Region: Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC, Tuscany, Italy

Varietal: Sangiovese 75%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Canaiolo 5%

Producer: The first written record of Capezzana dates to 804 A.D. — an ancient parchment in the Florentine state archives documenting the lease of vineyards and olive groves on this very property. Etruscan artifacts confirm winemaking here going back 3,000 years. The Contini Bonacossi family entered this timeline in 1920, when Count Alessandro purchased the estate and began building what is now one of Tuscany's most storied and respected wine families. Today the fourth and fifth generations run Capezzana together — Benedetta as winemaker, Beatrice managing sales, Filippo overseeing production — with the same aristocratic commitment to quality and place that has defined the domaine for over a century. Notably, Capezzana was also the site of Italy's first planting of Cabernet Sauvignon, brought to Carmignano by Catherine de Medici from Bordeaux in the 1500s — a detail that makes the Bordeaux varieties in this blend feel less like an intrusion and more like coming home.

Vineyard & Winemaking: The Barco Reale takes its name from the ancient Medici hunting reserve that once surrounded this land, enclosed by a wall stretching over 30 miles — the "Muro del Barco Reale," or Royal Park Wall — established in 1626. Think of it as Carmignano's answer to the Rosso di Montalcino: same grapes, same estate vineyards, younger vines, earlier drinking. The blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Canaiolo is sourced from the estate's youngest plots, farmed organically — Capezzana was the first certified organic winery in Carmignano. In the cellar the approach is clean and fruit-forward, with aging calibrated for accessibility rather than extended cellaring.

Tasting Notes: The 2022 opens with a dusty, floral bouquet — autumnal spice, cedar, dried strawberry, and Tuscan earth — with a pretty lift of violet. On the palate it's medium-bodied and refreshingly nimble: bright cherry and blackcurrant fruit accented by savory herbs, graphite, and a touch of olive, with mild tannins and mouthwatering acidity driving a focused, clean finish. This is Carmignano at its most approachable — historically significant, impeccably made, and priced like it has nothing to prove. Which, after 1,200 years, it doesn't.