Tenuta di Capezzana

"Our greatest good is our land. It's been feeding us for generations, and we want it to stay that way. So we must treat it with respect," is the motto of the Contini Bonacossi family. Well, that's what almost all wine producers say. But hardly anyone formulated it as forcefully and convincingly as the over 90-year-old senior, Conte Ugo Contini Bonacossi, who was already over 90 at the time.

Of course, this has a background, because the first attempts to switch to organic cultivation ended in a disaster. So you started a second time, slower and more careful. You could say over decades. New vineyards were planted more densely, with 6000 to 9000 vines per hectare, enormous hours invested and finally all vineyards and olive groves were certified organic.

Finally, the splendid palazzo from the early Renaissance, which sits on the hills near Carmigiano, just a few kilometres west of Florence, was renovated in an exemplary manner and transformed into a lively meeting place. It was also Conte Ugo who made Carmigiano a DOC again, against all resistance from the authorities, by proving that Carmigiano already existed a quarter of a millennium ago as a wine-growing region with defined borders. Actually, the Etruscans cultivated wine here 3,000 years ago.

A vineyard Capezzana is documented in writing in the year 804. The Contini Bonacossi family bought the property from the Rothschilds in the 1920s. It is said that the same Cabernet Sauvignon clones grow here as on Château Lafite. Cabernet has a very long tradition here, in addition to Sangiovese. Vittorio Contini Bonacossi, who managed the estate until his surprising death, also loved autochthonous varieties and planted more Canaiolo and Mammolo. Benedetta and Gaddo continue these traditions in cellars and vineyards. The Carmigiano region, which has since been upgraded to DOCG, allows this variety diversity because it wanted to counteract the acidity of Sangiovese. Therefore the wines here are a little rounder, milder than in the rest of the Chianti area and wonderfully fruity, with a very fine tannin structure. To a certain extent elegance with tradition.

Serena, Vittorio's daughter, has now opened the winery to the public and has set up a wine bar, an agriturismo with wonderful rooms and a cooking school. Filippo takes care of the more than 30,000 olive trees, which are cultivated on about 140 hectares and cultivated by hand with the help of countless small farmers. The whole family, not exactly a small one, works in various fields, preserves the tradition and for five generations has carefully linked it with today's times.

The wines have received many awards and prove their maturity potential time and again, as hundreds of bottles of each vintage have been stored for decades. SUPERIORE.DE