2011 Saggi
Among Tuscany's oldest and most prestigious wine families, Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari teamed with Allen Shoup to produce a wine that showcases Washington state's terroir with plenty of Italian character. Saggi (meaning "wisdom") is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.
The 2011 vintage produced intense, vibrant wines with wonderful texture. Moderate spring and summer conditions warmed in late August, with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s to low 90s, allowing the grapes to gain color and sugar. The Columbia Valley’s September and October days were warm and cloudless allowing the grapes to reach physiological maturity and finish ripening perfectly. Cool fall evenings offset the warm days to preserve the grapes’ acidity and ripe tannins resulting in wines with great structure, as found in the 2011 Saggi.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2011 |
| Varietal | Sangiovese Red Blend |
| Varietal Composition | 43% Sangiovese
42% Cabernet Sauvignon
15% Syrah |
| Appellation | Columbia Valley |
| Acid | 0.56 grams / 100 ml |
| PH | 3.69 |
| Alcohol | 14.90% |
| Wine Style | Red Wine |
| Volume | 750 ml |
2011 SAGGI - 92 POINTS
"The 2011 Saggi offers beautiful notes of spice box, cedar, licorice, dried herbs and assorted black cherry and dark currant styled fruit to go with a medium to full-bodied, focused and layered feel on the palate. A blend of 43% Sangiovese, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah, this superb blend has a solid concentration (expecially in the vintage), notable purity of fruit, and present, yet ripe and nicely integrated tannic grip that comes through on the finish. Give it another year or three and dtrink bottles through 2023."
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2011 SAGGI - 91 POINTS
2011 SAGGI - 91 POINTS
"Bright red-ruby. Lively aromas of blueberry, blackberry, licorice and flowers. Intense and suave, offering lovely sweetness and enengy to its fine-grianed flavors of sweet cherry, berries and flowers. Finishes classically dry and persistent."
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Like previous vintages, the 2011 Saggi is a blend of two outstanding Washington Sangiovese vineyards. Candy Mountain Sangiovese gives the wine its dark fruit flavors and appealing notes of anise. Dick Boushey’s Yakima Valley Sangiovese, planted in 1992, adds vibrancy and liveliness. Because Cabernet Sauvignon has the potential to overtake Sangiovese, the Folonaris work closely with Sagemoor Vineyards to carefully select blocks of Cabernet they know from experience deliver elegant character and refined tannins. Syrah, also from Sagemoor, adds to the wine’s dark color and rich mid-palate.
Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari are among Italy’s oldest and most prestigious Tuscan wine families with a winemaking history dating back to the late 1700s.
Today, Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari Tenute, conceived by this father-son team as a collection of small, beautifully located vineyards producing primarily Tuscan “grand crus,” is recognized for its distinctive, small-production wines from the family’s numerous estates. The vineyards are managed using modern viticulture techniques including dense planting and careful clonal selection and research. Both Ambrogio and Giovanni, a University of California at Davis enology graduate, are directly involved in winemaking and are dedicated to high quality wines that reflect the vineyard’s terroir.
Prior to launching A. & G. Folonari Tenute, Ambrogio was the president of Ruffino, originally purchased in 1912 by Ambrogio’s grandfather. While at the helm of Ruffino, Ambrogio was an outspoken advocate for Italian wine quality and took Ruffino in a new and original direction. In the late 1960s, the company began focusing on high-quality wines and in 1971 purchased Nozzole, a famous estate located near Greve in the heart of Chianti Classico. In the 1980s, Ambrogio created Cabreo, a unique combination of tradition and innovation including Cabreo Il Borgo (red), a blend of traditional Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, while La Pietra is Chardonnay from Tuscany, fermented and aged in oak. These wines were among the first in a new group of top wines now widely known as “Super Tuscans.”
In 2000, Ambrogio and Giovanni left Ruffino to focus on small-lot, estate-grown wines, committing to reinvesting, developing and expanding vineyard holdings in the interest of producing high-quality wines. Their portfolio, distributed in the U.S. by Kobrand, includes:
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Nozzole Estate (Chianti Classico, Super Tuscan, Chardonnay)
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Cabreo Estate (Super Tuscans)
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TorCalvano di Gracciano Svetoni Estate (Nobile di Montepulciano, Rosso di Montepulciano)
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La Fuga, Montalcino Estate (Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino)
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Conti Spalletti Estate (Chianti Rufina, Chianti, Rosso Toscano)
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Campo al Mare Estate (Bolgheri DOC, Vermentino IGT)
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Vigne a Porrona Estate (Montecucco, Morellino, Maremma)
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Ronco dei Folo Estate (Colli Orientali del Friuli, Pinot Grigio, Tocai, Sauvignon)
Giovanni and his wife Eleonora live with their three children at the Cabreo Estate in Greve, 30 minutes from Florence.
