Vineyards Magazine

Each vintage is a new, tailor-made splendour

The Tenuta di Trinoro lies in the Val d’Orcia, near Sarteano, in a landscape that is picturesque yet mysterious. The Trinoro wine estate has always striven to express its personal point of view through its wines. At the helm of Tenuta di Trinoro today is Benjamin Franchetti, second generation owner. “For the very first time, Tenuta di Trinoro stands on its own, without the hand of my father, who for over thirty years guided its growth. Trinoro 2021 is far from shy, however; rather, it is almost too self-confident, explosive, as though it wants to shout to the world, ’Here I am!’ What pleases me most about this wine is that it is a quintessential Tenuta di Trinoro: strong and fierce, but also delicate and elegant. It’s as though my father’s soul lives in the grapes that produced it, and this thought is reassuring”. 

Fruit of the creative vision of Andrea Franchetti, Tenuta di Trinoro has the mission, vintage after vintage, of embodying the highest quality possible of the wine estate which carries the same name. Thanks to the estate’s multitude of micro-parcels, its cuvée composition may change, even significantly, but Trinoro remains fundamentally true to its original idea, serving as the perfect interpreter of its land and of its time.

“The style and quality that we are looking for are always clear in my mind”, continues Benjamin, “and the fact that we put on the table as many as 50 different microvinifications every year and have no predefined recipe means that each new Tenuta di Trinoro is really tailor-made, springing from our terroir with its distinctive soils and from the traits of the vintage. This way we can create something truly exceptional each year”.

Trinoro 2021 is the offspring of a growing season that presented many challenges. High temperatures in March awakened the vines from their winter slumber at least two weeks early. Then April brought a freeze that hit the entire country, forcing the team to carpet the vineyards with 4,000 anti-frost candles which illuminated the vine rows and surrounding hills for two nights in a row. Later in the year, exceptional summer heat called into play emergency irrigation and significant cluster-thinning to ensure successful ripening. September brought fresh evening breezes to the valley, bringing relief to the vines, and the cold nights of the final part of the harvest period contributed to forming the vertical character this year’s Tenuta di Trinoro.

The harvest, which saw extremely low yields, took place in multiple phases from September 21^st through October 21st. Following the fermentations and 8-month ageing in barriques, Lorenzo Fornaini and the winemaking team took measure of the vintage and finally dressed Tenuta di Trinoro 2021 with a cuvée of explosive, high-altitude Merlot (600 meters) and crisp, fragrant Cabernet Franc, revealing a bold, embracing character with dark fruit and flinty notes and a superb elegance in the glass.    

“One of the characteristics of the 2021 that particularly struck me” commented Lorenzo Fornaini, “is its immediacy. It is clear that this wine is obviously destined for long ageing, but it is already very seductive. True, it is a powerful vintage, but the balance between tannins and acidity gives it a marked gracefulness as well”.  

Tenuta di Trinoro 2021 is flanked by its second vin Le Cupole 2022, whose cuvee also dips its pen into the many estate microparcels. The 2022 Le Cupole expresses itself with an exuberant, energy-laden personality in which structure co-exists beautifully with easy approachability.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2021 and Le Cupole 2022 have been available in the markets since April 2024. 

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Tenuta di Trinoro is located in Sarteano, in Val d’Orcia, at the foothill of the small fortress of Castiglioncello di Trinoro. Founded over 30 years ago by Andrea Franchetti, Tenuta di Trinoro is a true icon worldwide, with wines whose identities continue to transcend their creator. Its 22 hectares of vineyards, lying at 400-620 meters elevation, are planted in various types of soil, but the common denominator is blue clay, in various percentages through all the parcels. Cabernet Franc and Merlot predominate, but Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot are also cultivated, in addition to a small amount of Semillon, creating a range of excellence. The estate portfolio includes: Tenuta di Trinoro and its second vin Le Cupole; Palazzi (Merlot); I Campi (a collection of 3 single-vineyard Cabernet Franc); and Bianco di Trinoro. Directing the estate today is Benjamin Franchetti, who, assisted by a well-established and passionate team, carries on the dream cultivated by Andrea Franchetti.