Villa Cosmiana, Principessa Maria, Terre Di Pisa DOC, Italy, 2019

Similar to a Bordeaux blend, the “Terre di Pisa” of Villa Cosmiana, which bears the name of the last historic owner of the estate, Princess Maria Antinori-Aldobrandini, is an assemblage of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes vinified and aged in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks for a minimum 12 months and a minimum of six months in the bottle.

It shows a shiny red ruby colour and displays delicate aromas of cherry and blackberries enhanced by a touch of liquorice and cinnamon.

Principessa Maria

Maria Antinori, Principessa Aldobrandini by marriage (1870-1933), was the daughter of Amerigo Antinori, the administrator of the property of the exiled Grand Duke of Tuscany family. In 1891, her father granted her as dowry the ownership of the Villa Cosmiana estate and its 11 farms. From that time on, she shared her time between Rome where she was living with her husband and her two children and Villa Cosmiana, where during long prolonged summer rest periods she used to gather around her renowned intellectuals and artists of the time and worked to upgrade the agricultural production of the villa’s land in pursuit of excellence. The name Principessa Maria has been given to our Terre di Pisa assembled in a Bordeaux blend from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grape varieties harvested from the Villa Cosmiana estate.

Villa Cosmiana

Villa Cosmiana is the former Pisan wine estate of the Antinori family of the dukes of Brindisi situated between Pisa and Volterra. The prestigious estate which extends to over 30 hectares is situated around an aristocratic Villa surrounded by Italianate gardens, an English-style park and 15 vineyards of various Tuscan and Bordeaux grape varieties.

In its historic vaults, cellars and recently created cantina, Villa Cosmiana produces three traditional Tuscan wines (whites and reds) as well as two Super Tuscans created by the renowned and award-winning enologist Barbara Tamburini, awarded best enologist of Italy by the Italian Sommelier Association, Bibenda in 2019.

Today Villa Cosmiana is the vision of Abergevenny born Sean Craig who since 2018 has committed himself to re-building the vineyards and gardens of the Villa Cosmiana estate