Carmignano

The consortium cites a ninth-century lease that mentions vines and olive trees; the rules trace the area's wine to Etruscan times. In the 1300s the chronicler Pietro Domenico Bartoloni called the wines of Carmignano and Artimino excellent. On 8 December 1396 Ser Lapo Mazzei bought 15 some of Carmignano for the merchant Marco Datini at one florin a soma, about four times the price of the best-rated wines of the time. Francesco Redi praised 'brilliant Carmignano' in his dithyramb.

In 1716 Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, issued a proclamation fixing the boundaries of the Carmignano district together with those of three other wines. Later writers, among them Repetti (1833), Amati (1870) and Cusmano (1889), kept naming it among Tuscany's best. Carmignano became a DOC in 1975 and, among the first Italian wines to do so, a DOCG by decree of 20 October 1990.

The zone sits in the small Montalbano chain, a stretch of Apennine fold running north-west to south-east from Serravalle Pistoiese to the Arno south of Artimino. Its core is macigno, an Oligocene quartz-feldspar sandstone; on the north-east side lie chaotic scaly clays with blocks of limestone, sandstone and ophiolite, and north and south of Carmignano large patches of alberese, a whitish marly limestone. The chain peaks at Poggio al Ciliegio (611 m), but the vine slopes, facing the Florence-Pistoia plain at 40-50 m, seldom pass 300 m. Vineyards must be on hillsides no higher than 400 m, on soils from alberese, Eocene clay schists and Oligocene sandstone.

Sandstone soils are loose, sandy loam, subacid and rich in potassium; those on clays and marly limestone are fine-textured, neutral to subalkaline, rich in calcium, and hold water through drought. All drain freely and warm early in spring. Rain is under 1,000 mm a year, mostly in autumn and winter.

The rules say Carmignano's climate differs from that of neighbouring areas in having more summer rain. Slopes open to the plain bring light and ventilation, and the nearby Apennines send cool winds that temper summer nights, giving good day-night swings. The grapes ripen early, which the rules say keeps quality steady across vintages. From the long growing season, airy slopes and well-spread rain, growers developed a red for ageing that is structured yet elegant and harmonious, with a fine, intense bouquet. At release Carmignano is lively, intense ruby turning garnet, vinous with an intense scent that can include violet, and dry, sapid, full, soft and velvety.

Carmignano needs at least 50% Sangiovese, up to 20% Canaiolo nero, 10-20% Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, up to 10% of Trebbiano toscano, Canaiolo bianco and Malvasia del Chianti, and up to 10% of other red grapes suited to Tuscany. It may not be sold before 1 June of the second year after the harvest, after at least eight months in oak or chestnut casks. The Riserva needs at least twelve months in wood and may be sold from 29 September, the feast of St Michael and of Carmignano, of the third year after the harvest. Words such as 'superiore' or 'scelto' are banned. Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC and Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC are separate denominations.