Wednesday 8th of November
7pm start
£79pp for 7 courses and 7 wines and 1 amazing olive oil!
Carmignano is today one of Tuscany’s most exciting, up and coming wine regions. Distanced from the maddening bustle of Chianti Classico, Tenuta di Capezzana is the vanguard Estate in this small zone west of Florence, specialising in wines of ineffable elegance and style.
The estate is owned and run by the Contini Bonacossi Family. Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi returned at the beginning of the Twentieth century from Spain family having been highly successful in the antique trade. After the war and with a University degree in farm management, son Ugo joined his father in reconstructing the winemaking business at Capezzana and gradually took over. From the very start he was a firm believer in the quality of the wines produced in this region and set out to improve his wines at a time when the majority of producers still sold their wines by weight. Ugo was really the man who put Capezzana on the map and today, Capezzana is run by Ugo’s children; Benedetta, Beatrice, Vittorio and Filippo with his grandchildren Serena, Leone and Gaddo.
We are delighted that Serena Contini Bonacossi is joining us to guide us through her families’ wonderful wines and the best olive oil on the planet!
We will be matching 6 wines and 1 olive oil to a 7-course tasting menu
2016 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2016 Vin Ruspo
2014 Barco Reale di Carmignano
2013 Carmignano 'Villa di Capezzana'
2010 'Ghiaie della Furba'
2013 Ugo Contini Bonacossi
2009 Vin Santo di Carmignano
plus a couple of treats!
Background on Carmignano and Capezzana
Because of its tiny size, Carmignano is one of Tuscany’s least known regions, and yet it has a long history of quality wine production. A parchment contract held in the Florence State Archives, dated 804 AD, reveals that vines and olives were cultivated at Capezzana’s from as early as 1200 years ago.
The region was recognised by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, as one of the superior wine producing areas of Tuscany and granted special legal protections in 1716. It was granted DOC status in 1975, and was upgrade to DOCG in 1990.
In stylistic terms the wines of Carmignano can seem tenser and more energetically fragrant than their more famous Chianti Classico counterparts. At 150-200 metres above sea level, lower lying than the Chianti norm, Carmignano can ripen Sangiovese a full fortnight earlier than Chianti and has no trouble ripening Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. These latter varieties are no newcomers to Carmignano – the tradition of blending small quantities of Cabernet with Sangiovese began in this area in the 18th century and should not be confused with the more recent “super Tuscan” tradition.
Carmignano was also the first recognised region in Italy to have Cabernet and Merlot incorporated in to the DOCG. In fact, it is the only region where Cabernet must make up at least 10% of the blend.
Legend has it that Capezzana’s vines were sourced directly from a little known Pauillac vineyard called Lafite! Regardless, the best wines of the region bear no resemblance to the Super-Tuscan style. On the contrary, they are a lesson in how judicious blending can in fact assist in bringing out the personality of local vineyards as opposed to the other way around. These are wines that taste of place rather than of fruit and wood. They could not come from anywhere but Toscana!
With the arrival of highly respected Franco Bernabei, who joined as consultant in 2013, the vineyards and wines of Capezzana have been fine-tuned and are now very much ‘in the zone’, asserting themselves as the beacons of the DOCG.
Organic certification was completed in 2015. Under Bernabei, who works alongside Benedetta Contini Bonacossi, the Estate has eschewed clonal material for their own massale selected material. Vine density has been doubled and, in the winery, the wines are now fermented with their native yeast and matured in larger-format barrels with minimal new oak influence. The wines have gone from strength to strength.
If you wish to book, please contact us directly on: 029 2022 4343 or [email protected]
