Sunday, September 28, 2025After enjoying the excellent 2021 Brancaia N°2 last year, red wine review is the latest vintage of this excellent, organic Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maremma Toscana DOC in Italy that arrived at the LCBO a couple of weeks ago in the LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.
It is produced by Brancaia, a family-owned winery that was revived in 1981 by Swiss couple Brigitte and Bruno Widmer after they fell in love with each other and purchased an abandoned winery on the Brancaia hill in Castellina in Chianti. At the time, there were only four hectares of vines on the site. They believed that with its location on a hill, it should be possible to produce first-class wines here that reflect the character of the region. With the infrastructure and know-how of the Mazzei family, the Widmer family was able to move forward with the production of quality wine.
Today, Brancaia is a prominent and modern wine producing company. In addition to their property in Castellina, they also have estates in Radda and Maremma, with a combined 80 hectares of vineyards between the three estates. Brancaia is now run by Barbara Widmer, daughter of Brigitte & Bruno, and is supported by the entire family, including the third generation that is also now involved in smaller tasks involving the family business. Barbara has long been involved at the estate by participating in her first harvest in 1993, and began studying oenology in Switzerland in 1995.
The philosophy at Brancaia is based on a mission to craft wines of excellence that are deeply connected to the Tuscan terroir and guided by nature. Brancaia allows Tuscany to speak to them through its landscape and winemaking tradition, while listening attentively as nature shows them the way and allowing it to be expressed. As sustainability is a core value, Brancaia places respect for the environment and the community at the forefront in every action and decision. Each of their wines is born from a perfect balance between terroir, people, and nature.
The work at Brancaia also relies on human knowledge. Brancaia makes use of this knowledge and turns it into art. Each step from winegrowing, hand-harvesting, grape selection, and ageing in bottle is carried out with precision by the Brancaia team, with the goal of revealing the harmony and complexity of the wines. The winery is a multi-level structure that allows for the use of gravity to gently move the wine from one area to another, and largely avoids the use of pumps.
Brancaia has several wineries in Tuscany, with this particular wine coming from their Maremma estate, a vineyard which was acquired by the Widmer family in 1998. After acquiring this vineyard, Barbara took it on as her pet project to develop the vineyard further, and even dedicated her final thesis in oenology to it. Since that time, Barbara and the team have been cultivating their best coastal vineyards at this site in Maremma Toscana, with a special focus on international grape varieties on these sandy loam soil with clay interspersed to produce elegant wines with velvety tannins.
This red wine is crafted with pure Cabernet Sauvignon that was grown in Brancaia's own vineyards situated in the Tuscan coastal region of Maremma, in vineyards with west-to-southwest exposure to sun and situated between 75–175 metres above sea level. The vines are planted on loamy sandy soil, with two-thirds sand and one-third silt and clay, while the climate in this area is Mediterranean with very hot summers and very mild winters. To craft this wine, the grapes were hand-harvested over the last sixteen days of September and brought to the winery in Grosseto, sorted on the sorting table, then fermented at a controlled temperature of 28°C, with must contact for up to 18 days. The wine was matured for 12 months in used tonneaux, then aged in bottle for a few months prior to release.
The Tuscan wine region experienced a searingly hot growing season in 2022, but was largely very good. It began with a cool and unusually dry winter, followed by a warm spring, and then a scorching hot summer. Welcoming rains finally arrived at the end of July. While this was a drought year that reduced yields, the fruit that did make it through was exceptionally concentrated and mostly of high-quality, with some wines having slightly higher alcohol levels. Let's see how this 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon from Maremma Toscana is tasting tonight...
Certified organic, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is elegantly fragrant with an open, medium-high to highly aromatic nose of bright and ripe red cherry, currant, dried herbs, and savoury earth notes accented with rose petals, sweet spices, leather, and cinnamon. The medium+ weighted palate is dry and ripe with lovely red fruited cherry, currant, red licorice, sweet spice, and cinnamon flavours layered over savoury earth, leather, and dried herbs. It has crisp and racy, and slightly tangy acidity, while the smooth tannins have good structure and a fine, dusty texture. Gains grip on the back palate, while the finish is long and savoury with smoky mineral notes. Highly recommended buy! Score: 92 pts
A couple of other lovely wines by Brancaia are available at the LCBO, while the full range can be ordered through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.
