The wines of Ca Marcanda - Angelo Gaja, Tuscany

We are delighted to offer the new vintage of Magari from the Gaja estate of Ca’Marcanda in Tuscany.

Magari is an Italian word with several meanings: 'if only', 'perhaps', 'would that it were true'.
Made with a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this is an impressively elegant yet powerful wine with a silky texture. Separate varietal fermentation, followed by careful blending, and 12 months in barrel, this is a serious wine but one which is still enjoyable from early on in its life. It has the ability to age for 10-15 years.

Angelo Gaja had long contemplated a project in Bolgheri on the Mediterranean coast south of Pisa. With typical attention to detail, he researched the best sites. He set out to convince the then owners of the site he preferred, an olive grove and fruit orchard with a small number of vines, to sell to him. That the winery's name is Piedmontese for "house of endless negotiations" tells the story, but what happened once Angelo succeeded in winning them over is amazing.

In conjunction with the architect, Giovanni Bo, Angelo has masterminded one of the finest wineries to be built in recent times from both an aesthetic and a practical point of view. The vineyard area is characterised by two distinct soil types; a red soil which contains more loam and clay, and a whiter soil, where there is more limestone and deposits of bright white stones. Combined with the warm daytime maritime climate and cool evenings, the perfect conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc are available

Since the first vintage in 2000, the wines have gone from strength to strength and the results are nothing short of dramatic. Today, Ca'Marcanda has rightly established a reputation as one of the leading estates in Bolgheri.

To accompany this new release, we are delighted to offer the other wines produced at this innovative estate.

Produced from Merlot (55%), Syrah (35%) and Sangiovese (10%), the varieties are fermented separately in tanks. The wine blended in the January or February following the vintage and it is then aged in barriques for 12 months before bottling. The wine combines the elegance and suppleness of Merlot and the spice of Syrah with the vigour of Sangiovese. Accessible, and intended for more immediate drinking than its two more serious siblings, it is none the less a delicious wine of great flexibility with the potential to age 5 years or so.

As with Sassicaia, Camarcanda, the winery's grand vin, carries the distinguished Bolgheri appellation. It has grapes from the vineyards with the highest proportion of friable loam soil. It is a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, fermented individually and then blended before ageing for 18 months in French barriques of which 50% are new each year. The wine is complex with rich fruit and aromatic and spicy nuances. It is concentrated, tightly knit, smooth and harmonious. Were that more were made.

The 2004 vintage is a wonderfully mature wine which is delicious now and will continue to develop in complexity over the next few years.

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