Sunday 29 November 2015

Traditional Tuscan wine with Cabernet Sauvignon



One might be forgiven to think that the Supertuscans were the first wines to use Cabernet Sauvignon, but the truth is that the wines of Carmignano were the first to use this grape, probably from as long ago as the 17th century. Carmignano also had the distinction of being one of the first wines to be legally protected (1716) and was in the past a prized wine of Tuscany. However, it was subsumed in 1932 into a subzone of Chianti and was only gicen a separate DOC in 1975, and promoted to DOCG in 1990. A second DOC was granted for the younger wine of the same area and cepage - Barco Reale.

I tasted both Carmignano (also the Riserva) and the Barco Reale in the Wine Fair this year. The plain DOCG 2013 was a deep ruby with a sweet berry fruity nose. The palate was sweet acid and plummy with an acid backbone. As for the rest, it is better to do another post.

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