Brett happens

IGP Costa Toscana 2011, CiFRA, Azienda vitivinicola Duemani ($27.70, 11838415)
The estate’s entry-level wine, recently created in response to restaurateurs’ request for a less expensive wine from the estate. Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in concrete vats. Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14% ABV.
Appealing nose of red berries, spice and faint incense. Medium-bodied with a fluid texture not unlike some of Thierry Germain‘s wines from warm years. The fruit – cherry mainly – is pure and ripe if leaner, firmer and less sweet than the Duemani’s but devoid of Loire-ish herbaceousness (there is some dried herb action going on though). The fine, astringent tannins have a ripeness and roundness that speaks of a warm climate while the refreshing acidity seems more in line with what you expect in a cool-climate wine. A bottle that might make believers out of Cab Franc skeptics. (Buy again? Sure.)

IGT Toscana 2007, Duemani, Azienda vitivinicola Duemani ($85.75, 11794310)
Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled 30- to 40-litre oak vats with frequent punch-downs. Fermentation/maceration lasts about two weeks.. Matured at least 12 months in French barrels and tonneaux (50% new, 50% second vintage). Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14.5% ABV.
Candied fruit and umami (dried mushroom, soy sauce) on the nose along with a touch of vanilla. Full-bodied, rich and round. The mouth-filling fruit may be sweet but it’s buoyed by high acidity and firmed by a tannic framework that doesn’t really reveal itself until you chew the wine. The oak is just about resolved. The finish could be more sustained and emphatic, though tertiary flavours linger long. While there’s no denying the wine’s quality and breeding, it’s a little too over-groomed, overripe and New Worldish for me. And then there’s the price… (Buy again? No, but well-heeled fans of California reds should check it out.)