Producer

Tenuta Sette Ponti

I have reviewed two wines from Tenuta Sette Ponti, from the 2022 to 2023 vintages, all from Toscana. All are Cabernet Franc. Scores range from 92 to 95, averaging 94; the highest is the 2023 Tenuta Sette Ponti “Oreno” Toscana (95 points).

Antonio Moretti Cuseri turned his family’s hunting retreat in the Valdarno di Sopra into one of Tuscany’s most glamorous estates. It is defined by meticulous attention to detail and high-density planting. Alongside international varieties it makes Sangiovese, “Crognolo”, and has recently focused on the native Pugnitello. The wines are modern, polished and luxuriously textured.

The estate is famous for “Oreno”, long a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, whose identity shifted with the 2022 vintage, when the Moretti family added Cabernet Franc (10%) to Merlot (45%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%). The Franc brings graphite, violet and mint and a nervous lift that cuts through the density, with cashmere tannins and a saline snap from the clay and fossil-rich soils.

In 2023 the Cabernet Franc rose to 20%, and a longer hang-time preserved striking acidity: pencil shavings, wild sage and blackcurrant, crunchy and linear, with firmer tannins built for the long haul. It shows that the Valdarno is not a satellite of Chianti or Bolgheri but a terroir of world-class, cool-climate definition.