2017 Tenuta di Capezzana Villa di Capezzana Carmignano Tuscany 750 ml

Capezzana was perfecting the Super Tuscan before the term even existed. They were bringing in Cabernet cuttings from Lafite-Rothschild. They were harnessing centuries of experience blending international varieties. They were defining the Sangiovese/Cabernet blend that would someday set collectors worldwide lusting after Super Tuscan wines.

Capezzana has been producing their Villa di Capezzana Carmignano continuously since 1925, and one sip of the 2017 will show you why this wine has endured for a century. Bearing the fingerprints of the legendary “Mr. Sangiovese”—aka Franco Bernabei, who put Selvapiana, Fontodi, and Felsina on the map—it’s everything we love in the category: It’s got the bright elegance of a Brunello and the mineral tautness of a Left Bank Bordeaux.

Sporting a Tignanello-like blend of 80% lithe Sangiovese with 20% brawny Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine “shines for its richness of fruit,” says Decanter. It boasts aromas of red fruit, roses, and herbs, previewing sour cherry and graphite notes on the palate and a long, saline finish that’s been polished by a year in oak barriques.

Capezzana's vineyards have produced wine grapes for more than 1200 years, and surrounding properties show evidence of grape-growing dating back 3000 years. Decanter even noted: “There are few wineries in Italy, much less in the world, that can claim a history as deep as Capezzana’s.”

Their Sangiovese vines are rooted in clay, limestone, and schist-clay Galestro soils that sit at lower elevations than vineyards in the surrounding regions. Shielded from chilly maritime breezes, these vines yield some of Tuscany’s roundest, richest, most generous expressions of the variety.

Villa di Capezzana Carmignano has an impressive history—but more than that, it’s a delicious bottle at an excellent price.