Capezzana Ghiaie Della Furba Rosso Di Toscana

Capezzana, situated in the Carmignano zone to the west of Florence, is owned and run by the Contini Bonacossi family, the latest in a long line of owners. In fact, in the archives in Florence, they discovered a contract for the rent of vines and olive groves at Capezzana signed in 804 AD.

Today, the responsibility for ensuring the continuation of such longevity lies with the fourth generation of the Contini Bonacossi family, with Beatrice looking after all marketing and communication aspects and her sister Benedetta in charge of winemaking. Franco Bernabei is their consultant winemaker, and his contribution and presence has given the wines additional focus and personality.

The estate has 80 hectares of vineyard and 30,000 olive trees, all of which are farmed organically (the wines are certified organic from the 2015 vintage onwards). The reds all display supple and silky tannins combined with luminous fruit: the Barco Reale is rounded and ripe with a great balance between fruit and structure. The ‘Villa di Capezzana’ Carmignano is made with 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and is aged for an average of 12 months in French oak. The wine is beautifully intense and elegant. The ’Ugo Contini Bonacossi’ is named after the family’s late patriarch who was a great advocate and ambassador of the Carmignano denomination. The wine is 100% Sangiovese from the Viticciana vineyard, a site selected by Ugo himself.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot

Grapes for this wine are grown on the alluvial valley of the Furba River. The south/south-west facing vineyards are situated at approximately 250 metres above sea level. The soils are very diverse, with marl, schist, galestro and alberese rocks, and also some limestone, which adds a certain complexity to the wine. The ideal climatic conditions allow Capezzana to practise an eco-friendly form of farming, without using pesticides. Other sustainable farming practices at Capezzana include the use exclusively of organic fertilisers, a techinque known as "sovescio" (ploughing under legume and cereal crops grown between the vines' rows), and no use whatsoever of herbicides.

40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Syrah, 25% Merlot.

All of the grapes were hand harvested. Fermentation lasted seven days and took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Temperatures did not exceed 28°C during fermentation. After 13 days of maceration, the wine was transferred into French barriques, where malolactic fermentation was completed within one month. The wine was aged for 18 months in 225L French oak barriques, of which 10% were new. It remained in bottle for at least a year before release.

This wine is intense ruby red in colour. On the nose, there are complex notes of black cherries, sage, chocolate, cassis and new leather. This is a full-bodied wine with well-balanced acidity that will reward a few years ageing while its formidable tannins melt away and the oak integrates further.