Who Says Sangiovese Can’t Age?
In 1985, I had the privilege of having Count Ugo Bonacossi and his wife at my home for dinner. This was an extraordinary event: not only because the Count and his wife were there, but also because my wife Michele was on a business trip, and I had to prepare the meal with a little help from my friends. Count Ugo is the owner of the Capezzano winery in Toscana, which, in my opinion, makes the best wine from the Carmignano appellation. For those of you who don’t know Carmignano, it is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the province of Prato, just northwest of Firenze (Cabernet Franc is also permitted). That night we drank a number of wines from his estate. The last wine, however, was a wine that, at the time it was produced, was not called Carmignano but rather it was called Chianti (editor’s note: the Carmignano appellation lies within the Chianti Montalbano appellation and although it has been recognized unofficially for centuries, it was not until 1975 that it acquir