It is produced by Brancaia, a family-owned winery that was revived in 1981 by Swiss couple Brigitte and Bruno Widmer after they fell in love with each other and purchased an abandoned winery on the Brancaia hill in Castellina in Chianti. At the time, there were only four hectares of vines on the site. They believed that with its location on a hill, it should be possible to produce first-class wines here that reflect the character of the region. With the infrastructure and know-how of the Mazzei family, the Widmer family was able to move forward with the production of quality wine.
Today, Brancaia is a prominent and modern wine producing company. In addition to their property in Castellina, they also have estates in Radda and Maremma, with a combined 80 hectares of vineyards between the three estates. Brancaia is now run by Barbara Widmer, daughter of Brigitte & Bruno, and is supported by the entire family, including the third generation that is also now involved in smaller tasks involving the family business. Barbara has long been involved at the estate by participating in her first harvest in 1993, and began studying oenology in Switzerland in 1995.
The philosophy at Brancaia is based on a mission to craft wines of excellence that are deeply connected to the Tuscan terroir and guided by nature. Brancaia allows Tuscany to speak to them through its landscape and winemaking tradition, while listening attentively as nature shows them the way and allowing it to be expressed. As sustainability is a core value, Brancaia places respect for the environment and the community at the forefront in every action and decision. Each of their wines is born from a perfect balance between terroir, people, and nature.
The work at Brancaia also relies on human knowledge. Brancaia makes use of this knowledge and turns it into art. Each step from winegrowing, hand-harvesting, grape selection, and ageing in bottle is carried out with precision by the Brancaia team, with the goal of revealing the harmony and complexity of the wines. The winery is a multi-level structure that allows for the use of gravity to gently move the wine from one area to another, and largely avoids the use of pumps.
Brancaia has several wineries in Tuscany, with this particular wine coming from their Maremma estate, a vineyard which was acquired by the Widmer family in 1998. After acquiring this vineyard, Barbara took it on as her pet project to develop the vineyard further, and even dedicated her final thesis in oenology to it. Since that time, Barbara and the team have been cultivating their best coastal vineyards at this site in Maremma Toscana, with a special focus on international grape varieties on these sandy loam soil with clay interspersed to produce elegant wines with velvety tannins.
This red wine is crafted with pure Cabernet Sauvignon that was grown in Brancaia's own vineyards situated in the Tuscan coastal region of Maremma, in vineyards with west-to-southwest exposure to sun and situated between 75–175 metres above sea level. The vines are planted on loamy sandy soil, with two-thirds sand and one-third silt and clay, while the climate in this area is Mediterranean with very hot summers and very mild winters. To craft this wine, the grapes were hand-harvested over the last sixteen days of September and brought to the winery in Grosseto, sorted on the sorting table, then fermented at a controlled temperature of 28°C, with must contact for up to 18 days. The wine was matured for 12 months in used tonneaux, then aged in bottle for a few months prior to release.
The Tuscan wine region experienced a searingly hot growing season in 2022, but was largely very good. It began with a cool and unusually dry winter, followed by a warm spring, and then a scorching hot summer. Welcoming rains finally arrived at the end of July. While this was a drought year that reduced yields, the fruit that did make it through was exceptionally concentrated and mostly of high-quality, with some wines having slightly higher alcohol levels. Let's see how this 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon from Maremma Toscana is tasting tonight...
Tasting Note:
BRANCAIA N°2 2022 - DOC Maremma Toscana, Italy (#28451) (XD) - $33.95Certified organic, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is elegantly fragrant with an open, medium-high to highly aromatic nose of bright and ripe red cherry, currant, dried herbs, and savoury earth notes accented with rose petals, sweet spices, leather, and cinnamon. The medium+ weighted palate is dry and ripe with lovely red fruited cherry, currant, red licorice, sweet spice, and cinnamon flavours layered over savoury earth, leather, and dried herbs. It has crisp and racy, and slightly tangy acidity, while the smooth tannins have good structure and a fine, dusty texture. Gains grip on the back palate, while the finish is long and savoury with smoky mineral notes. Highly recommended buy! Score: 92 pts
A couple of other lovely wines by Brancaia are available at the LCBO, while the full range can be ordered through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.
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