Tre Bicchieri 2023, new entries: La Casaccia di Franceschi

La Casaccia dei Franceschi: a long history in Montalcino

The hills of Montalcino, as we know, host some of the most important Italian wineries, prestigious names whose labels are celebrated all over the world. In the midst of these cellars, every now and then, some interesting novelties arise and our task is also finding them. Last year, in Vini d'Italia 2023, we did not fail in our role as talent scouts by rewarding a new winery that was sending samples for the first time and submitting them to our judgement. We are talking about La Casaccia di Franceschi, at the helm of which we find Flavia and Federico Franceschi. With Flavia we reconstructed the stages of this new adventure: "the company is recent but in reality my brother and I represent the sixth generation of winemakers in Montalcino. My great-grandfather, for example, was the founder of Il Poggione, a company still in existence, owned by my father and directed by Fabrizio Bindocci."

For those who don't know, Il Poggione is, in fact, one of the oldest realities in the Montalcino district, a rather large company that boasts almost 130 hectares of vineyards and an export that reaches practically all the most important and different countries among emerging ones for wine consumption. "Having such an important company, that's already established and prestigious," continues Flavia, "made my brother and myself ask ourselves, "what contribution can we still give to this winery?" So we decided to get involved with a new project. We had the opportunity to convert the land we already owned into vineyards, on which mycorrhizae pines had been planted a few decades ago for the production of truffles."

One winery, two faces: Montalcino and Cinigiano

The one where Sangiovese vines are planted is a very high hill on the southern slope of Montalcino: approximately 500/550 metres above sea level: "In the 70s they had already tried to plant vines here, but with the climate of the time grapes didn't reach the right maturity precisely because of the altitude. Today things have changed a lot and areas like this are quite sought after." Work began in the early 2000s and the first vintage bottled was 2015: "Obviously, given the previous presence of maritime pines we had to do a lot of work: cut down the trees, reclaim the land, remove the roots and so on. The vines are still young, but they are already giving us excellent results. We are completing the construction of the cellar, but in the meantime, a small building will be ready in June where we will welcome guests for tastings and visits." To the seven hectares of Montalcino, another five are added in the territory of nearby Cinigiano, in the Le Spinaie estate: "Montalcino represents tradition: we cultivate Sangiovese and produce Brunello. In Cinigiano, on the other hand, we wanted to explore the potential of the territory in a combination with some international grape varieties. Also in this area we chose a rather high hill, about 430 metres above sea level, practically mirroring the position of La Casaccia, as it is exposed to the north and looks towards Montalcino. Here we have cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, merlot, carmenere and a little petit verdot."

The wines and Tre Bicchieri to Brunello di Montalcino Riserva '16

But let's get to the wines. For the Brunello, Flavia and Federico rely on traditional winemaking methods, using large 22 hectolitre barrels of French oak: "A choice due to the fact that with Brunello we want to look to the future and in our opinion large wood is the best way to extend the life of our wines." The Riserva '16, which obtained Tre Bicchieri recognition, struck us for its brilliant colour and intense and fine bouquet, with beautiful fresh red fruit in the foreground and notes of tobacco and licorice lending complexity, on a spicy background; the mouth is very fresh, pulpy, with fine and progressive tannins that never give hardness, for a very long finish with character. The Riserva '15 is also of a high standard, full-bodied and complex but with more evolved tones. "It is the first time that we have sent the samples to Gambero Rosso and honestly immediately receiving the Tre Bicchieri was completely unexpected, but at the same time so satisfying. My brother and I are young and our company is also young: clearly our father has always been in the sector, but this company is all on our shoulders. We are a new name in the midst of many prestigious and noble wineries. Anyone who is curious and tastes our wines, however, realises the quality of our work and the solidity of the project. We want to be very direct, both as a company and as far as our wines go, as well."

La Casaccia di Franceschi - Montalcino (SI) - loc. Podere La Casaccia - lacasacciadifranceschi.it/

by William Pregentelli