Bianco Trinoro: A Semillon wine from Vini Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro (Val d'Orcia, Tuscany)

Andrea Franchetti has single-handedly built two wine estates -- Tenuta di Trinoro (Tuscany) and Passopisciaro (Mt. Etna) -- from the ground up, the former focused on wines made from Bordeaux varieties and the latter wines from traditional Mt Etna varieties. Passopisciaro, in addition makes a two Chardonnays and a red from Petit Verdot and Cesanese d'Affile.

In the same year that he launched his inaugural Mt Etna vintage -- 2001 -- Andrea planted some Semillon vines at his Tuscan property. According to Wine Searcher, the property had a sandy patch at its highest reaches (0.6 ha at 620 m). This plot reminded him of the Medoc, prompting thoughts that it might be suitable for a white variety. Given the Bordeaux profile of the estate, he opted for Semillon as that white variety. As I pointed out in my recent post on Semillon in Italy, the variety is not planted widely in the country but there is one DOC and five IGP plantings in Tuscany.

I explore Tenuta di Trinoro's Bianco Trinoro in this post.

Tenuta di Trinoro

Jancis Robinson in 2002 described Andrea Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro as an "idiosyncratic wine estate ... which has achieved quite remarkable renown considering it was first planted in 1992." Antonio Galloni, writing on vinous.com, describes the estate as giving "new meaning to the expression "in the middle of nowhere.'" 

According to Carlo Franchetti, Andrea's partner in Vini Franchetti, the area of Val d'Orcia in which Tenuta di Trinoro is located had been almost abandoned between 1960 and 1980 with the primary activity being sharecropping. Sheep-breeding came with the Sardinians when they emigrated here between 1960 and 1970. The houses in the area were primarily second homes for the wealthy.

Andrea had been a wine broker and imported French and Italian wines to the US between 1982 and 1986. He wanted to come back to Italy but, before doing so, went to Bordeaux and spent some time learning winemaking from his friends Jean Luc Thunevin of Chateau Valandraud and Peter Sisseck of Dominio de Pingus.  Armed with Bordeaux philosophy, practices, and cuttings, Andrea went to the Tuscan hinterlands, to land that was to him reminiscent of the left- and right-bank Bordeaux soils, and bought the 200-ha property that is Tenuta di Trinoro.

There are a total of 22 ha of the estate devoted to vineyards, distributed between 36 separate vineyard plots. As shown on the map below, the vineyard is planted solely with Bordeaux cultivars to include 17 Cabernet Franc and 13 Merlot plots. There are three cru vineyards which lend their names to 100% Cab Franc wines made with the grapes sourced therefrom.

Source: vinifranchetti.com

There is a 200-meter difference in elevation between the lowest and highest points in the vineyard with the lower portion being alluvial while the higher portions are clay mixed with limestone and quartz fragments that have split from the underlying bedrock.

The vineyards are planted at 10,000 vines/ha and are a mix of double Guyot and double Guyot Poussard. The initial plantings were double Guyot but these are being transitioned to Poussard which promotes maintaining the same sap route from year to year and keeping pruning wounds to the top of the cordon. Carlo mentioned that Esca is a problem at Tenuta di Trinoro; a 2002 study by Geoffrion and Renaudin found the Poussard system to be less conducive to Esca infection than other modern training systems.

Plants are kept low -- Bonsai vineyard concept -- with each allocated 1 sq meter of canopy. Sheep manure is the only type of fertilization used on the property and spray material consists of copper and sulfur. A mix of clay, propolis, and grapefruit seed extract is sprayed in the pre-harvest period to ward off botrytis and other molds that may occur on the grapes as they approach full ripeness. There is no irrigation except for newly planted vines.

Bianco Trinoro

Andrea first planted Bordeaux-vine-stock Semillon at Trinoro in 2001. The vines are planted at 10,000/ha with yields of 25 hl/ha. According to Andrea, he made 1000 bottles of wine from the harvested fruit each year and drank them after each vintage had matured for 10 years. After drinking the wines over the years, he got to a point where he felt that the vines had matured enough to support a high-quality commercial offering. This led to the release of the 2017 vintage on the market. A second vintage (2018) has since been released. In Andrea's view, the wine is approachable after 5 years but does not reach its peak until 10 years have elapsed.

The grapes are harvested manually and then transported to the cellar for processing. The grapes are whole-cluster-pressed and then fermented. The 2018 vintage was fermented in stainless steel tanks for a total of 10 days (the 2017 vintage appears to have been fermented in barrels) and then aged (on lees) in cement tanks for 7 months (the 2017 vintage was aged in glass demijohns as they awaited delivery of the cement tanks).

Even though Andrea thinks this wine should be hidden for its first 5 years, it more than showed its mettle when I tasted the 2018 version recently. Tenuta di Trinoro has a winner on its hands.

In the early stages of the tasting it showed Rosemary, apple, dried hay, and intense herb/florality, spice, menthol. As it evolved, a sweet white flower, creamy vanilla, with a richness and complexity with the creaminess reaching from the nostrils into the nether parts of the palate. With additional time, green herbs and talcum powder.

On the palate, lemon-lime, salinity, a marine character, a stemminess from the whole-cluster-pressing, and a drying, limey finish. With time, a blade-like precision, lime, and spiciness. The sweetness which is pervasive on the nose does not carry through to the palate. Gains weight with time. 

I am counting down the days to 5 years hence. This wine is replete with promise.

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