designation of origin list, right?
-Binda: It is indeed an undeniable historical fact that Sassicaia was the first Bolgheri wine conceived by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, a man whose brilliant intuition has since inspired the whole region and has received recognition by all its producers. His son Nicola Incisa, who still is at the helm of his winery, has been President of the Consortium since its inception in 1995, serving six terms in 18 years, and has decided to gradually step back at a certain age. In short, Tenuta San Guido, the producer of Sassicaia, is, as always, the reference label for the consortium.
In fact, Bolgheri-Sassicaia began as a sub-denomination of Bolgheri in 1994 and became an independent DOC in 2013, in order to carry out this operation all the other producers had to vote for the change. So, the fact that all the Bolgheri producers agreed to the creation of the Bolgheri-Sassicaia DOC is, in my opinion, a testament of how important Sassicaia is in the history of Bolgheri and shows that the Bolgheri producers have given sufficient recognition to Sassicaia not only in words but also in material terms.
–WineChannel: what can we find in a bottle of Bolgheri today?
-Binda: In a bottle of Bolgheri, we can find a Mediterranean expression, linked to the world-famous grapes, which is a great asset. Grapes like Cabernet and Merlot are known to some extent to wine consumers around the world because they are Bordeaux grapes, one of the first grapes to gain global recognition and acclaim. Such grapes are a very good asset for us, because they can convey the unique features of Bolgheri’s terroir, showing the Mediterranean flavor, elegance and finesse, which are concepts that are viewed as a common language for wine consumers around the world.
[Read more] Denomination grading knowledge
The red wines of Bolgheri are divided into three categories: DOC Bolgheri Sassicaia, DOC Bolgheri Superiore and Bolgheri Rosso. all of these, the Bolgheri Sassicaia is a DOC classification specific to Sassicaia wines and requires the use of no less than 80% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was not until 1994 that the DOC classification for Sassicaia was established in the Bolgheri denomination. Before that, Sassicaia and other Super Tuscan wines were excluded from the Italian DOC and DOCG classification systems because they were made from non-Italian grape varieties and were classified as VDT (daily table wine) or IGT (regional table wine). Bolgheri Superiore covers the higher quality red wines of the denomination, made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with no more than 50% Syrah and Sangiovese and no more than 30% other varieties such as Petit Verdot, which are generally deep in color and flavor, with good structure and great ageing potential. Bolgheri Rosso, on the other hand, are soft, easy-drinking wines that are ideal for pairing with meals.
