Italiano
Tenuta di Trinoro vertical tasting
We tasted the great Bordeaux blend produced in Val d’Orcia originally by Andrea Franchetti and now by his son Benjamin, who began working with his late father in 2015 and is now at the helm of the estate.
When Andrea Franchetti came to Sarteano, in Val d’Orcia, there was no real winemaking tradition. There were no grapes to speak of, except for Sangiovese more to the north. He fell in love with the area but no one else was making wine there, no neighbors to compare with nor, much more, use as a reference point. There was just him and his passion. Nevertheless, Andrea had a vision, an idea, he loved Bordeaux and he wanted to make the wine he loved, in other words, a Bordeaux blend.
This is how the story of Trinoro began. It was told to us by Benjamin Franchetti, Andrea’s young son, who after his father died took over the helm of the estate, with the help of Calogero Portannese, general manager and winemaler, who joined the estate in 2019, and enologist Lorenzo Fornaini (whose first vintage was 2018).
The area is beautiful, with the Tuscan countryside composed of rolling hills and forests, with the Radicofani tower and Monte Amiata in the distance, an endless expanse of green, spotted by the occasional farm house. This landscape has been unchanged for centuries. Today, the vineyards rise up the hill from a “low” of 400m up to an altitude of 600m. Here the soil is blue clay, deep and mixed with gravel. A fantastic, expansive and absorptive soil.
“When everyone else was planting Cabernet Sauvignon,” Benjamin told us, “my father planted Cabernet Franc and Merlot. We also had Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, which were then used in the Tenuta di Trinoro blend until 2015, after which we saw that Cabernet Franc and Merlot offered us more in regard to elegance and freshness, while retaining the wine’s richness, complexity and depth, which represent the stylistic profile we wanted our wines to stand out for”. This has been the case for vintages 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. No decision has yet been made for vintage 2022. There are two interesting parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot and suited for the blend. We will see.
The wine that epitomizes the estate is their vintage blend, one which describes the season, the climate and their winemaking method. A blend that describes the parcels used to make the wine. The blend changes depending on the harvest, with no predetermined formula. Andrea Franchetti used to say that behind winemaking is a man, a man who must make decisions after inspecting, smelling and tasting what the harvest produced. The grapes used to make the wine naturally come from the best vineyards, planted in the poorest soil composed of rock rubble and clay.
Changes have also occurred over the years in the winery: less extractions, less new wood. This was not true at the beginning. In fact, in 2000 they used two new wood barrels, one for malolactic fermentation and the other for maturing. Today, the wine ferments for two weeks in stainless steel vats, while malolactic fermentation takes place in barriques. With the exception of the first vintages, made using natural yeasts, they have used cultured yeasts to ensure consistent fermentation. Punch down has been reduced in favor of more pumping over in order to obtain greater elegance and less opulence. The estate has 500 barriques from six different coopers and each year there is a 20-25% turnover with new barrels. Each barrique has a story of its own and produces different results. They are examined one by one, with analyses made on 45 samples per day, in preparation for the final blend. After maturing in the barriques, the wine goes into concrete vats, vitrified and non, and this also to obtain other countless possible nuances. It is all a very intricate, methodical and precise operation that Andrea Franchetti left to his successors.
For Benjamin, this tasting is the story of his father’s life, how it evolved.
The wines have the depth, soul and personality he wanted. Click on the name for the technical sheet.
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2020
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2019
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2018
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2016
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2015
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2014
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2013
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2010
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2009
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2008
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 2000
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 1999
- Toscana Rosso Tenuta di Trinoro 1998
