Centine (2022)

About this wine

Centine 2022 opens with bright red and dark berry aromas, violet and a touch of tobacco and liquorice. On the palate it is medium bodied, with juicy cherry and plum framed by gentle oak spice and soft, rounded tannins. The texture is smooth and approachable, with a lingering finish that emphasizes fruit and mild savory notes. The wine is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and the grapes are fermented in stainless steel before undergoing malolactic fermentation. The vinification includes a relatively short maceration and a brief ageing period in French oak barrels, which preserves freshness while adding subtle structure.

About the grape

Sangiovese at Banfi brings the local Tuscan backbone, it is the result of long clonal selection work at the estate where fifteen favored clones were chosen from hundreds to express regional acidity and freshness in hillside plantings on calcareous soils. Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced as an international partner to add structure and ripe black fruit, and at Banfi it is grown in southern Tuscan hillside sites and kept separate in stainless steel during fermentation before blending. Merlot contributes softness and early approachability, it is cultivated alongside the other varieties and the final Centine bottling receives a short maturation in 350 liter French oak barriques to harmonize the three grapes.

Quick facts

• 🏛️ Centine takes its name from the small stone archways common in rural Tuscany, the label nods to those arches and to the idea of a welcoming gateway to Banfi wines
• 🌲 The winding cypress road on the label actually leads to Castello Banfi, the estate s 12th century castle that inspired the Centine imagery
• 🚪 Centine was created as Castello Banfi s everyday gateway wine, designed to give people an affordable taste of a famous Tuscan estate
• 🛢️ Although fresh and easy drinking, the red is made by fermenting the varieties separately and briefly ageing in oak barrels to add texture without hiding fruit
• 🍇 Centine mixes classic Sangiovese with Cabernet and Merlot to marry Tuscan tradition with international style, a blend that helped popularise modern Tuscan blends outside Italy

Palate profile

Producer

Castello Banfi, located in Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, was founded in 1978 by Italian-American brothers John and Harry Mariani. They transformed the historic Poggio alle Mura castle into a state-of-the-art winery, pioneering research on Sangiovese clones to enhance Brunello di Montalcino production. The estate spans approximately 2,830 hectares, with about one-third dedicated to vineyards, and the remainder comprising olive groves, fruit trees, and forests. Notably, in 2007, the fossilized remains of a Pliocene-era whale, estimated to be around 4 million years old, were discovered on the property, highlighting the region's rich geological history.