Slice of Tuscany

Wine Tasting – February 25, 2023

Sally Roberts Pasquali
www.sliceoftuscany.com
sally@sliceoftuscany.com
@Sliceoftuscany on Instagram

Custom itineraries throughout Italy • Wine buying
Coming Soon! Slice of Tuscany Wine Club – subscription wine club with hand-selected wines from Italy

Italian Wine History

Ancient History

•  Vitis vinifera fossils 2.5 myo in Italy

• Etruscans native to Tuscany and the most advanced indigenous population in “Italy” as early as 8th century BC

• Alberata method of vine training

• By 7th century BC had a flourishing wine trade with the coasts of France and Spain

Greeks

• Arrive in Italy between 6-8th centuries BC

• Oenotria = the land of the vines

• Improved upon winemaking practices, i.e. the press

• Dionysus = Greek God of Wine
  Bacchus = Roman God of Wine

Romans

• 753 BC Rome was founded by Romulus & Remus

• 4th century BC gains power - by 3rd century BC dominated almost the entire peninsula

• Adopted best techniques from the Etruscans and Greeks and improved upon them

• Texts at this time begin to discuss “viticulture”

• Wines were often sweet and very alcoholic. Often diluted.

• Wine is being shipped all over the Roman Empire

• 495 AD marks the end of the Roman Empire
  

Middle Ages

• It’s a mess and it lasts a very long time

• Monks are making wine

• Let’s skip this entire period from the 5th - 13th century

Renaissance

• Thank goodness!

• 13th century marks the rise of nobile families and a demand for quality beverages

• 1716 the Grand Duke of Toscana, Cosimo III di Medici, issued an edict officially delimiting 4 geographical boundaries of prestigious wine growing regions. This was the first ever attempt in history of protecting the integrity of a wine appellation.
  The 4 areas: Chianti, Pomino, Carmignano, Vald’Arno di Sopra
  

Modern Age

• Italy unites in 1861 (well kind of) See this graphic by VOX

• 1875 Marks the beginning of phylloxera in Italy which lasts until 1920s and 1930s

• War and more war

• 1960s is the real Wine Renaissance - wine “quality” pyramid

  • DOCG

  • DOC

  • Table/Generic wine

• 1990s second big movement in the Italian wine industry

  • Introduction of IGT

Italy Today

• 20 Regions - most have a coastline

• 35% mountains, 42% hills, 23% plains

• Alps and Apennines

• Tyrhennian & Adriatic seas

• Varying climates and microclimates

• Calcareous marl, volcanic and sedimentary soils

Tuscany

• Tuscany from “Etruria”

• 67% hills, 25% mountains, 8% flat

• Responsible for 6% of Italy’s overall wine output

• 90% is red

• Sangiovese = 60% of all plantings

• DOC/G = 65% of wine produced; IGT about 30%

• 11 DOCG zones and 41 DOC zones

Carmignano ——>

Chianti Classico ——>

Cortona ——>

Cortona DOC & Tenimenti d’Alessandro Il Bosco Syrah 2018

THE WINE!

• 100% Syrah

• 290-300m elevation on mostly clay and limestone

• 1992 was its first year

• Harvested in early September

• 30-45 days in skin contact

• Ages 24 mos in 34-hectoliter used oak barrels then 12-18 months in bottle

• Annual production 15,000 bottles

• Notes – Complex and earthy. Coffee, cocoa bean, cigar box, Mediterranean herbs. Ready to drink now-ish

Carmignano DOCG & Capezzana

Carmignano

• Medieval village about 15 miles west of Florence

• Named in the Bando of 1716

• Vines and wines for 3,000 years

• Historic use of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc - unique in Tuscany - thanks to Queen of France, Catherine de Medici in the 1500s

• Cabernet Sauvignon was called “uva Francesca”

• Area gained DOC status in 1975

• Ugo Bonacossi, owner of Capezzana, helped area gain DOCG status in 1988 - smallest in Tuscany and helped resuscitate the use of Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1950s

• Carmignano DOCG status says min 50% Sangiovese + 10-20% Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc (+ a max % of other grapes allowed, i.e. Merlot or Canaiolo) – In practice, most are 70-90% Sangiovese with the rest being Cab Sauv.

