The forerunner of Villa Bossi – the Burgundy-style red

In the mid-nineteenth century Maria de la Brugyère not only enlarged the villa and the cellar, but brought French know-how to the estate. This work, later carried forward by her son Carlo, made it possible to take part in the first Paris Expo of 1889, winning a whole series of awards.

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It was this woman, left a widow, who — with the help of a cellarman from Burgundy — began planting vineyards, studying the soils to identify the best sites; she introduced fermentation in concrete vats, but above all she added, to the production of table wines in flasks and of vin santo, a bottled red wine described as bourgogne style, a bottled white wine in the sauternes style and two types of cognac.

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The bottled red wine described as Bourgogne style is of particular interest, since, while retaining the use of indigenous red grape varieties and Sangiovese above all, she began to reduce yields per hectare and to increase ageing in chestnut casks to as much as 36 months, followed by at least 24 months in bottle.

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This is the forerunner of today’s Villa Bossi, a wine of great structure and character owed to its terroir, Chianti Rufina. For this very reason Chianti Rufina DOCG Riserva Villa Bossi has always been regarded as the emblem of the estate, its flagship wine from the outset, a structured and remarkably long-lived riserva.

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With the arrival of the 1980s a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced, and in 1989 the wood ageing was changed: 12 months in oak cask and 12 months in second-passage French barriques.

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A few notes on Chianti Rufina DOCG Riserva Villa Bossi 2011: to the eye it shows an intense ruby red, with a good colour weave and light purple reflections. On the nose: ripe, macerated blackberry, followed by sweet, well-integrated spice of liquorice and vanilla with balsamic and toasted nuances. The finish shows notes of cocoa. Finally, on the palate: great structure and character. The wine’s fullness reveals itself in the roundness and personality of the tannins; the finish is long, with fruity and mineral notes closing on a pleasant hint of liquorice.