Campo Alle Comete Bolgheri Rosso Stupore 2024

Campo Alle Comete Stupore 2024, the spirit of Bolgheri

In Bolgheri Rosso Stupore 2024, four grape varieties come together: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah. What interests me here is as much their blend as the landscape that shapes them, between sea breezes, reflected light and soils of marine and alluvial origin. A red to keep in mind if you're looking for a Bolgheri whose wood aging supports a profile described as fruity, spicy and medium-bodied.

Bolgheri, its soils and the history of Campo Alle Comete

Campo Alle Comete is located in Castagneto Carducci, in northern Tuscany, within the Bolgheri Rosso DOC appellation. The winemaking project began in 2013, led by the Tenute Capaldo group, which was looking for a new place to bring to life grape varieties and traditions specific to each territory. Stupore was the first wine presented by the estate. Today, its vineyards cover 26 hectares in the municipality, where Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot grow. These grapes, cultivated elsewhere in the world, take on nuances here linked to the local terroir.

The climate contributes to this identity: sea breezes help maintain freshness and moderate summer temperatures. The wind helps limit humidity, while solar radiation is reflected from the sea surface toward the vines. Beneath the vines, the deep, alkaline and complex soils mix marine and alluvial origins, with a sandy-clay-loam texture. Each grape variety is vinified separately, with a three-week maceration on the skins, before blending. The wine then spends twelve months in new oak barrels with medium toast, then rests at least six months in bottle.

The tasting information available does not precisely describe the color or the aromas on the nose, so I prefer not to attribute any particular color or notes to it. The profile sits in the middle of a scale running from fruity to spicy, and another running from young to marked by wood. Its body sits a bit higher, at 6 out of 9: a useful reference for imagining a medium to full presence, without deducing a texture or aromatic intensity absent from the data. The proportions of the blend are decided after tasting the separate lots.

At the table, for a red with character

I would pair it with red meat, which is the classic match for this Bolgheri, or with soft cheeses that won't overpower the wine. You could serve it at a dinner where you take time to talk about the terroir as much as the dish: its blend of four grape varieties and its aging give you plenty to discuss, without needing a grand occasion. If you enjoy Tuscan reds aged in barrel, Stupore 2024 deserves a place on your table. Just keep in mind that precise tasting notes are not detailed in the information available.