Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC

Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC is a close to the best known Carmignano DOCG. Produced both red and rosé, it is mainly based on Sangiovese grapes, which can contribute up to 90%, Cabernet Franc or Sauvignon, between 10 and 20%, and a series of local grapes, including some white grapes .

Its name comes from to the hunting reserve (“Barco” means in fact “Park”) that Medici had instituted in the XVI century and which marked, with a 50 km long wall, the territories of the current designation.

The wine produced, although of quality, has different characteristics compared to Carmignano DOCG. Firstly, a greater production of grapes per hectare allows an equally greater wine yield; secondly, no aging is foreseen, not even for red vinification. These factors reverberate on wine that is less structured, fresher and easier to drink.

The rosé version, locally called “vin ruspo”, amplifies the characteristics of freshness and pleasantness, while preserving a basic structure that allows it to last a few years. Its history is linked to an old local “tradition” of the sharecroppers: it often happened that the vats filled with grapes harvested in the afternoon, ready to be transported to the cellar the following morning, gathered on the bottom a little quantity of must, which was cleverly “ruspato” (i.e. stolen) from the sharper sharecroppers before delivering the harvest.