The now sadly deceased founder Andrea Franchetti was the son of an American mother and an Italian father. Growing up in an environment frequented by artists, he was raised with experimentation and research in his blood, which later showed in his style of winemaking. Headstrong and determined, he ignored the region's most important grape variety – Sangiovese – and instead focused on Bordeaux grape varieties. Today, Tenuta di Trinoro is counted among the legendary wineries of Italy.
In the 1980s, Andrea decided to plant Bordeaux grape varieties in a godforsaken area south of the Brunello region, in the Val d’Orcia, on until then completely untouched land. After gaining his first experiences in Bordeaux, his special love was for Cabernet Franc. The location here is also something very special. Of the approximately 200 hectares, 23 are planted with vines, situated between 420 and 600 meters in elevation on barren, weathered, calcareous soils. The soils reminded Andrea of those in Saint-Emilion, which sparked his visionary idea to plant French vines here in the first place. Due to the altitude, the microclimate is significantly cooler than one would expect from the southern latitude. This allows the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly.
At the beginning, Andrea's winemaker friends Peter Sisseck (Pingus) and Jean-Luc Thunevin (Château Valandraud) supported him with advice and assistance. Andrea Franchetti soon created wines with a characteristic combination of power, structure, and strength. His wines are extremely dark and rich in extract. At Tenuta di Trinoro, grapes are always harvested late and only when fully ripe. This gives them a wonderfully brilliant, rich, and mature touch.
The flagship of the winery also bears its name: Tenuta di Trinoro. The blend is always based on Cabernet Franc and Merlot, with smaller proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The wine has already achieved perfection on paper, as it received a full 100 points from wine critic Robert Parker. While "Palazzi" is a silky, ripe, single-varietal Merlot, three single-vineyard Cabernet Francs are also aged separately: Tenaglia, Magnacosta, and Camagi. All three are highly individual, powerful, and complex. They need some bottle aging, and just like top Bordeaux from the right bank, they reward patience with great finesse and complexity. These fascinating wines have their own unique character and are in no way inferior to the Bordelais. Not wines for every day, but they are undoubtedly among the greatest wines in the world.
Sancaba is another visionary project by Carlo Franchetti, Andreas Cousin. The vineyard is located at over 650 meters elevation, high in the hills of San Casciano dei Bagni, on the southern edge of the Siena province. The soils consist of calcium-rich, weathered clay and slate. The cool microclimate is also ideal for growing outstanding Pinot Noir. Here, the temperature swings from warm days to cool nights are significant. This allows the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly to perfection. Harvest often takes place only in October. The result? Precise, mineral Pinot with so much tension it pops. From Tuscany… – hard to believe, right?!
Unfortunately, Andrea Franchetti passed away in December 2021. He leaves behind big shoes to fill, which his well-coordinated team steps into with great pride and a strong sense of responsibility. Vincenzo Lo Mauro has been the head winemaker at Passopisciaro from the very beginning, since 2000. He has always supported Andrea's vision of developing the separate Contrada vineyards on Etna. Now, together with Andrea's sons Benjamin and Carlo, he continues to lead the winery's affairs in Andrea's spirit.
