Le Macchiole, 2017 Paleo Rosso
Le Macchiole was established in 1983 by Bolgheri-native Eugenio Campolmi, and the estate is without a doubt one of the region's great pioneering wineries. Eugenio passed away in 2002, and today the estate is being run by his wife Cinzia Merli and their two sons Elia and Mattia. They have 34 hectares of organically farmed vineyards, planted with the traditional Bordeaux varieties, as well as Syrah, and Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for their white. The estate is one of the first in the region to champion single-varietal wines, with their Messorio which is 100% Merlot and their Scrio which is 100% Syrah, both of which were introduced in 1994. But the Paleo Rosso remains the estate's flagship wine, with the first vintage being 1989. In the beginning, this wine was Cabernet Sauvignon based, and over time, they saw how well their Cabernet Franc was performing in their vineyards, and it was transitioned to 100% Cabernet Franc in 2001.
While the Bolgheri DOC was not established until 1983, the region's viticultural history dates back to the 7th century BCE. At this time, it was the ancient Etruscan civilization that established viticultural practices here long before the Greeks and the Romans, making this area one of the first areas on the entire European continent where grape vines were cultivated.
Despite these ancient origins, serious agricultural activities weren't really established here until the 1600s. Later, with the onset of phylloxera, bouts of downy and powdery mildew in the late 1800s, virtually all viticulture and winemaking activities disappeared.
Fast forward to 1930, and Marchese Mario Incisa della Rochetta, uncle of Marchese Piero Antinori, moves to Bolgheri after his marriage to Countess Clarice della Gherardesca. Marchese Mario Incisa was not particularly fond of the quality of wines being made in the region during this time, and noticing some of the similarities between Bolgheri and Bordeaux in terms of the soils and landscape, he introduced French varieties to the region when he planting his first vineyard at Tenuta San Guido in the early 1940s. Not too long after, the wine, Sassicaia, was born.
Initially the Bolgheri DOC only provided provisions and protections for white and rosé wines, but with the success of wines like Sassicaia, Ornellaia and others, in 1994 the appellation rules were updated to include protections for red wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Rapid expansion of the vineyard area in the region soon followed, and today the region has 1370ha under vine.
The most important grape in the region is Cabernet Sauvignon, representing approximately 34% of plantings. Cabernet Franc is the third most planted grape variety, behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, accounting for approximately 16% of plantings, which is about 250ha. But in recent years, with the changing climate, it seems that Cabernet Franc is showing great resilience in the face of the climate change performing better in warmer vintages than Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. And since 2014, Cabernet Franc plantings have increased by 60%, versus a decrease in plantings of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, a decrease of about 16% and 9% respectively.
So let's look at why Cabernet Franc has found a happy place here in Bolgheri. So, the region of Bolgheri is situated about 40km south of the city of Livorno, down Italy's western coast. The region is quite small, about 13km from north to south, and the main area of vineyards is just 5 to 6km wide. We are bordered to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and to the east by the Colline Metalifere, which is a series of hills that create a natural amphitheatre and a landscape that gently slopes west towards the coast. The vineyards start a mere 2km from the coast, so there is strong influence from the Tyrrhenian Sea, and temperatures tend to get cooler as you move inland from the coast. And vineyard elevations range from about 10m to about 200m.
The lower latitude means that there is great solar intensity. And the region receives a modest amount of rainfall, about 600mm of rainfall annually, and the rainfall does fall throughout the year. The climate would be considered Mediterranean, but the unique position of this amphitheatre along the coast means that the region captures these constant cooling breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea, making it cooler than other coastal areas along the Tuscan coast. And if we look across to Cabernet Franc's birthplace of Basque Country, Bolgheri is almost the exact same latitude as Hondarribia in Spain's País Vasco, and again here we have a strong coastal, marine influence.
Another important element to Cabernet Franc's success here is the soils. The region has identified approximately 27 distinct terroir units across this relatively small region. The soils vary by elevation and the proximity to the sea, and there are variations in texture from very sandy in some pockets closer to the coast at lower elevations, to sandy-clays on terraces between 20m to 135m, and more silty-clays on the higher elevation areas in the hills. The soils across the board are more alkaline, and have varying amounts of calcareous materials and gravels, as well as some iron-rich red sands and clay in some parts. In general, these soils are deeper, with a good balance of moisture retention and drainage, which are particularly important for Cabernet Franc.
Looking at Le Macchiole and their Cabernet Franc plantings. The estate has 9.5ha of Cabernet Franc vines planted across 5 vineyard sites. The Paleo Rosso is coming from a selection of 5.5ha from three vineyard sites, Casanuova, Vignone and Puntone. These vineyards are about 6km east of the coast, so they are in a cooler zone in the region. And we're about 3km south-southwest of the village of Bolgheri. We are at an elevation of about 32 to 40m above sea level. All of the sites are on gentle west-facing exposures. The planting dates vary with each site, and at Casanuova the vines were planted in 1998 and 2009, Vignone in 1999 and Puntone in 1994. They are working with exclusively clone 214 in these vineyards. In terms of the soils, here in these vineyards, they have a sandy-clay texture, but there is a slightly higher clay content here, and a higher percentage of fossilized marine sediments. And Cinzia explained, that each of these sites contributes a slightly different character to the Cabernet Franc in the blend, with the Casa Nuova providing power and structure, finesse and fruit from Vignone, and spice from the Puntone vineyard.
From a winemaking perspective, the fruit is all hand-harvested and destemmed. The fermentation is done with selected yeast in concrete, with the fermentation temperatures between 20 and 25C. During the fermentation they will do short, closed pump-overs, to aid extraction, and the total time on skins is about 20 days. The finished wine is a combination of free run wine, plus some press wine only up until 0.5bar of pressure. Aging takes place in 100% new French oak barrels for 18 months.
Key wine wine facts below:
Producer: Le Macchiole
Appellation: IGT Toscana
Region: Bolgheri
Municipality: Castagneto Carducci
Vineyard: Casanuova, Vignone, Puntone
Soils: Sandy-clay, with fossilized marine sediments (calcareous rocks)
Alcohol: 14.5%
