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Il Borro
Il Borro is the Ferragamo family's flagship red from San Giustino Valdarno: half Merlot, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Up to two years in French oak bring cocoa and sweet tobacco to ripe black fruit. Full-bodied, velvety, built for steak.
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Half Merlot, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah making up the rest, from the family's estate at San Giustino Valdarno in the Arezzo hills. Two years in French oak give it cocoa and sweet tobacco over dark fruit, and the tannins are soft and velvety. Our note below is built on the producer's own sheets for the 2020 and 2021 and on the critics who scored them.
Dark red with purple glints. The nose is intense: forest floor first, then warm spice, cocoa and sweet tobacco, the notes the Ferragamo family's own sheet picks out for this wine. Blackberry and blackcurrant sit underneath, with a violet lift in the 2021 that two years in French oak has not covered.
Violet
Black cherry
Blackberry
Blackcurrant
Tobacco
Forest Floor
Black pepper
CocoaFull-bodied and velvety, as a half-Merlot blend tends to be. The 2021 is 15.5% alcohol, yet a cool spring and an average summer kept the fruit fresh rather than jammy. The tannins are soft and well-honed: James Suckling, scoring the 2021 at 97, called them 'ultra-fine tannins'.
Long, dry and velvety, with the cocoa and tobacco from the oak lasting longest. The Cabernet and Syrah spend their two years in new and once-used small French barrels, and that is where the toasty length comes from.
This is the estate's flagship, made in 50,000 bottles in 2021, and it drinks well from 2025 to 2040. Open the 2020 now for softer, riper fruit from a hot year; the 2021 and 2022 reward patience. A wine for a Fiorentina steak or a braised beef, not a weeknight pasta.
Millesima is the only UK shop we track for Il Borro, so there is no price to compare across shops. It lists the 2020 at £49.50, the 2021 at £50.90 and the 2022 at £46.50, each duty and VAT paid for a single 75 cl bottle. Buying a case of six brings the price per bottle down.
75cl · 2020: £49.50, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2022: £46.50, 1 UK retailer
Il Borro scores highest for food and occasion: a full-bodied red for a steak dinner or a gift. The cellar card sits close behind, thanks to the 2021's drink window to 2040.
A full-bodied Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah blend with soft tannins, built for red meat: Fiorentina steak, braised beef, wild boar stew and aged cheese are the producer's own pairings. Less at home with fish or spicy food.
A Ferragamo-family Super Tuscan with scores in the mid 90s across three vintages, also bottled in magnum and larger sizes. Right for a birthday steak dinner or a gift for someone who loves Tuscany.
Two years in oak and six months in steel before release, and Wine Advocate gives the 2021 a window to 2040. The 2020 and 2022 should hold to the mid 2030s.
At £46.50 to £50.90 a bottle it sits high for a Toscana IGT. But it is the estate's flagship, aged two years in French oak, and the 2021 scored 94 to 97 with four major critics. Fair for the quality, not a bargain.
Familiar grapes, ripe black fruit and soft tannins make it easy to like. The price, 15.5% alcohol and a wine that improves with a few years in bottle make it more of a treat than a first step.
A £46.50 to £50.90 bottle at 14.5% to 15.5% alcohol, made for a long dinner rather than a Tuesday. Keep it for the weekend roast.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Toscana denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
The 2020 came from a very hot summer and an early harvest, and spent 18 months in oak at 14.5% alcohol. The 2021 had a cool, dry spring and late-August rain, spent 24 months in oak at 15.5%, and James Suckling scored it 97. The 2022 was a drought year with lower yields, saved by late rain. The drink windows below follow each year's character.
A hot, dry year with lower yields, rescued by rain in August and September. Concentrated black fruit with fresh acidity and velvety tannins: approachable from 2026 and should hold to 2036.
A mild winter, a cool dry spring and an average summer, with late-August rain that let the grapes ripen fully. Deep colour and a full, round taste after 24 months in oak. The longest-lived of the three vintages on sale: drink from 2025 to 2040.
A dry, warm winter and spring, heavy rain in May and June, then a very hot summer and an early harvest in good condition. Ripe, fleshy fruit at 14.5% alcohol after 18 months in oak: open from 2024 and keep to about 2034.
A hot, dry year with lower yields, rescued by rain in August and September. Concentrated black fruit with fresh acidity and velvety tannins: approachable from 2026 and should hold to 2036.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Il Borro is a Toscana IGT, a label with no ageing rules of its own, so everything in the price is the estate's choice. That means hand-picking into 10 kg crates, two years in French oak, six more months in steel, and a run of 50,000 bottles for the 2021. Organic farming and scores of 94 to 97 for the 2021 add to the demand.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Toscana is in the IGT tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Toscana falls within Tuscany, covering Arezzo · Firenze · Grosseto · Livorno · Lucca · Massa Carrara · Pisa · Pistoia · Prato · Siena.
Winery
S. Giustino Valdarno
Wine area
Producer: Il Borro, S. Giustino Valdarno. Directions
The 2021 and 2022 spent 24 months in oak: Merlot in big 2,000-litre French casks, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah in new and once-used small barrels, then six months in steel. The 2020 had 18 months. Barrels and cellar time are paid for long before a bottle is sold.
The estate made 50,000 bottles of the 2021 and 73,000 of the 2020, every bunch picked by hand into 10 kg crates so it arrives whole. Hand-picking costs more in labour than a machine, and the price carries that.
