Tenuta di Trinoro

Black cherries, spices and notes of tar meet a very complex, opulent fruit and a fine-grained tannin. SUPERIORE.DE

"This is a terrific wine that hits that proverbial sweet spot between excellence and value. The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Le Cupole is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot that sees a brief eight months in second and third-passage barrique followed by some additional resting time in cement. This lovely vintage shows dark fruit intensity and richness with cherry, blackberry and plum. There is a touch of sweetness, but the mouthfeel is well constructed and layered with phenolic tightness and tight natural structure that will help it age 10 years or more. Le Cupole is one of the best values found in Tuscany." Robert Parker

Black cherries, spices and notes of tar meet a very complex, opulent fruit and a fine-grained tannin. SUPERIORE.DE

"This is a terrific wine that hits that proverbial sweet spot between excellence and value. The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Le Cupole is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot that sees a brief eight months in second and third-passage barrique followed by some additional resting time in cement. This lovely vintage shows dark fruit intensity and richness with cherry, blackberry and plum. There is a touch of sweetness, but the mouthfeel is well constructed and layered with phenolic tightness and tight natural structure that will help it age 10 years or more. Le Cupole is one of the best values found in Tuscany." Robert Parker

Just 2,100 bottles of this 1.5-hectare Cabernet Franc vineyard "Campo di Magnacosta" (a former river bed with mainly clay, gravel and crushed stone soil) are sold worldwide and appear on the maps of the best restaurants. The vines were planted in the mid-1990s and come from the Pomerol. In terms of aromatic intensity, Magnacosta is probably the most sensually elegant representative of the three major vineyard cabernets of the house. It possesses great straightforwardness, but somewhat less power and intensity. It subtly combines black fruit aromas with spicy notes, tar and antique leather. It already presents itself silky and elegant and will certainly increase in finesse over the years. SUPERIORE.DE

"Campo di Magnacosta is the lightest and more feminine Cabernet Franc of Trinoro’s cru (Magnacosta, Camagi, Tenaglia) based on this grape variety. It is a 1.5 hectare parcel of river gravel and silt on the valley's bottom, where an old stream ate into a hill (hence the name: magna is eat and costa is hillside). It was planted over 20 years ago with cuttings from a vineyard in Pomerol. Intense and elegant on the nose with an intriguing restrained brumble fruit, dried eucalyptus and spices, it combines great fruit definition and creamy palate with tight-knit tannins and lively acidity in background. Warm on the finish, yet well balanced." Decanter

"This is one of three single-vineyard expressions made by the talented Mr. Franchetti. The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Campo di Magnacosta (with only 1,950 bottles released) is powerful and complex. Campo di Magnacosta is also very elegant, showing a slow and careful approach that takes on volume and latitude as the wine opens aromatically. Give it time. Black fruit, Spanish cedar, charred meat, crushed river stone and exotic spice take center stage. The mouthfeel offers a lot of texture and succulence, but the finish is linear and structured. The wine's length ultimately translates into elegance." Robert Parker

Just 1,900 bottles of this 0.8 hectare Cabernet Franc single vineyard "Campo di Tenaglia" (at an altitude of approx. 550 m, mainly limestone) are sold worldwide and appear on the menus of the best restaurants. Impenetrable, dark wine with a bouquet of flint, crushed minerals and some chalk. The texture is rich and opulent, but always smooth with a touch of minerality. Campo di Tenaglia is one of the juiciest Cabernet francs we have ever had in a glass. Beautiful, long final and certainly a great storage potential. SUPERIORE.DE

"Andrea Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Campo di Tenaglia offers a classic interpretation of variety, vintage and territory. The wine shows the ample abundance and generosity of sunny Tuscany (with a powerful 16% alcohol content), contrasted against the linearity and sharpness of this mighty grape. Some cool spots during the growing season have contributed to the phenolic power of the wine, its lasting structure and the vivid freshness of the aromas. To the palate, this wine is enormously rich and generous with layers of black fruit, smoke, spice and barbecued meat. Among these three wines in the series, the Campo di Tenaglia delivers extra density and concentration." Robert Parker

