Le Cupole 2018

The colour is medium ruby with a tendency to garnet. On the nose black berries, plumbs, liquorice, and cacao. In the mouth light with a drying and bitter finish. The aftertaste is rather short.

Le Cupole, the second label of Tenuta di Trinoro, is a Bordeaux blend first produced in 1995. Nowadays some 70’000 bottles are made each year.

The 2018 vintage is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine spent eight months in second and third passage barriques, followed by some additional resting time in cement.

Tenuta di Trinoro is located in the Val d’Orcia of Tuscany. An amazingly scenic valley, but not being traditionally devoted to wine making. In fact, when in June last year I walked thought it m, I didn’t see many vineyards.

To me, this is a wine clearly made for the US market: Bordeaux blend in a region that doesn’t have anything to do with Bordeaux, strong focus on points and reviews, founded by Andrea Franchetti, who had an American mother and worked in New York, and a marketing wizard.

For this bottle I paid 29.90 CHF, 23% off the original price of 39 CHF, at Denner one year ago. To me a wine without soul and overpriced.

Country: Italy
Region: Tuscany
Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot
Type: Red
Vintage: 2018
Producer: Vini Franchetti
Price range: Premium (30-50 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 2/5