A Surprising Blind Tasting of 4 Famous Bolgheri Reds

James and friends taste and rate the four Tuscan 2017 reds in James Suckling Wine Central in Hong Kong.

A blind tasting of the new vintage of the four most famous reds of Tuscany’s coastal region of Bolgheri doesn’t happen every day. But last week I got together with a few friends at my restaurant and wine bar James Suckling Wine Central in Hong Kong and we tasted the Guado al Tasso, Masseto, Ornellaia and Sassicaia before dinner.

The results were not that surprising but the conclusions were. The 2017 vintage was one of the hottest in memory for Tuscany. The summer was boiling hot with temperatures in July and August well above 100 Fahrenheit. And there was no rain. I remember flying over Tuscany in a helicopter in August and the land was parched and brown. It resembled a high desert more than a famous vineyard region. Yet the wines we tasted were fresh and fruity with beautiful richness and flavor.

For me the Masseto was particularly linear and bright with so much fruit intensity and fine tannins. It was structured and complex for the future. I expected it to be a blockbuster with low acidity, high alcohol and dense fruit and tannins. Yet it was the opposite. I remember the boiling 2003 vintage in Europe and Tuscany and most of the wines lacked definition and were high in alcohol and a little flabby.

The 2017 vintage didn’t deliver this for the top reds of Tuscany. I think that viticulture and winemaking have greatly progressed since 2003 in the region. Winemakers better understand how to protect their crop from intense sunlight and heat as well as a lack of water. Plus, they are most interested in making better balanced reds than before.

“I think 2017 is a vintage full of surprises, that could really make interesting wines if handled well,” said Axel Heinz, the technical director of Ornellaia and Masseto. “While it was one of the warmest vintages all across the growing season, during harvest temperatures were almost back to normal, with cool enough nights to give the vines a rest (actually if we look at average temperatures during harvest 2017 was not warmer then both 2018 and 2019). The key was early harvest (all merlot was picked in only four days at the end of August, and the rest was finished by September 26). In the winery we went for very soft extraction with low temperatures, very few pump overs and short macerations, to really focus on the elegance and freshness of flavor, knowing that the wines would not lack concentration as the berries were really extraordinarily small.”

He added, “In the end it is a much more classic vintage than 2003, undoubtedly because it had much better conditions during harvest. In 2003 it didn’t cool down at night which resulted in really roasted fruit.”

So who won the blind tasting after I tallied the votes from my friends? It was Ornellaia, Masseto, Guado al Tasso and Sassicaia in that order. My order was Masseto, Guado al Tasso, Ornellaia and Sassicaia.

Below are my official tasting notes that were done in a blind tasting a few days before in my office.