2000 Le Cupole de Trinoro

The 2000 Cupole di Trinoro is a blend of 78% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 6% Cesanese, and 5% Troia. Get this ... yields were 15 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine spent 14 months in 100% new French oak. There are 2,300 cases of this gorgeous opaque ruby/purple-colored effort. It offers up a sweet perfume of menthol, red as well as black currants, licorice, smoke, graphite, and vanilla. Rich, intense, and medium to full-bodied, but remarkably light and delicate on its feet, this stunning Italian red should drink well young, yet last for 12-15+ years. One of the new superstar estates in Tuscany, the first vintage of proprietor Andrea Franchetti was 1997. He is obviously a perfectionist, and is doing some things that have never been done with the likes of Cabernet Franc outside Bordeaux and a handful of California wineries. All of Franchetti's wines are made from low yields, given indigenous yeast fermentations, micro-oxygenations, and no racking, fining, or filtration prior to bottling. I have been a fan since the first releases. The wines go from strength to strength, although Franchetti keeps changing some of the names as well as blends. Importer: Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484