The Castagneto Carducci company celebrates its history by projecting itself into the future, with new winemaking projects, an international outlook and high-level hospitality.
Argentiera celebrates 25 years, confirming its commitment to giving new life and prestige to the DOC Bolgheri, which turns thirty in 2024.
A strategy that is expressed in a winemaking research and innovation program – which includes the newly created Scenario Bolgheri Bianco DOC – with the aim of increasingly raising the bar of production quality , strengthening international markets and investing in an excellent wine tourism proposal .
Founded in 1999 within the historic Tenuta Donoratico, since 2016 Argentiera has been owned by Stanislaus Turnauer , an Austrian entrepreneur driven by a genuine passion for Tuscany and a far-sighted strategic vision. He is joined by CEO Federico Zileri Dal Verme, one of the initiators of the winemaking project, and a team of professionals with profound knowledge of the Bolgheri area.
Growth numbers
Over the past ten years, Argentiera has achieved an increase in economic performance as a result of effective planning and a repositioning of the offer. “With the arrival of Stanislaus Turnauer, turnover has doubled and profitability has reached a level that places the estate among the companies producing high-end wines,” explains Leonardo Raspini , general manager of Argentiera. “In terms of markets, if until 2016 the company saw a significant imbalance in favor of the Italian context, we have subsequently reached a balance, with 50% of sales on the domestic market and 50% destined for export, in particular the United States, Switzerland and Central Europe.”
The primary asset for Argentiera’s strategy, at the center of important investments, is the wine tourism offer : since 2021 the company has increased its business value by 15% year on year , demonstrating the fact that the Tour & Tasting offer exerts a great attraction for the area and sees Argentiera among the protagonists. In 2023 alone, 3,400 visitors were recorded.
The evolution of the winemaking project
The company’s growth plan began in the vineyard, with geopedological studies to get the most out of the individual plots and a thoughtful expansion program: “To date, there are 84 hectares of vineyards on a total surface area of 169,” Raspini continues. “In the next six years, the goal is to reach 100 hectares of vineyards , through the enhancement of the precious land owned and the acquisition of some neighboring plots.” The new plants will confirm the Bolgheri vocation, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon representing the production core and a greater presence of Cabernet Franc to strengthen the Ventaglio project. first single vineyard of the estate strongly desired by the current ownership. The white varieties will be at the center of continuous research relating to their ability to adapt to specific soils over the long term, also in response to climate change, in order to produce wines of great freshness, body and longevity.
Novelty and awards
On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the company presents Scenario Bolgheri Bianco DOC , the fruit of a matured awareness and important corporate know-how which translates into research on the versatility and adaptability of Vermentino to the soils of Argentiera.
“The winemaking objective focuses on identifying a more evolved state of the vine and its aging capacity,” explains winemaker Nicolò Carrara . “We experimented with different combinations of vinification and maturation over three distinct vintages, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Specifically, a small portion of the debut vintage, 2022, spent about 9 months in 320-liter steam-bent, untoasted wooden barrels, while the remainder fermented and aged in 400-liter Clayver ceramic containers. For both containers, we ensured that the processes were carried out delicately to guarantee the fragrance, freshness and varietal recognizability, expressions of the identity of our territory.”
The desire to enclose the talent of the terroir in liquid form, operating with full respect for nature , is a fixed point for Argentiera: the estate is the closest to the Tyrrhenian coast and, at the same time, it is the one that reaches one of the highest altitudes in the whole of Bolgheri, up to 200 metres above sea level, a distinctive feature that forges the company’s most representative wines.
This production approach has led to several awards over the years, both nationally and internationally .
The 2020 vintage of Ventaglio has just won 99 points from James Suckling : according to the American critic, the Cabernet Franc – an expression of Argentiera’s production peak in terms of position, soil and climate characteristics and grape quality – has the ability to define a new standard for single-vineyard monovarietals.
Also particularly appreciated and awarded by critics is Argentiera Bolgheri Superiore DOC , the estate’s symbolic wine, crowned Runner-up Italian Wine of the Year by Suckling in 2018, and which became a point of reference for contemporary winemaking with the 2015 vintage.