2010 Tenuta di Capezzana Carmignano 750 ml

Parker’s Top-Rated Tuscan Vintage in 20 Years — 93pt Capezzana Carmignano

We'd heard all about Villa di Capezzana Carmignano from our sommelier buddies in NYC, long before our first sip of the first TRUE Super Tuscan at the Verona wine fair three years ago. The 2008 that caused quite a stir at Vinitaly was magnificent, but as was the case all over Tuscany, the 2010 vintage at Capezzana is in a class of its own.

If you won’t be joining us at Vinitaly in April, we’re sorry to hear that. When it comes to throwing a large-scale wine party, nobody does it as well as the Italians. We’ve set aside the entire day on April 6th for Tuscany. We’ll spend plenty of time with the Antinoris, tasting new releases of Solaia and Tignanello. Our late-morning appointment with Paolo De Marchi at Isole e Olena will feature what’s said to be one of the finest Cepparellos ever made. But we expect our afternoon appointment with Capezzana to again be one of the most scintillating.

What’s all the fuss about? Why will this superb estate situated in one of Tuscany’s smallest appellations again draw a crowd usually reserved for the kingpins of Brunello? Just 20 kilometers west of Florence, Carmignano’s microclimate is unique to Tuscany. The Apennine ridge that runs along the border of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna acts as a thermal buffer, protecting Capezzana's manicured hillsides from the elements. While the region’s days are cooler than those of Chianti Classico and Montalcino, nights are warmer, making Carmignano ideal for the growing of rich, broad-shouldered Cabernet Sauvignon. But if Chianti Classico and Brunello flourish in warm vintages, the Contini Bonacossi family's Capezzana really excels in the longest, most drawn-out growing seasons — none more perfect or more highly rated than 2010.

The winter of 2010 was cold and wet, with snow falling in Carmignano until mid-March. Accordingly, flowering was pushed back nearly two weeks from the norm. In July, the weather shifted into high gear, as Capezzana’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese were treated to plenty of blue skies and high temperatures. The secret to the laser-like precision of the 2010s came in the following months. The rain returned in August, again slowing down the maturation cycle, but then September and October were magnificent, with daytime highs flirting with 90 degrees as nighttime lows tumbled into the mid-50s. That dramatic diurnal temperature shift nursed both late-maturing varieties to extreme ripeness while still retaining the bracing acidity that makes 2010 the most age-worthy Tuscan vintage in over two decades.

The 2010 Villa di Capezzana is one of the most alluring Tuscan bargains in years, outpointing dozens of 2010 Brunellos of twice the price! Brilliant ruby, infused with aromas of crushed black raspberry, cherry, sweet spice, and smoke. Like all the rich and terrifically structured 2010s, this is the rare vintage where both broad-shouldered Cabernet Sauvignon and floral Sangiovese each ripened perfectly. Rich and juicy but still not laying all its cards on the table, drink this superb Carmignano over the course of the next decade.

93 points from James Suckling, longtime Italian wine guru at Wine Spectator. $35 on release. $21 this morning — no misprint! Shipping included on 6.