Tenuta Caccia al Piano 1868 is a winery on the Via Bolgherese in Castagneto Carducci on Tuscany’s Tyrrhenian coast. It produce wines under the Bolgheri DOC.

Owner: Guido Berlucchi of sparkling wine fame since 2003. The oenologist Franco Zilliani (not to be confused with the homonymous wine writer) suggested this would be a good acquistion.

History: The tenuta was once the feudal hunting estate of the noble Della Gherardesca family.

Vineyards: 18 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. Double spurred cordon system. 9-10,000 vines per hectare. There are three crus called Caccia al Piano, Le Grottine and San Biagio. | Caccia al Piano 2.5ha on sandy clay. Near alkaline, rich in mineral salts. North-south orientation. Planted with Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. | Le Grottine 5ha on silt-rich clay rich in pebbles. Reddish colour, so is iron-rich. Planted with Merlot. West facing. | San Biagio. 12ha in 7 plots. 210m asl. Pleistocene limestone-clay. Planted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Syrah. Southeast- and southwest-facing.

Winemaking: Hand picked.

White wines

Grottaia Vermentino: 2017 85% Vermentino, 15% Sauvignon Blanc. Unoaked. Released in spring.

Pink wines

Grottaia Rosato: 2016 70% Syrah, 30% Petit Verdot.

Red wines

Grottaia Rosso: 2016 50% each Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Unoaked.

Bolgheri Rosso DOC, Ruit Hora: The name translates as ‘the hastening hour’ or L’ora Che fugge from the poem Odi barbare by Giosuè Carducci. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. | 2015 Hand picked, late August for Merlot and ended in early October for Cabernet Sauvignon. Destemmed. Fermented in stainless steel. Moved to barrique for malolactic fermentation. 18 months in oak.

Bolgheri Rosso DOC, Donna Olimpia 1898: 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A bit methoxy with lots of new oak and only light to medium body so formulaic and a bit stretched and oak chippy even if (I guess) it was aged in barrels (Pepe said it was one of the easiest wines he had in his portfolio to sell) at Viale Piave 32 with Pepe, Guelfo, Paola, Silvana and Arthur on 8 June 2013.

Bolgheri Superiore DOC, Levia Gravia: The name translates as ‘Heavy things, Light things’ by poet Giosuè Carducci. The grapes are grown exclusively in the Biagio vineyard, sited at an elevation of 250 metres, an exceptional height for Bolgheri. | 2010 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Syrah. Oaked. £30-59.99. Eucalyptus, well made in its style, open-textured (Silver, DWWA 2013). | 2015 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot. The Merlot harvest started in the final days of August, followed by Cabernet Franc, and concluded in early October with our latest-ripening grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. After MLF is aged in French oak barrels of various toast levels, where it remain for over 20 months.

Other crops: 3ha of olives.

Contact

Caccia al Piano 1868

Loc. Caccia al Piano

Via Bolgherese, 279

I-57022 Castagneto Carducci (LI), Italy

Tel+39 0565 763394 | Website: www.cacciaalpiano.it/en

GPS Coordinates: 43.194922, 10.611481