A new chapter in the history of one of the symbolic families of Tuscan wine is ready to be written. On May 20, exactly 501 years after purchasing the estate of Villa Calcinaia, the Conti Capponi presented the new 1524 Collection in Milan, a line that includes all the IGTs produced by the historic winery, excluding only the Chianti Classico Denomination labels. A range that is a true tribute to ancient knowledge, the story of five centuries of winemaking history, but also the opening of new paths, with local wines but with a strong experimental character. We tell you about our tastings of a Sparkling Wine from Sangiovese grapes, white wines with a strong international imprint and a vertical in the name of Casarsa, a Super Tuscan produced from Merlot grapes.
In the name of creativity: the new 1524 Collection
Villa Calcinaia has been the heart of the Capponi family for more than half a millennium. Today, Count Sebastiano Capponi, together with his siblings Tessa and Niccolò, represent the 37th generation, continuing the tradition in the historic property in Greve in Chianti. The Tuscan family, protagonists of Florentine life and the fortunes of Gallo Nero throughout the centuries, today chooses to write a new chapter: inspired by the personality of their great-grandmother, Luisa Vonwiller, a central female figure in the modern history of Villa Calcinaia, Sebastiano, Tessa and Niccolò Capponi give life to 1524, a range that stands out for its creativity.
The inspiration is the cosmopolitan and dynamic soul of the ancestor, whose marriage to Piero Capponi in 1891 marked the meeting between the Tuscan agricultural tradition of the Capponis and the entrepreneurial and innovative approach of the Vonwillers. Today, hundreds of years later, the wines of the 1524 line embody the character of Luisa Vonwiller.
Mauvais Chapon Metodo Classico, Tor Solis, Casarsa and Le Refie express, in fact, refinement, flair and creativity.
From international vines studied and cultivated at Villa Calcinaia in recent decades, the wines of the collection blend inspiration from beyond the Alps with the valorization of the Tuscan territory, giving life to truly unique and out of the ordinary labels.
Villa Calcinaia outside the Chianti Classico regulations: the Conti Capponi brand
As explained at the beginning, the new 1524 Collection groups together those wines that at Villa Calcinaia represent a style and an interpretation of the territory different from that of the traditional Chianti Classico regulations.
These are labels that have come to life, signed by Sebastiano Capponi, over the years and that today are embarking on a path of differentiation with a new brand, that of “Conti Capponi” which signs the “1524” collection.
The image, accompanied by the use of the Burgundy bottle for all still wines, draws inspiration from the history of the family and its connection with Tuscany, symbolized by the cross of the Order of Saint Stephen, to evoke the centuries-old legacy in the custody of the land where its wines are born.
Starting with the emblematic Mauvais Chapon Metodo Classico, a singular sparkling wine that comes to life from Sangiovese grapes. In the mouth, small red fruits and a note of pastry cake appear, then lemon up to plum. The current vintage is 2020, with disgorgement in March 2025, which already expresses a beautiful texture between fruit and acidity.
Following, in the tasting that marked the launch of the new 1524 collection, a production born for the “pleasure” of its creator, but which announces a true masterpiece in the bottle, even if in very limited quantities: it is Tor Solis 2023, a Chenin Blanc son of the Roberto vineyard in Podere Le Refie. A white with beautiful complexity, in which candied citron peeks out. Fresh, never aggressive, with great silkiness in the texture and extreme cleanliness in the finish: for a wine that makes you want to drink it.
Then there is the red, with Casarsa, a Super Tuscan made from Merlot grapes, whose original vineyard was planted by mistake in 1967, which ages in 225-liter barriques for at least 24 months. A real discovery, for its style in which a vibrant character is found rather than the traditional ripe fruit typical of the grape variety. As demonstrated by a vertical that took us from 2019 to 1997. The first approach is with the youngest vintage, a 2019 in which notes of leather, black fruits and Mediterranean herbs emerge. Hints of dried flowers are then released. Clean, it recalls a salty sensation and a graphite component, with a structure that is never excessive. With a young soul despite the already developed complexity.
Next is the 2010, with a fresher profile, a reflection of the vintage. On the nose it is floral, with dried violet standing out, then the coffee grounds and an earthy part typical of Merlot. Fleshy, its texture is vibrant. Beautiful silkiness in the mouth, with a finish dictated by the tobacco note. In the mouth you find a reflection of what you perceive in the nose.
Then there is the 2004, a balanced vintage, where “there was great quantity and quality”, as Count Sebastiano Capponi explained. The profile is fresh in this case too, rich in aromas: licorice, coffee powder, dried flowers and lots of tobacco and leather, but also bergamot tea. For a wine of extreme integrity.
The vertical ends with the 1997, a hot vintage after the many complicated harvests of the 90s. Even after so many years, you can perceive a greater sunnyness in the glass, between blood orange and dried orange. Then the characteristic leather, dried flowers and dark fruits. And again: graphite and chocolate. In the mouth the wine is creamy, with a bite in the finish probably linked to what was at the time a younger age of the vines. Still with great freshness.
Completing the tasting of the new 1524 collection was another white with a creative soul: Le Refie 2024, a blend of 90% Marsanne and Viognier, with the addition of 10% Gewürztraminer. A label that represents a true tribute to the great wines of the Rhone, Alsace and Loire. A moelleux wine with rich aromas, between sweet citrus and broom, which will age gracefully and whose floral notes will evolve into aromas of dried apricots, honey, resin and flint. The great delicacy and sweetness on the palate is balanced by the citrus character and freshness: to be drunk now at the end of a meal accompanied by cheeses and in a few years while meditating, it is a white that is truly out of the ordinary and that perfectly tells the soul of the new chapter of Conti Capponi.
