2021 Brancaia - Toscana Rosso IGT Ilatraia (750ml)
Brancaia's story began almost by accident in 1981, when Swiss couple Bruno and Brigitte Widmer bought a decaying property in Castellina in Chianti, initially intending it simply as a family holiday home, with just four hectares of vineyard attached. After their first Chianti Classico won a blind tasting hosted by a Swiss wine magazine in 1986, the couple committed to winemaking in earnest, expanding into Radda in 1989 and eventually into the warmer Maremma coast in 1998, where they began planting Bordeaux varieties across an 82-hectare property. Ilatraia, the flagship red from that Maremma estate, launched with the 2002 vintage and takes its name from a hillside on the property; this 2021 release marks its twentieth anniversary.
Ilatraia blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc, grown on sandy, loamy soils between 75 and 175 meters under Maremma's hot, Mediterranean climate, conditions that let all three varieties ripen fully without irrigation. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, cone-shaped steel tanks with gentle punch-downs, and the finished wine ages eighteen months in French barriques, half of them new, followed by several more months in concrete tanks and at least a year resting in bottle before release.
The wine shows intense black fruit, black cherry, plum, and blueberry, layered with spice. The palate is full-bodied, firm yet silky, with fine, supple tannins and notes of coffee and licorice carrying through a long, luscious finish. It pairs beautifully with grilled or braised meat and game, pigeon, or pheasant.