The Contini Bonacossi family's Carmignano Riserva Trefiano was born in 1979 from an idea of Vittorio, who was young, enterprising and eager to experiment at the time. Dedicated to him is this cru, which, in the vertical tasting carried out, proved to be of extraordinary longevity.
Only 21 vintages made in 40 years For this wine. A wine that was born as a cru at a time in history when the very idea of cru did not exist in Italy. Vittorio Contini Bonacossi, the fourth generation of a family that loves art and the countryside, locates, within the Capezzana estate, its place of the heart: the Villa of Trefiano, built in the late 17th century for the Florentine counts Rucellai and surrounded by vineyards. Three vineyards, to be exact, with extremely different soils and exposures, with Sangiovese and a few Canaiolo plants: Stone, south-facing, clayey and very rich in stones, as the name implies. The Crosses north-northeast with white clays toward Poggio a Caiano, yellow in the center and with limestone soils toward Seano. In the third vineyard, north, Cabernet Sauvignon (the francesca grape, as it was called in the area) is planted on sticky, yellow clay in the upper part and sand and tuff in the lower part. Cultivation was directed toward organic from the beginning, according to Vittorio’s wishes, and then expanded to the entire farm, which has been certified organic since 2015.
A kind of natural blend, which allowed to create a wine rich in nuances and that, with the test of time, has shown a longevity very unexpected. Born as Carmignano Riserva Doc Villa di Trefiano, in later years it lost the diction Riserva only to find it again in more recent times, becoming Carmignano Riserva Docg Trefiano, with the name of its creator on the label, under the family crest. A celebrating its 40th anniversary, with the release-in 2023-of the 2019 vintage, the full family, fourth and fifth generations all involved in management and work at the company, Beatrice, Benedetta and Filippo with children and grandchildren: Ettore, the current CEO, Gaddo and Serena. With them, presenting the wine and the different vintages, consultant winemaker Franco Bernabei.
Few changes have occurred in these four decades. Unaltered blend, with 80 percent Sangiovese and that remaining 20 percent divided equally between Canaiolo and Cabernet Sauvignon, with small fluctuations due to vintage. A small variation in aging woods, from barrels to tonneaux, averaging 18 months, followed by a minimum of one year aging in bottle. From Vittorio Fiore’s consultancy came Franco Bernabei’s, with the hand of family members always present: first Vittorio, then – since the ’98 vintage – Benedetta.
Not all vintages produced, we said, and a limited run: 9 to 13 thousand bottles By year of production. A limitation due to the desire to always keep the profile of this wine high, respecting the vineyards of origin as much as possible.
These are the 10 vintages we tasted. Click on the tabs below to read the description, score, and price.
TASTING NOTES
