Le Boncie - 'le trame', Toscana IGT, Italy (2021)

TASTING NOTES

 

This is glorious wine, impressive for its purity and grace. Le Trame expresses powerful, punchy aromatics that display intense minerality and purity of fruit. It's the sort of wine that can be deceptive at first given its mid-weight structure, but all the elements are so well put together that it is easy to look past the wine's more serious side. The palate offers an exotic mix of cedar, pipe tobacco, dried leaves, mint and blood orange play off a core of red-toned fruit.

This is the flagship wine of the estate and the one their reputation of greatness was built upon.

Vines are gobelet trained, sacrificing productivity for expressiveness: "I get half the yield but twice the quality with gobelet," Giovanna remarks.

Grapes are destemmed. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with native yeast in open top oak casks. The wine ages for 2 years in a combination of large botti and 500-liter (used) barrels and remains on its fine lees until assemblage prior to bottling. Unfined, unfiltered. Minimal sulphur used.

Podere Le Boncie is located in the hamlet of San Felice, a few km north of Castelnuovo Berardenga in Chianti Classico. ‘Le Trame’ roughly translates as ‘the intrigues’ — a subtle acknowledgement of the challenge involved in acquiring this remarkable 3 hectare vineyard. Giovanna trained at the seminal San Felice estate, where her father was managing director for many years, before launching Le Boncie in 1990.

Planted at very high density (7000 vines per hectare) the vineyard is primarily Sangiovese, with a few rows of Colorino, Ciliegiolo, Mammolo, Prugnolo and gorgeous block of bush-trained (alberello) Fogliatonda for blending. Indigenous yeast fermenation takes place in small, open-top wooden tanks, followed by aging in 500-litre ‘tonneaux’ and 1500-litre ‘botti’. The vineyard is farmed organically and harvested by hand; production embraces biodynamic philosophy and non-interventionist methods. 

Giovanna is an outspoken advocate of natural farming and non-interventionist winemaking. Since the 2011 vintage, she has opted out of the Chianti Classico DOCG, labeling both her wines as IGT Toscana. This move was in reaction to changes that Giovanna believes (along with several other wineries in our portfolio) serve the large commercial producers, while no longer reflecting the quality and dedication of artisan wineries. 

We recommend cellaring Le Trame for at least 5 years after the vintage, preferably 10 years. You’ll be rewarded with personality, complexity and texture that are found only in the greatest Tuscan wines. These are thoughtfully produced, handcrafted wines made in very small lots.