Wine Reviews

A blend of equal parts Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the 2018 Il Borgo is a renewed wine with this vintage. Past editions saw a blend of mostly Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon in a supporting role. This release is softer on the mid-palate with darkly extracted fruit. The wine reveals dark cherry, spice and hints of bittersweet chocolate that give it a very contemporary, accessible personality. Fruit is sourced from across 40 hectares of vine.

This is a very pretty, with currant, cherry and some mahogany and cigar-box character. It’s medium-to full-bodied with tight, linear tannins that are long and very intense. Polished nicely.

From the estates of Ambrogio & Giovanni Folonari (with properties across Tuscany), the Tenute del Cabreo 2017 Il Borgo is a blend of mostly Sangiovese with a smaller part Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an oak-heavy wine with a robust texture that is woven tight with blackberry, spice, leather and tarry smoke. There is some sweet spice and cinnamon on the close, and the wine offers textured, open-knit tannins.

Rich and polished, this shows a light hand with new oak. Black cherry, plum, blackberry, iron, vanilla, coffee and tobacco flavors mingle, supported by lively acidity and dense, refined tannins. Balanced and long.

Its modern suppleness is created from the extraordinary ripeness and balance of 2016 Tuscan vintage. It delivers black-fruit and cedar fragrances, and black-cherry flavor—all carried on a medium body with a soft, round texture that cries “Bordeaux-esque.”