  • Min 8 months in oak or chesnut

  • Riservas must be aged min 3 years with 12 mos in wood
    

Capezzana

• Florentine state archive document from 804 AD shows wines and olive oil were produced here as far back as 1,200 years ago

• 1475 Monna Nera Bonaccorsi built first “Nobleman’s” house along with 9 farm houses and the wine-making building

• Owned by several noble families over the next several hundred years, each expanding the holdings

• 1920s - Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi purchased the property – 5 generations

• 1925 - First vintage

• 1945 - Alessandro’s son, Ugo, started to take over and revolutionize the wine making on the farm - helped the area gain its own DOCG status - the smallest in Tuscany

• The villa today

  • Renaissance-era villa with historic cellars dating to the 1500s

  • Frantoio for olive oil production

  • Vinsantaia making its legendary vin santo

  • Fermentation room built in 1938

  • Received organic certification in 2015

  • Led by the 4th and 5th generation Bonacossi family

  • Wine tours and tastings, cooking classes, special events, etc

THE WINE!

• 1925 First vintage

• Flagship wine of the Capezzana Estate

• 150-200m south/southwest facing slopes of clay schist and limestone

• 80% Sangiovese (harvested end of Sept) + 20% Cabernet Sauvignon (harvested first part of Oct)

• Fermentation in stainless steel tanks, malolactic fermentation in wood - French tonneaux

• Ages in barrique (225L) and 3.5hl large oak barrels for a combined 12 months

• Ages in bottle for at least 12 months before release

• 14.% abv

• 52,000 bottles a year

• Serve with most meats and cheese

• Notes - Deep ruby red, fruity and spicy aromas - black cherry, raspberry, good acidity and tannins, long finish

Chianti Classico DOCG & Poggio Scalette Il Carbaione 2019

Chianti Classico

• 40-mile long stretch between Florence & Siena

• Highlighted in the Bando of 1716

• Separate from “Chianti” which is a much larger area

• Mostly hilly - 80% with elevation between 650-1500 ft elevation

• DOC status in 1967 and DOCG in 1984

• Historically most wines were made from canaiolo

• Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1800s) - experimented and came up with 70% Sangiovese + 15% Canaiolo + 15% Malvasia

• Currently: Min 80% Sangiovese (can be up to 100%)

Poggio Scalette Il Carbaione 2019

• Lamole - just east of Greve on hillsides with dry stone terraces

• 1991 - Vittorio Fiore, one of Italy’s most famed winemakers, discovered the abandoned property

• Il Carbaione is a section of the land replanted after WWII with rare clone “Sangiovese di Lamole” - vines are 90 years old

• Vittorio Fiore dedicates this wine to Tuscany and to Sangiovese — the region and the variety that have allowed him to fulfill his aspirations to produce superb wine.

THE WINE!

• 450m above sea level in sandy, rocky soil on terraced hillsides facing west/southwest

• Grape = 100% Sangiovese di Lamole

• First produced in 1992

• Harvest in early October - 12 days in stainless steel tanks - 14mos in 350-liter oak tonneaux + min 6 mos bottle aging

• 14.5% abv

• Notes: Full bodied, rich and with great aging potential. Dark berries and fruits, tart/sour cherries, blackberries, currants and plumbs with smooth tannins and a long finish.

• Aging potential - 2034

• Pair with Bistecca Fiorentina, lamb chops, foie gras

• Pop quiz! This meets all the criteria to have a DOCG label. Why doesn’t it have one? What would this wine by considered?

THANK YOU! CHEERS!