Just 1,650 bottles of this 1.5-hectare Cabernet Franc single vineyard "Campo di Camagi" (mainly quartz and limestone) are sold worldwide and appear on the menus of the best restaurants. Campo di Camagi is a very precise and focused wine. The high quality of the Cabernet Franc grape can be felt here with every sip. Black fruits and spices are here in elegant unity and the full, racy body of this exceptional wine will only reveal itself fully in many years. Please put this bottle far away! SUPERIORE.DE

"The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Campo di Camagi is a pure expression of Cabernet Franc from a two-hectare vineyard site that is farmed to very low yields at no more than six clusters per vine. Only 1,650 bottles were released. Like the others in this three-wine series of single-vineyard expressions, the Campo di Camagi sees a relatively short fermentation at up to 15 days in stainless steel, followed by eight months in new barrique and 10 months in cement. This vintage produces a beautifully lush and sweet bouquet with black cherry and blackberry as the undisputed protagonists. At 16%, you do feel the alcohol content. These sweet fruit aromas cede to pipe tobacco, spice and campfire ash. This wine steps forward in this vintage." Robert Parker

Andrea Franchetti began in the 1990s to position Palazzi as an equal red next to his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines that recall the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

Palazzi represents the Merlot grape variety at its best, with soft, supple fruit, enlivened and exhilarated by intense minerality. The wine comes from a selection of older Merlot vines, covering about five to seven hectares. Several months in new barrels add the appropriate complexity, making the wine accessible and pleasant. This wine is elegantly structured and has a terrific ageing potential. Vinified in small quantities - only 2,900 bottles are produced each year - it is not only for us one of the best Merlots in Italy. SUPERIORE.DE

"During the 2018 vintage a strange wind and drop in temperature arrived in the Orcia Valley, thus Palazzi should be considered of a cooler vintage. 'In the last days of summer, we were dizzy with the silver of the new moon. From the 21st, there was a sudden density in the Merlot: the astronomy signaling. This variety is showing dark and soft, and we began bringing in twenty tons of grape a day. The juice was low in alcohol, high in acidity, rich in taste – complex Merlots, reminding one of Saint-Emilion,' said Andrea Franchetti. Dark and plummy, with precise fruit and clean leathery notes, full of floral layers and buttery sweetness at core, it will age developing balsamic notes now whispered. The tannin shows a great progression on the palate with noble extraction and an almost crisp mineral finish." Decanter

"The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Palazzi is a pure expression of Merlot that boasts seamless power, intensity and concentration. You are treated to a full-throttle expression from Tuscany that exudes generous black fruit, spice and sweet tobacco. Black cherry and plum give the wine soft contours and sweetness. Palazzi sees 15 days of fermentation on the skins and is racked into new barrels for eight months of aging. It is then put into cement for a final 10 months of rest. To the palate, the wine is structured and concentrated, suggesting a pairing with a succulent cut of red meat marinated in rosemary and olive oil. What a beautiful treat." Robert Parker

Of all its wines, the flagship Tenuta di Trinoro offers the deepest insight into Andrea Franchetti's viticulture. The proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot on soils of limestone and clay changes Andrea's production every year depending on the quality and quantity of the harvest. The grapes are always the best from this vintage. Franchetti's own style is evident in each of his wines and with each vintage. SUPERIORE.DE

"The leaner character of the 2018 vintage matched with the concentrated style of Trinoro, where the vineyards are planted 1m x 1m, give to this wine a unique balance. 'As we neared the end of August, we were looking at larger than usual clusters, not too sweet for the period, and unusually soft in their early fruit.' said Andrea Franchetti. 'The skins, thin as they were, were incredibly forward in colour – they stained the fingers! Usually, that happens in mid-October'. After that there was a drop in temperature and a firm wind which were able to concentrate the flavours of the grapes. The wine is restrained, full of eucalyptus, dried leaf and fresh cassis - almost minty in depth - but its best arrives from perfectly polished tannins and lively acidity. A dense wine full of elegance." Decanter

