I attended an excellent tasting held by Villa di Carpezzana, a wine estate in Carmignano, Tuscany. The Carmignano appellation is West of Florence and the wines are not Chianti. An important distinction between Carmignano and Chianti is that historicaly in Carmignano the wine laws permitted the use of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend so they were using Cab long before the Super Tuscan’s got into the act.
The event was held in a loft in the West Village, the type of apartment we all wish we had and the Chef was in the open kitchen furiously preparing tasty appetizers for use to nibble on with the wines. Not only did they pour their current portfolio of wines, they poured a vertical of their Villa di Capezzana, five wines from five decades. It’s exciting to drink older wines and I never pass up the opportunity to taste a verticlal of wine, it’s always interesting to see how a wine evolves over time or if a wine was age-worthy in the first place. All the wines of the vertical were drinking beautifully and I enjoyed the experience and was the only wine event I participate with no shoes on.
Villa di Capezzana 2008 (80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Dark red to black, concentrated with notes of slate and dried herbs and tight at this point.
Villa di Capezzana 1998 (80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) Dark red to black with a big perfume of black licorice and slate, dry with notes of roasted meat on the finish.
Villa di Capezzana 1988 ( 70% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Canaiolo, and 5% Others) My favorite of the flight, it was dark amber with a beautiful perfume of black licorice, roasted coffee and bacon and was silky with great balance.
Villa di Capezzana 1977 (65% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Canaiolo and 10% Others) Dark amber with an amber robe with a nose of stinky roasted coffee with notes of roasted nuts and coffee on the great balance.
Villa di Capezzana 1968 (65% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Canaiolo, and 10% Others) Dark amber with a nose of roasted meat, great balance, silky with notes of bacon, meat and licorice on the finish, still drinking nicely.
From the new releases: The 2007 Ghia della Furba (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Syrah) was black with a dark red robe with a nose of stewed fruit and roasted coffee and was chunky with firm tannin and acid on the finish.
The 2007 Trefiano (80% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Canaiolo) was dark red to black with a nose of dusty, black fruit and wet earth and was concentrated and tight with notes of black licorice with firm, accesable tannins.
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