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Region: Italy - Tuscany - Carmignano
Grapes: 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet
Alcohol: 14.5%
Notes on the Wine
Deep ruby red in color, the nose is ample, elegant, refined, sweet and fruity with spicy aromas. The palate is soft, firm and fat with dense and sweet tannins, well balanced acidity is in harmony with both texture and body. Long and persistent finish, fruity with small red fruits and spicy notes.
Notes on the Producer
Few wineries in the world possess the stature, respect and devotion that the Contini Bonacossi family has cultivated and maintained over five generations with their Tenuta di Capezzana winery. The estate is located 12 miles west of Florence in the Carmignano sub-zone, one of the oldest recognized wine producing areas in Tuscany. Ancient Etruscan artifacts have shown that grapevines were cultivated in the area for wine production over 3,000 years ago. The first reference to Capezzana dates to 804 A.D. An ancient parchment stored at the Florentine state archives shows the granting of a lease of vineyards and olive groves for the cultivation of wine and olive oil to a place called Capezzana.
In order to qualify as a Carmignano DOCG wine, the blend needs to include a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (10-20%). In the 1500s, the Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, had clippings of Cabernet Sauvignon - then known as "uve Francesca" - sent to Carmignano from Bordeaux. Much of those plantings disappeared with the phylloxera epidemic, but Cabernet was replanted by Count Ugo in the1950s. When Carmignano received DOC status in 1975, it became the first sanctioned wine to include Cabernet Sauvignon in Tuscany.
The winery today is comprised of a Renaissance-era villa with historic cellars dating to the sixteenth century, a Frantoio for olive oil production, a Vinsantaia where the estate's legendary Vin Santo is produced, and a fermentation cellar built in 1938 by architect Giovanni Michelucci. The estate's landholdings expand 670 hectares 80ha of vineyards and 140ha of olive groves.
In 2009, Capezzana began farming organically and achieved official certification for the vineyards and wines in 2015. Today,the estate is in the hands of Beatrice, Benedetta and Filippo Contini Bonacossi, fourth generation, and Serena and Gaddo Contini Bonacossi, fifth generation. Together they oversee all aspects of a family business that continues to maintain the stature, respect, and devotion that has been cultivated for centuries.
