By Neil Duarte

Today the wineries located in the Bolgheri area of Tuscany are well known for the fine wines they produce from French varietals. Recently, I was introduced to Campo alla Sughera, a winery located between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci on the Etruscan coast of Tuscany, whose marketing is handled by Wellcom.

Since 1998 the Knauf family has operated Campo alla Sughera, where 16.5 hectares of vineyard produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Vermentino grapes. The winery employs the Médocaine Method, a viticulture system used by many Bordeaux Chateaux. In 2017 Campo alla Sughera formed an alliance with the renowned winemaker Stephane Derenoncourt.

Campo alla Sughera sent me samples of several of the wines that they produce. As is my preference, I decided to taste these wines with a meal. Fortunately, we scheduled a large family meal where the wines were perfect for tasting. My superb chef wife provided the food to accompany the wines.

We began the tasting with the aperitifs. These consisted of a selection of Italian cheeses (Pecorino Toscano, Asiago, Cacio Cavallo and Fontina) and salami plus fried melanzana (eggplant) with homemade marinara sauce. The wine served was a 2021 ADEO Bolgheri Rosso DOC, a 14.5% alcohol blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The ADEO had a vinification of 15-20 days in stainless steel tanks at 28°C with aging for 12 months in oak barriques, plus 6 months in the bottle. The result was a wine with a ruby color and a light fruit nose. It finished light and long, with a pleasant smooth taste. I rated this very nice wine a 89/90.

Our second wine was a 2019 ARIONE Bolgheri Superiore DOC. It was served with my wife’s marvelous meat lasagna accompanied by garlic bread. The ARIONE was a 14.5% alcohol blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It had a vinification of 20-25 days in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature of 28-30°C with aging for 18 months in oak barriques followed by 24 months in the bottle. The ARIONE was deep ruby in color with a complex nose. It finished medium long, slightly tannic and very smooth. Everyone loved this elegant European style offering and I rated it a 93/94.

The last wine was Campo alla Sughera’s Super Tuscan, a 2019 CAMPO ALLA SUGHERA IGT. This wine was a 14.5% alcohol blend of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It had a vinifivation of 20-25 days in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature of 28-30°C followed by aging for 18 months in oak barriques plus 18 months in the bottle. The result was a wine with a ruby color and a very complex nose. It finished medium long and smooth. I thought it was a bit light, perhaps from the Petit Verdot, but it got better as I drank it. I rated it a 93.

Everyone at the dinner expressed a very positive opinion of all three wines. I thank the folks at Campo alla Sughera for sending these excellent wines and recommend all three very strongly.