Iconic Super Tuscan Tenuta di Trinoro and sister estate Passopisciaro, Etna’s Sassicaia, have joined forces with Nimbility to expand their markets and build their reputation and notoriety throughout APAC.

With a strong initial focus on Mainland China, Nimbility will work with existing distribution partners to support and grow their businesses as well as developing alternative geographic and channel strategies across the country. A large part of Nimbility’s effort will be to build the reputation of these two wineries to the iconic status they hold in Europe and the USA today.

“Tenuta di Trinoro and Passopisciaro wines have been in the Asia markets for a number of years,” explains Andrea Franchetti, owner and founder Vini Franchetti. “However, we feel that the time is now ripe to take things to the next level and so we have partnered with Nimbility to get us there. With their team of experts on the ground in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, we are now able to offer our distribution partners valuable support in the region. In addition, we are able to start to expand into markets where we have struggled to gain traction thus far. We are really excited to be taking this next step with Nimbility and building our reputation in Asia!”

Maverick winemaker Andrea Franchetti created his first estate, Tenuta di Trinoro, from scratch on a rough farm and woodland in the Val d’Orcia, southwest Tuscany. The estate, planted on virgin soil is planted solely with Bordelais grapes, with a strong preponderance of Cabernet Franc. The isolated estate occupies an area of about 200 hectares, of which 22 are planted with vines. It is located in the Val d’Orcia, between 450 and 600 meters above sea level, where the eroded rock of the mountain gives way to the limestone and clay of an ancient sea floor. These Super Tuscan wines are unique in their area, expressing the particular conditions of this elevated, inland valley.

Tenuta di Trinoro is the flagship wine of its namesake winery, and only several hundred cases are produced each vintage, making it highly sought-after by collectors. The flagship blend varies based on the vintage, but it is predominantly Cabernet Franc and Merlot, along with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Trinoro also produces other distinctive red wines focused on single varieties including Palazzi, a selection of 100% Merlot; the Campi, three single vineyard wines of 100% Cabernet Franc; and Le Cupole, the second wine to Tenuta di Trinoro.

In 2000 Franchetti arrived on Mt. Etna and helped to initiate the renaissance of viticulture on the mountain and an international discovery of the region as a quality wine region. Franchetti makes eight different wines at his winery Passopisciaro, fewer than 8,000 total cases annually. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe, given to relatively frequent lava spills. These spills devastate the landscape, yet each flow leaves a unique mineral profile, giving rise to the notion of various terroirs, here called Contrade. The borders of the Contrade reflect old feudal property lines, which are still mapped out on the local land registry. As Passopisciaro, they respect and play to the strengths of the terroir on Etna, producing wines of remarkable complexity and individual personality.

Six of these wines are focused on the indigenous grape Nerello Mascalese, a late-ripening grape with little colour, large bunches, strong skins, ancient vines grown on restored terraces at various altitudes across the mountain, selected for their density, vine age, and exposition. The wine Passorosso is a bright, holistic rendering of the grape that is unique and ever-present on the volcano, blending from different altitudes and lava flows. First made in 2001, it has been a textbook example of Etna wine ever since. Starting in 2008, Passopiscaro began to bottle the top sites separately, helping to usher in a cru system on Etna. These five Contrada wines — Chiappemacine, Porcaria, Guardiola, Sciaranuova, and Rampante — each come from vineyards of different ages and are each on a lava flow with different minerals, grain size, and altitudes.

In addition to the wines made of Nerello Mascalese, Passopisciaro produces two wines from international varieties, densely planted in the Contrada of Guardiola: a pure, mineral-driven Chardonnay, reminiscent of the great whites of Burgundy, as well as a produces a striking red, Franchetti, made with the grapes Petit Verdot and Cesanese d’Affile, denser and more concentrated than the wines of the local variety. Thus, while the Nerello wines are “wines of place” expressing their unique terroir, Franchetti is a true winemaker’s wine, expressing a particular vision of the maker. Likened to Sassicaia in terms of the attention it first brought to its region, these wines demonstrate a particular genius and forethought to produce wines that could rank amongst the finest in the world.

“It is an absolute honour and an immense pleasure to be partnering with Vini Franchetti to build their markets and reputation in Asia,” says Francesca Martin Nimbility’s Founding Partner. “These are some of Italy’s most iconic wines and benchmarks of quality and class within their category. As a team we couldn’t be more excited to start building these wines the reputation and notoriety they truly deserve across the region.”

For more information about Vini Franchetti in Asia, please contact info@nimbilityasia.com

Tenuta di Trinoro and Passopisciaro Partner with Nimbility for APAC Expansion