2017 Caiarossa

29% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 20% Syrah, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Alicante, 3% Sangiovese. One of the hottest and driest vintages ever, with no rain throughout July and August, mitigated somewhat by cooler evening temperatures. This marks what Caiarossa call the first step in a style evolution towards elegance. The final blend is made much earlier to homogenise the wine earlier in the maturation process. The wines are also bottled significantly sooner after harvest – 18 months as opposed to 30. Deep ruby. Very Cabernet Franc on the nose, dried leaves and graphite, full of savour and fresh red fruits. A little darker, dried cherry in there too adding sweetness. Pithy fresh tannins, chalky and vibrant in texture, bringing lively, crunchy red and black fruits to the fore. As on the nose, there is just a hint of dried fruit at the back. Bright acidity helps with freshness. This tames what becomes quite sweet and ripe fruit through to the finish. (TP)

The organic 2017 Caiarossa (made with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Alicante) displays bright and focused fruit, framed by an elegant mineral note of crushed limestone. The fruit is presented as dark cherry and sweet blackberry, but the wine also shows savory tones of tobacco and cured leather. However, those candied cherry and raspberry notes emerge with distinction and underline the heat of the vintage. The tannins are a bit dusty and bitter.

This has sharp pepper and spice overtones with full blasts of sage, toast and cinnamon. 2017 was one of the hottest recorded vintages in Tuscany, and while the alcohol is well balanced in the overall structure, you feel the warmth tearing through the exuberant and exotic fig and raspberry purée fruit. Rich, powerful and concentrated, with some dryness to the tannins on the finish, but overall this is seductive and well balanced. Tuscan estate located in the Maremma and owned by the Albada family of Château Giscours. Blend completed by 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Alicante (Mourvedre), 3% Sangiovese, 5% Petit Verdot. Farmed biodynamically.