Tasting Notes
Noi 4, Sette Cieli 2023 that sells at £38 a bottle is rated 17/20 points by Jancis Robinson, which is higher than the 16.5/20 rating for Ornellaia that sells at £175 a bottle. It is the least expensive of the recommendations in her article in the Weekend FT March 28, 2026, that otherwise range from £75 to £255 a bottle: "A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Grown at 70-130. of elevation. Aged for 9 months in barriques. Shade blackish garnet; some evolution at the rim already. Serious and layered. A complex, savoury wine with quite a bit of tannin tucked in there. Not ready yet but it should be rewarding eventually (Jancis Robinson). Drink: 2029-2040. Imported in the the UK by Swig". Sette Cieli is situated on the next hillside over from Sassicaia. It's the only place from which you can see Sassicaia's original vineyard.
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Sette Cieli arrived on the Tuscan scene a few years after the boundary lines of the Bolgheri appellation had been drawn. At the time the boundary was set, no one thought someone would plant above the woods on the next hillside over from Sassicaia, but actually above Gaja's Bolgheri property, Ca' Marcanda. But they did. Originally intended as a place to breed horses and a family retreat. Wine-loving friends came to visit and pointed out Sassicaia’s original vineyard, under the castle, that you see when you look over your right shoulder, and then a bit to the left of that, the Masseto vineyard. So they started to plant vines in 2000, and since 2012, the young Ambrogio Cremona Ratti who inherited the domain has been at the helm. He brought in winemaker Elena Pozzolini who came back to the area after several years of international experience in Argentina and California, and they share some of the viticultural team of Ornellaia. As Matthew Jukes says "this estate is a superstar in the making."