"Andrea Franchetti's 2018 Tenuta di Trinoro reminds me of the wines he made a decade ago or more. This dark, full and concentrated red blend shows a good amount of the power and the ripe, fruit-forward appeal that I associate with the wines made from those golden years from 2001 to 2007. There is a beautiful fullness and opulence here that wraps thickly over the palate with blackberry, rum cake, charred meat and black licorice. This blend of 59% Cabernet Franc and 41% Merlot offers up aromas of spice, mahogany and some of the grilled herbs or rosemary that you would associate with the Cabernet. The finish is super long and rich, with elegant tannins and lasting fruit momentum. Despite that slightly retro or nostalgic full-throttle bouquet that I described above, the mouthfeel is more tapered, fine and ethereal that you might expect.  You get all sorts of surprises from this beautiful, soulful wine." Robert Parker

Just 2,100 bottles of this 1.5-hectare Cabernet Franc vineyard "Campo di Magnacosta" (a former river bed with mainly clay, gravel and crushed stone soil) are sold worldwide and appear on the maps of the best restaurants. The vines were planted in the mid-1990s and come from the Pomerol. In terms of aromatic intensity, Magnacosta is probably the most sensually elegant representative of the three major vineyard cabernets of the house. It possesses great straightforwardness, but somewhat less power and intensity. It subtly combines black fruit aromas with spicy notes, tar and antique leather. It already presents itself silky and elegant and will certainly increase in finesse over the years. SUPERIORE.DE

"Campo di Magnacosta is the lightest and more feminine Cabernet Franc of Trinoro’s cru (Magnacosta, Camagi, Tenaglia) based on this grape variety. It is a 1.5 hectare parcel of river gravel and silt on the valley's bottom, where an old stream ate into a hill (hence the name: magna is eat and costa is hillside). It was planted over 20 years ago with cuttings from a vineyard in Pomerol. Intense and elegant on the nose with an intriguing restrained brumble fruit, dried eucalyptus and spices, it combines great fruit definition and creamy palate with tight-knit tannins and lively acidity in background. Warm on the finish, yet well balanced." Decanter

"This is one of three single-vineyard expressions made by the talented Mr. Franchetti. The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Campo di Magnacosta (with only 1,950 bottles released) is powerful and complex. Campo di Magnacosta is also very elegant, showing a slow and careful approach that takes on volume and latitude as the wine opens aromatically. Give it time. Black fruit, Spanish cedar, charred meat, crushed river stone and exotic spice take center stage. The mouthfeel offers a lot of texture and succulence, but the finish is linear and structured. The wine's length ultimately translates into elegance." Robert Parker

Just 1,900 bottles of this 0.8 hectare Cabernet Franc single vineyard "Campo di Tenaglia" (at an altitude of approx. 550 m, mainly limestone) are sold worldwide and appear on the menus of the best restaurants. Impenetrable, dark wine with a bouquet of flint, crushed minerals and some chalk. The texture is rich and opulent, but always smooth with a touch of minerality. Campo di Tenaglia is one of the juiciest Cabernet francs we have ever had in a glass. Beautiful, long final and certainly a great storage potential. SUPERIORE.DE

"Andrea Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Campo di Tenaglia offers a classic interpretation of variety, vintage and territory. The wine shows the ample abundance and generosity of sunny Tuscany (with a powerful 16% alcohol content), contrasted against the linearity and sharpness of this mighty grape. Some cool spots during the growing season have contributed to the phenolic power of the wine, its lasting structure and the vivid freshness of the aromas. To the palate, this wine is enormously rich and generous with layers of black fruit, smoke, spice and barbecued meat. Among these three wines in the series, the Campo di Tenaglia delivers extra density and concentration." Robert Parker

