Tenuta di Trinoro 2015's...

Sounds like a "line" but the best yet?

This is a tasting that we do each year, I wrote up the 2014's here. Andrea Franchetti was in town for a Tuscan dinner (write up soon) and to taste with him is always a pleasure. He is not one to get overly technical, he likes to speak common sense rather than science. He did say that the estate was really settling into the phase where super-maturity was not the focus, balance is the aim. "Rich" and "fresh" where two words he used, the harvest was a very protracted one but for good reason, they just picked what they wanted, when they wanted - 42 different pickings in total. The alcohol levels are all around 13.8%-14%.

Cupole di Trinoro - Ripe fruit, blackish in character then fresher and redder, so bright, ripe with a hint of savoury, just assembled by Andrea, big bold structure but not too weighty. Lovely, opulent and unpretentiously delicious. 17

Then on to the Cabernet Franc single vineyards:

Campo Magnacosta - 20 year old vines here. Subdued class then an explosion of red fruits, purity. Vibrant, rich yes but with good chalky tannins, a very moreish finish, some ferrous character on the palate. Fascinating and very good. 17.5-18

Campo Tenaglia - The youngest vines at 18 yrs, creamier and a shade darker of fruit, some tar and more seriousness, delicious savoury palate, big ripe tannins, spice and briary character too. 17-18(+?)

Campo Camagi - Means the "old creek", 25 yr old vines here. More muted on the nose then a little sweeter on the palate, slightly less clean, herbal but then drier, tighter and less easy to taste. 16-17


Palazzi - 100% Merlot as ever. So bright and vibrant, very well fruited not OTT but pretty extravagant. Crimson and red fruits but with creamy strawberries as well. Very good. 18.5

Tenuta di Trinoro - Richness and slightly degraded fruit character, opulent, you can see that this and Cupole are so linked. Bold yet fresh, rich, moreish and but with a saline and savoury side. 18-19

Skipping across to Etna:

Franchetti 2015 - So this is 100% Petit Verdot from Etna and ties into a recent Franchetti vertical we did. Andrea did say he may blend in a little Cesanese d'Affile as he often does. The wine is bold with big tannins, a little more savoury than some other vintages, the fruit though is delicious and definitely there.

If you are interested in Andrea and his wines and want to find out more there there is a very good interview on this podcast i'lldrinktothatpod.com (and lots of other fascinating ones too).