Podere Le Boncie Le Trame 2023
£79.95
In Stock
“The 2023 Le Trame is a soft, open-knit offering from Le Boncie. Supple contours and forward red Sangiovese fruit give the 2023 lovely accessibility. All the elements are nicely balanced. Even so, it’s hard to escape the challenges of the growing season. Floral, citrus and spice overtones lift the finish with total grace. This is a rare vintage of Le Trame that includes some fruit from Chiesamonti. Drinking window: 2028-2038. 92 points
Le Boncie is one of the crown jewels in Chianti Classico. Here, in this small corner in Castelnuovo Berardenga, proprietors Giovanna Morganti and Giorgio Serao craft some of the most unique wines in the region, eschewing the conventional constructs in favor of their own deeply personal choices. Fifteen years ago, Morgante began bottling Le Trame, her top wine (and later Chiesamonti), as IGT rather than Chianti Classico because she did not agree with regulations. More recently, she abandoned biodynamic preparations, choosing instead to follow a path somewhere between organic and biodynamic farming she feels suits her better.
Le Trame and Chiesamonti are vinified in small upright oak casks with natural ferments. Malolactic fermentation happens quickly these days because of relatively low malics in the grapes. Time on skins is 24-25 days. Most of the adjustments from year to year are done with changes in punchdowns, pumpovers and how casks are covered — all manual operations here — rather than through a modification of time on skins. Some vintages, those where the skins allow, see extended submerged cap maceration.
In tasting, the 2023s feel decidedly slender. “It was a tough year in the vineyard,” Morgante explained. “It felt like we were playing catch-up all year, trying to stave off Peronospora with treatment after treatment. The vines were just exhausted by the time harvest arrived.” Indeed, that’s exactly what I saw when I visited Le Boncie the day before harvest started. Usually, these wines need a few years in bottle. The 2023s, on the other hand, will drink well on release. The 5, a Sangiovese-based blend of five varieties, is predominantly a young-vines bottling intended for early drinking.”
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (08/26)