2012 Viticcio Bolgheri DOC Tuscany Italy 750 ml

“But you should taste it now.”

That’s what we’d say to critic James Suckling, who praised the “lovely balance” of the 2012 Viticcio Bolgheri DOC back when the wine was still a baby. But the way this Cabernet-dominant Bordeaux blend is showing after eight years in the cellar—with its heady nose of coffee, incense, and dried cherry, and palate of Morello cherry with leather spice riding on exquisitely mellowed tannins—we’re sure that Suckling would be as blown away as we are. 

Viticcio might not be a household name, but this legacy producer is no stranger to the limelight. In 2015, they notched the second-highest-scoring Chianti in the history of Wine Spectator magazine. Among Wine Access members, they’re best known for the 2016 Chianti Classico that resulted in two rapid sellouts, and members praising it as “wonderful and full of flavor” and simply “Great Chianti.” 

That performance with our members is what sent us on a mission for Viticcio’s stellar Super Tuscan, and we’ve managed to score a back vintage—the kind of red wine that tends to be the hardest to find. That’s because these reds are so delicious in their youth that next to nobody has the combination of willpower and patience to keep their hands off and let time work its magic (and the price doesn’t cause any hesitation either). 

But Viticcio knows their wines better than anyone, and since they know how beautifully they age, they’ll hold some back every vintage. We managed to pluck this one from deep in their cellars in Tuscany, where it’s been resting for eight years. Now it’s ready to dazzle—at just $20 per bottle. 

Trust us—once you taste this perfectly aged 93-point red, and let the silky, beautifully integrated tannins coat your palate, you’ll realize how quickly it will go. Grab a case, spend what you saved on a dry-aged New York strip (which will surely cost more than the bottle), and revel in the kind of luxury that only time and patience can provide. 

Rooted in hallowed ground in the village of Greve in the core of the Chianti Classico zone, Viticcio’s now-300-acre estate includes land in Tuscany’s coastal Maremma, where they’ve been making wine since 2004. Located close to the charming medieval town of Castagneto Carducci on the Etruscan Coast, Viticcio sits in the same sea-cooled climate that blesses local benchmarks Sassicaia and Podere Grattamacco. 

Those perfect conditions are apparent in the 2012 Viticcio. Consisting of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it’s grown just above sea level on south- and southwest-facing vineyards. Aged in oak barriques for a full year, the Viticcio shows beautiful toasted notes that are now seamlessly interwoven with the silken, mature tannins. 

Now this harmonious Cabernet blend is ready to dazzle—and priced to do it on repeat.