Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC is the junior partner to the Carmignano DOCG red wine from Tuscany. Both were created 1975 at the same time and have been modified several times since, the last of which was in 2011. Reale effectively plays the role of being Carmignano’s ‘second’ or junior wine because oak ageing is not mandatory, whereas Carmignano must age in oak for at least 8 months. In addition, permitted yields are slightly higher for Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC at 10 tonnes per hectare than Carmignano DOCG (8 tonnes).

The name: Barco Reale is named after the historic Medici Royal property known as the Barco reale, which was enclosed by a boundary wall over 30 miles in length.

The wine “Barco Reale di Carmignano” owes its name to the Medici hunting reserve (in fact “barco” means “park”) surrounded by a wall that delimited most of the current production areas. It is a designation of controlled origin of relapse which came into force a few years after that of Carmignano D.O.C.G. The permitted yield per hectare is greater than that allowed for the Carmignano DOCG (10 t / ha, while for the Carmignano DOCG it is 8 t / ha) and aging in wood is not mandatory (while for the Carmignano DOCG there are at least 8 months of aging in wood). It is therefore a high quality wine, but not necessarily so structured and generally with a slightly lower alcohol content, often the consequence of a harvest choice both as a time of harvest and as a selection of the grapes. Barco Reale is a younger brother of Carmignano DOCG, but younger in age, not a second wine from a qualitative point of view: balance and elegance also characterize Barco, which is not aged in wood or is briefly aged time and which is “faster to drink”.

Production zone: Carmignano. | Poggio a Caiano. 

The wine: Barco Reale is made from 50-90% Sangiovese, 10-20% Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Cabernet Franc, 0-20% Canaiolo Nero, 0-10% Trebbiano toscano, Canaiolo bianco and Malvasia Bianca Lunga Toscana alone or together, 0-10% other red grapes authorised for Tuscany. 

Terroir: The vines must grow on hill slopes below a maximum of 400 metres (1,312 feet), on soils of calcareous clayey marl (alberese), clay-schists (galestro) and acidic sandstone (arenaria). New vineyards must be planted with a minimum vine density of 3,300 vines per hectare (1,336 vines per acre). Irrigation is permitted but only if the vines’ survival is at risk. 

Other wines: Rosato di Carmignano DOC, Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC and Vin Santo di Carmignano Occhio di Pernice DOC also share the same production zone as Barco Reale di Carmignano.

Wineries

Certified organic: Fattoria Ambra. | Tenuta di Capezzana.

Others: Artimino. | Castelvecchio. | Tenuta Le Farnete.