When the Contini Bonacossi family purchased the Tenuta di Capezzana in 1926, the estate came with a stock of wine from the 1925 vintage of Villa di Capezzana di Carmignano. Last week, Beatrice Contini Bonacossi, Filippo Contini Bonacossi, Serena Contini Bonacossi, and Ettore Fantoni hosted a tasting of this now 100-year-old wine at the Il Magnifico restaurant in Florence. While the 1925 bottling was the star attraction, the tasting included six other vintages of Villa de Capezzana, the youngest being from 2021. We give our notes on the wines below.
We’ve tasted Capezzana’s wines several times over the years, beginning with our first wine trip to Tuscany in 2008. We later tasted new releases with Beatrice in Washington DC and wrote about it on our IWR blog. At the time, we said the wines are clearly age worthy and noted that Tenuta di Capezzana has a special re-corking program for its wines conducted approximately every 20 years dating back to its first vintage. Last week’s vertical dating back to 1925 clearly demonstrates how well these impressive wines mature in cellar.
Beatrice & Benedetta (credit Capezzana)
Capezzana is a large estate (part of the former hunting grounds of the Medici) that includes 78 hectares of vineyards and 140 ha of olive groves. The Contini Bonacossi family has now managed the estate for five generations, but the cellar dates to the 16th century, and grapes have been grown on the estate since Etruscan times. The vineyards are certified organic, and the Villa de Capezzana wine is a traditional blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon fermented in stainless steel using native yeasts and matured in large oak tonneaux or botti. The wines taste traditional and balanced with good concentration and length. Bea’s sister Benedetta Contini is the talented winemaker. Tenuta di Capezzana’s US importer is Dalla Terra.
The Villa de Capezzana di Carmignano Wines
1925 in the Glass (credit drwinkler)
1925: The star of the show, the 1925 is still eminently drinkable with good freshness and balance. Light in color with heavy sediment in the bottle, the wine remains elegant with notes of dried fruit and leather.
1975: This was a great vintage in Tuscany, and the wine was my favorite of the flight. It revealed a perfumed nose, a round, balanced palate and notes of balsamic and walnut complementing the fruit. A blend of 70% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Canaiolo, Colorino and Mammolo matured 30 months in botti. 12.7% alc.
1985: Similar in composition and oak aging to the 1975, the 1985 Villa de Capezzana is suave and flavorful, revealing notes of earth and tobacco complementing dark berry fruit. Dark red mahogany at the core fading to brick orange at the rim. 13% alc.
1995: A blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Canaiolo aged 30 months in 23 hl Slavonian oak botti. Fragrant on the nose and rich on the palate with good freshness and length with still firm tannins. Even dark red color to the rim. 13% alc.
2005: 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 12 months in tonneaux. Semi-opaque in color, this wine is still youthful showing dark red fruit accompanied by notes of underbrush and sweet spice. Elegant. 14% alc.
2015: 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 70% matured 12 months in 350 and 500L tonneaux and 30% aged 16 months in 23 hl botti. Semi-opaque and refined in character with excellent balance and notes of sweet spice on the nose. 14% alc.
2021: Similar composition and aging to the 2015. Bright, fresh and opulent with youthful, firm tannins. Richly textured; huge potential. While it can be drunk now, it will become even more pleasurable with additional time in cellar. 14.5% alc.
Thanks to Tenuta de Capezzana and PR Comunicare Il Vino for organizing and hosting this event.
