Tuscany Report: La Brancaia

Chianti Classico, Italy

Honestly, I feared I would never see La Brancaia’s principal wine production facility tucked away in the rolling hills of a town called Radda-in-Chianti. We’d plodded along on the dusty, winding gravel roads (a.k.a., ”white roads”) for so long I half expected to end up hopelessly turned around and lost, or, perhaps, plunging off a cliff into a remote vineyard. (Maybe not the worst way to go).

But when finally we navigated our Alfa Romeo into a small parking area on the grounds of Brancaia, the exceedingly patient Julia Plescenko assured us that ours had been a typical journey.

“There are two roads to arrive here,” the sales and customer service manager said. “Both are horrible.”

The trail blazed by Brancaia’s founders over the past quarter century today finds the winery traveling in the fast lanes among Super Tuscans. The 2004 La Brancaia Il Blu IGT Rosso Toscana ranks No. 9 in Wine Spectator’s current Top 100 list, and is the highest rated Super Tuscan blend on that impressive roster. The magazine’s James Suckling assigned Il Blu 96 points.

We tasted in succession the ‘04 and the soon-to-be-released 2005, both similarily comprised of 55% Sangiovese, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Barrel aging was 18-20 months in French oak. Both are lush, full, explosive in the mouth, reflections of the clay and limestone soils of the south-facing vineyards (the “Poppi” vineyard is over our shoulders, below, while the nearby Brancaia vineyard is in Castellina in Chianti) where the grapes are nurtured to harvest and handpicked.

The word around the vineyards is that the 2005 Il Blu to be released this fall is a bit more “elegant” than its famous predecessor. It was just bottled in July. “You can taste the promise,” Julia says.

There is promise elsewhere as well owed to the expansion of La Brancaia in 1998. That was the year the Widmer family unveiled a new cellar (having formerly leased production space in the area) and acquired more vineyards, including those far removed from inland Tuscany in a region known as The Marrema. Specifically, this is coastal Tuscany in the Bolgheri hills, the so-called ”California of Italy” about seven miles from the Tyrrhenian Sea. (Maremma was no-man’s land 10 years ago but now is attracting other top producers such as Angelo Gaja of Piemonte).

The daughter of the founders, Barbara Kronenberg-Widmer, and her spouse Martin Kronenberg manage the 100-acre Brancaia in Maremma, where the Super Tuscan known as Ilatraia is produced. Consulting winemaker Carlo Ferrini, a decorated oenologist, is of major influence on all of the wines produced by Brancaia, including the Ilatraia blend.

Fewer than 3,000 cases of the 2005 Ilatraia will be released later this year. It is a different breed than Il Blu as it is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), with only 30% Sangiovese and 10% Petite Verdot.

“Maremma,” Julia says as we taste the still-developing ‘05, “is the future of Tuscan wines.”

We’ll plan to pay a visit next time — and hope the future means better roads.

– Steve Woodward