Andrea Franchetti began in the 1990s to position Palazzi as an equal red next to his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines that recall the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

Palazzi represents the Merlot grape variety at its best, with soft, supple fruit, enlivened and exhilarated by intense minerality. The wine comes from a selection of older Merlot vines, covering about five to seven hectares. Several months in new barrels add the appropriate complexity, making the wine accessible and pleasant. This wine is elegantly structured and has a terrific ageing potential. Vinified in small quantities - only 2,900 bottles are produced each year - it is not only for us one of the best Merlots in Italy. SUPERIORE.DE

"During the 2018 vintage a strange wind and drop in temperature arrived in the Orcia Valley, thus Palazzi should be considered of a cooler vintage. 'In the last days of summer, we were dizzy with the silver of the new moon. From the 21st, there was a sudden density in the Merlot: the astronomy signaling. This variety is showing dark and soft, and we began bringing in twenty tons of grape a day. The juice was low in alcohol, high in acidity, rich in taste – complex Merlots, reminding one of Saint-Emilion,' said Andrea Franchetti. Dark and plummy, with precise fruit and clean leathery notes, full of floral layers and buttery sweetness at core, it will age developing balsamic notes now whispered. The tannin shows a great progression on the palate with noble extraction and an almost crisp mineral finish." Decanter

"The Tenuta di Trinoro 2018 Palazzi is a pure expression of Merlot that boasts seamless power, intensity and concentration. You are treated to a full-throttle expression from Tuscany that exudes generous black fruit, spice and sweet tobacco. Black cherry and plum give the wine soft contours and sweetness. Palazzi sees 15 days of fermentation on the skins and is racked into new barrels for eight months of aging. It is then put into cement for a final 10 months of rest. To the palate, the wine is structured and concentrated, suggesting a pairing with a succulent cut of red meat marinated in rosemary and olive oil. What a beautiful treat." Robert Parker

Of all its wines, the flagship Tenuta di Trinoro offers the deepest insight into Andrea Franchetti's viticulture. The proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot on soils of limestone and clay changes Andrea's production every year depending on the quality and quantity of the harvest. The grapes are always the best from this vintage. Franchetti's own style is evident in each of his wines and with each vintage. SUPERIORE.DE

"The leaner character of the 2018 vintage matched with the concentrated style of Trinoro, where the vineyards are planted 1m x 1m, give to this wine a unique balance. 'As we neared the end of August, we were looking at larger than usual clusters, not too sweet for the period, and unusually soft in their early fruit.' said Andrea Franchetti. 'The skins, thin as they were, were incredibly forward in colour – they stained the fingers! Usually, that happens in mid-October'. After that there was a drop in temperature and a firm wind which were able to concentrate the flavours of the grapes. The wine is restrained, full of eucalyptus, dried leaf and fresh cassis - almost minty in depth - but its best arrives from perfectly polished tannins and lively acidity. A dense wine full of elegance." Decanter

"Andrea Franchetti's 2018 Tenuta di Trinoro reminds me of the wines he made a decade ago or more. This dark, full and concentrated red blend shows a good amount of the power and the ripe, fruit-forward appeal that I associate with the wines made from those golden years from 2001 to 2007. There is a beautiful fullness and opulence here that wraps thickly over the palate with blackberry, rum cake, charred meat and black licorice. This blend of 59% Cabernet Franc and 41% Merlot offers up aromas of spice, mahogany and some of the grilled herbs or rosemary that you would associate with the Cabernet. The finish is super long and rich, with elegant tannins and lasting fruit momentum. Despite that slightly retro or nostalgic full-throttle bouquet that I described above, the mouthfeel is more tapered, fine and ethereal that you might expect.  You get all sorts of surprises from this beautiful, soulful wine." Robert Parker