The grapes are organically grown and the estate has been certified organic since 2015. Organic farming means more work in the vineyard and no shortcuts in a wet year, and the price carries that.
The 2021 scored 97 with James Suckling, 95 with two other major critics and 94 with a fourth; the 2020 drew 93 to 96. Scores like these keep demand high for a 50,000-bottle wine, and the price with it.
The IGT Toscana label sets no minimum ageing and no tasting panel, unlike a DOCG, so nothing in the price comes from a rulebook. The oak, the hand-picking and the run of 50,000 to 73,000 bottles are all the estate's own choices.
Of the £46.50 the 2022 sells for, about £11.30 is tax: £7.75 of VAT and £3.56 of duty. The UK charges duty at £30.62 per litre of pure alcohol, so a 15.5% wine pays more than a 13% one. The 2021 at £50.90 carries about £12 of tax.
The producer pairs it with meat dishes of the Tuscan tradition: braised beef, wild boar stew, Fiorentina steak and aged cheese. Soft tannins and 15.5% alcohol want fat and protein on the plate. Keep it away from hot spice and raw fish.
The soft, velvety tannins of this Merlot-led Toscana IGT grab the protein in a seared steak and turn silky, while the fat in the meat mellows the 15.5% alcohol. Ripe black fruit and cocoa stand up to the char. This is a pairing the estate itself names.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Ribeye steak · Sirloin steak · Fillet steak · More pairings →
Long-cooked beef is rich and sticky, and a full-bodied red with up to two years in oak cuts through it: the tannin scrubs the palate clean between mouthfuls. Il Borro's cocoa and tobacco notes echo the browned, caramelised edges of a braise.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Beef stew · Venison Stew · Lamb shank
Forest floor, sweet tobacco and warm spice in the glass meet the same earthy, gamey notes on the plate, so the wine tastes like part of the dish. Game is lean, and Il Borro's soft tannins do not dry it out the way a tougher young Sangiovese can.
Try with: Venison Stew · Roast Pheasant · Roast Duck · Duck breast · More pairings →
Salt in an aged cheese softens tannin and makes the wine's black fruit taste sweeter and rounder. A nutty, crystalline cheese matches the cocoa and toast that a long spell in French oak leaves in Il Borro. Aged cheese is on the producer's own pairing list.
Try with: Cheese board · Strong cheddar cheese · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · Blue cheese
A slow-cooked meat sauce has the weight to meet a 15.5% full-bodied red; a lighter wine would vanish under it. Il Borro's ripe Merlot fruit matches the sweetness of long-cooked tomato and onion, and the Cabernet grip handles the meat.
Try with: Lasagna · Ragu alla bolognese · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →
Chilli heat makes 15.5% alcohol burn and turns soft tannin bitter, so Thai and hot Indian dishes fight this wine. Raw fish and oysters clash with oak and tannin and leave a metallic taste. Pour a crisp Vermentino di Sardegna or a dry Prosecco with those instead.
Skip with: Green curry · Chicken pad thai · Nigiri Sushi · Oysters · Ceviche · Pairing guide →
The 2021 is the one to lay down: Wine Advocate gives it a 2025 to 2040 window. The 2020, from a hot year, is softer and ready now. The estate bottles Il Borro from the standard 75 cl up to 12-litre formats, so a magnum for a long cellar is an option.
For the main offer above.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
Two years in oak and six months in steel before release, and Wine Advocate gives the 2021 a window to 2040. The 2020 and 2022 should hold to the mid 2030s.
£42.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2021, at XtraWine, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page several times a week. Last refresh: 6 Nov 2026, 06:32 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighBased on the producer's published tasting notes.
Confidence · HighFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, from how this wine is made, the rules of its appellation, UK duty and VAT and the price shops charge for it today. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumThe drinking years for the main offer apply to its 2021 vintage. Treat them as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIl Borro is 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 vintages. Some shop listings still add Petit Verdot, but the producer's own sheets and pages for 2019 to 2021 name only the three grapes. Each grape is planted on the soil that suits it best, chosen after a geological study of the estate.
Il Borro is made by the Ferragamo family's estate of the same name at San Giustino Valdarno, in the Arezzo hills of Tuscany. Ferruccio Ferragamo bought the estate in 1993. The wine is a Toscana IGT and the estate's flagship red, made from organically grown grapes.
Full-bodied and velvety, with forest floor, warm spice, cocoa and sweet tobacco over blackberry and blackcurrant. The tannins are soft and the finish is long and dry. The 2021 is 15.5% alcohol, the 2020 14.5%.
The 2020 is ready now and should keep to about 2034. The 2021 drinks from 2025 to 2040 and the 2022 from 2026 to 2036. Serve it at 16 to 18 °C and give it an hour in a decanter.
Millesima is the only UK shop we track for Il Borro, so there is no price to compare between shops. It sells the 2022 at £46.50, the 2020 at £49.50 and the 2021 at £50.90, duty and VAT paid, per 75 cl bottle. A case of six costs less per bottle.
Yes. Il Borro is made from organically grown grapes, and the estate has been certified organic since 2015.
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How retailer prices are sourced.
Prices and stock are read from each retailer’s public product page several times a week. Outbound buy links carry rel="nofollow sponsored noopener". The list is sorted by price; we do not accept payment for placement.
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