ON THE ROAD | Federico Moccia in Bolgheri

When they’re not scurrying around the Club and bringing bottles to your table, our wine team try to get out and about to as many regions as they can. In late summer, our London Head Sommelier, Federico Moccia, visited the Tuscan enclave of Bolgheri for a rather special event…

I took it is a reflection on the status of 67 Pall Mall that I was seated at the ‘celebrities’ table, alongside some of the area’s history makers – Lamberto Frescobaldi, Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta from Tenuta San Guido, Cinzia Merli from Tenuta Le Macchiole and Albiera Antinori, president of the consorzio. We discussed not only the direction of Bolgheri wines but also the broader future of the Tuscan Coast. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the many changes the region has gone through, from climate to people, and, of course, the consistent improvement in quality and global recognition. Bolgheri is no longer seen as an alternative to Bordeaux but as a region with its own identity.

We also tasted some pretty special wines, notably older vintages of some Bolgheri classics. Among my personal highlights were Sassicaia 1995, Grattamacco 1998, Argentiera 2010, Guado al Tasso 2001, Ornellaia 2004, Castello di Bolgheri 2008 and Michele Satta 1999.

As well as such renowned bottlings, Bolgheri is increasingly recognised for its monovarietal wines, which aren’t under the DOC but are labelled simply as ‘IGT Toscana.’ Wines like Paleo Rosso from Le Macchiole (100% Cabernet Franc) and the renowned Masseto (100% Merlot) showcase the potential and perhaps the future of the area. I managed to fit in a visit to the new Masseto winery while I was in Bolgheri, which is in a spot I know well – a few years ago, during a visit to [sister estate] Ornellaia, I went wandering off and got lost in the pine forest where the winery was being built… This time around I was shepherded around the new cellar by Gaia Cinnirella, Masseto’s winemaker and cellar master. It was astonishing to see the architecture, which, with its secret doors and fake walls, felt like something out of a Bond film. But it’s not just for show – Gaia went into huge detail on the microclimate, vineyard management and blue clay soils, outlining how each small plot of Cabernet Franc contributes to the newest, let’s say second, wine, Massetino.

We tasted the latest releases: Masseto 2021 and Massetino 2022. The former is powerful, smooth and silky, yet balanced, with black fruit and deep balsamic Mediterranean notes that only Tuscany can deliver. The latter, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, has more fruit-forward aromas, maintaining a lovely freshness – a more approachable wine for earlier drinking that shows a different side of Masseto.

I hope you’ll come and taste such wines with me in February next year, when we host the Anteprima showcase of Bolgheri’s 2022 vintage. At this now annual tasting, Members will be able to meet more than 40 winemakers from such producers as Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Grattamacco and Tenuta San Guido, with its iconic Sassicaia, along with newer names like the dynamic Fabio Motta. I’ve already sampled some 2022s, and they show a lighter, elegant style marked by freshness and crunchiness. It should make for a fun occasion – though sadly I can’t promise quite the same setting as my Tuscan evening.

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