Vinsanto Cardinal de Retz 2003, an award from Tavolaegusto

Marchesi Gondi – Tenuta Bossi wins another special award: this time from Tavolaegusto.

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Our Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina Riserva DOC CARDINAL DE RETZ 2003 was awarded the Grappolo d’oro in the 2014/2015 edition of the Guida Vini eccellenti d’Italia by Tavolaegusto.

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Cardinal de Retz Vin Santo tells not only the story of the Gondi family, but that of Tuscany and Europe as well. Indeed, to this day Tenuta Bossi’s Vin Santo is still made as tradition dictates: 100% Trebbiano, with the grapes left to dry in the loft for 3 months, then gently pressed after Christmas, fermented and aged in 50/100-litre caratelli.

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My family has been producing Vin Santo for a very long time, so much so that the French writer and statesman Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, in one of his most important works, “Du Voyage de Michel de Montainge en Italie”, recalls how in the summer of 1580 he was received at Palazzo Gondi after attending a celebration in Piazza della Signoria. The writer was so taken with the hospitality of the Gondi family and with the wines produced on our estates that a member of the Gondi family living in Lyon sent him some “trés bon vins, comme du Trebisan”, that is, a Trebbiano wine. This wine can be traced back to today’s Vin Santo.

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You will recognise Cardinal de Retz by its appearance, aroma and taste.

Eye: deep amber, with tawny highlights; Nose: great aromatic intensity with remarkable complexity and breadth of perfume. Mellow notes of walnut, dried fig, caramel, candied fruit, dried white fruit (apricot), date and chestnut honey close with sweet spice and a slightly ethereal finish; Palate: sweet, mellow and round, with both elegance and strength. Its gustatory balance is intriguing: over a structure entirely governed by an elegant alcoholic note, it finds supporting freshness. The finish is extremely long, echoing all the notes perceived on the nose.

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