Trefiano: 40 years and not feeling it

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. This cru is dedicated to him, 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 in Italy did not exist. Vittorio Contini Bonacossi, the fourth generation of a family that loves art and the countryside, identifies, within the Capezzana estate, his place of the heart: the Villa di Trefiano, built in the late 1600s 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: Pietraia, facing south, clayey and very rich in stones, as the name implies; Le Croci to the north-northeast, with white clays, towards Poggio a Caiano, yellow in the center and with limestone soils towards Seano; in the third vineyard, to the north, Cabernet Sauvignon (the francesca grape, as it was called in the area) is planted on sticky, yellow clays 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 extended to the entire estate, which has been certified organic since 2015.

A sort of natural blend, which allowed the creation of a wine rich in nuances and which, with the test of time, has shown a truly unexpected longevity. 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. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, with the release - in 2023 - of the 2019 vintage, the full family, fourth and fifth generations all involved in the management and work at the winery, 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.

Pochi i cambiamenti avvenuti in questi quarant’anni. Inalterato il blend, con l’80% di Sangiovese e quel 20% residuo diviso equamente tra Canaiolo e Cabernet Sauvignon, con piccole oscillazioni dovute all’annata. Una piccola variazione nei legni di maturazione, dalle botti verso i tonneau, mediamente per 18 mesi, seguito da un affinamento di minimo un anno in bottiglia. Dalla consulenza di Vittorio Fiore si è passati a quella di Franco Bernabei, con la mano dei familiari sempre presente: prima Vittorio, poi - dall’annata ’98 - Benedetta.

Not all the vintages produced, we said, and a limited production run: from 9 to 13 thousand bottles per 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 name to read the tasting notes.

• Carmignano Riserva Villa di Trefiano 1979 
• Carmignano Villa di Trefiano 1983
• Carmignano Villa di Trefiano 1985
• Carmignano Villa di Trefiano 1988
• Carmignano Trefiano 1998 
• Carmignano Trefiano 2003
• Carmignano Trefiano 2005
• Carmignano Riserva Trefiano 2012 
• Carmignano Riserva Trefiano 2015
• Carmignano Riserva Trefiano 2019

In conclusion, a wine that still proved to be extremely alive even in the older vintages and that in those of the last decade showed a definite drive toward a long future. Especially the last two vintages tasted, still very young, but definitely promising.

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