Tutored Tastings
Treat yourself, your family or a client to one of our exclusive tutored tastings. One of our experts will guide you through a range of wines or spirits while educating you on the evening’s topic. From style and regional focusses to cheese and wine pairings, these are unmissable chances to broaden your wine and spirits knowledge.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Bolgheri perhaps represents one of the greatest success stories of any wine region to have emerged in the last century. From an area initially considered unsuitable for high-quality agriculture, let alone top-level viticulture, the first forays of winemakers in the area were not always widely well received. Yet due to the perseverance and desire to innovate from their makers, the wines of western coastal Tuscany have progressed from their lowly vino da tavola (table wine) status, to having their own prestigious DOC titles. Indeed, some of these wines are now among the most consistently high quality in Italy and are sought after the world over.
Join Italian wine specialist, Michael Dabbs, for a two-hour masterclass taking a deeper look into the wines of this fascinating region. You will first encounter brilliant wines from the slightly lesser-known producers: Grattamacco, Argentiera and Le Macchiole. However, the main focus of the tasting will be on the greatest names of Bolgheri and their flagship wines: Ornellaia from Tenuta dell’Ornellaia and Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido.
The evening will conclude with a mini-vertical of Sassicaia including a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try the hallowed 1985 vintage. This particular bottling was the first that captured the attention of the American wine critic, Robert Parker Jr, who described it as “unquestionably one of the most compelling and dramatic Cabernet Sauvignons” he had ever tasted and has bestowed it with a perfect 100-point score on more than one occasion. Arguably, it is this specific wine that sealed Bolgheri’s fate in becoming one of the most coveted wine regions and opportunities to try it are exceptionally rare. This is a tasting simply not to be missed!
Wines to be tasted:
Apéritif: 2021 Bolgheri, Vermentino, Grattamacco
2020 Grattamacco, Bolgheri Superiore
2020 Argentiera, Bolgheri Superiore
2017 Paleo, Le Macchiole
2019 Messorio, Le Macchiole
2013 Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore
2013 Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia
2010 Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia
1985 Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia
Dress code: smart casual
Event details
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