Cecchi Coevo 2021: Tuscan Excellence Reimagined

3,000 bottles, 50/50 Sangiovese and Merlot, two different terroirs in the same bottle. Cecchi Coevo 2021 is the Super Tuscan the estate has carried as flagship since 2006; in this vintage stripped from the previous four-grape blend down to two.

Miria Bracali, chief technologist at Cecchi for 26 years, called the wine on Sparks “a turning point in Cecchi’s oenological history.” Not a marketing line; the blend reduction and the increased clarity of style back it up.

The blend

50% Sangiovese from the Ribaldoni vineyard (Villa Rosa, Chianti Classico) and 50% Merlot from Poggio La Mozza (Val delle Rose, Maremma). Two Tuscan terroirs that rarely sit in the same bottle: the ancient, complex soils of Chianti Classico where Sangiovese has always belonged, and the maritime microclimate of Maremma where Merlot opens up.

Vinification

Hand harvest, double selection. Gentle press, fermentation in stainless steel without heavy tannin extraction. Full malolactic conversion. 18 months in French tonneaux, then 10 months on bottle before release. Bracali: “We don’t want a muscled wine. We aim for freshness, elegance and finesse.”

The 2021 vintage

Mild wet winter, cool spring with good flowering, dry summer for concentration, late-August rain for refinement, ideal harvest conditions in September-October. Bracali ranks 2021 in the top of recent vintages.

In the glass

Deep ruby. The nose delivers ripe red fruit, spicy with nutmeg, dried rosemary and thyme, violets and roses. Oak sits beneath, not on top. On the palate full-bodied yet surprisingly light-footed; round, fruity, tannins firm without forcing. A lot of cinnamon and nutmeg in the finish.

At the table

Herb-crusted tuna steak, wild mushroom risotto, aged Pecorino Toscano, Tuscan wild boar ragù. Bracali herself suggested fine dark chocolate; an unusual pairing but the spicy roundness of the wine carries it.

Verdict

Coevo 2021 shows the new direction of Tuscany: structure and heritage without weight or oak overload. Limited production and a clear evolution from earlier vintages. Launching March 2025 in Italy, USA, Canada, Brazil and Japan.

Sparks by VinoVonk — conversation with Miria Bracali

Jeroen Vonk (00:02:14) Hello everyone, I’m Jeroen Vonk, from VinoVonk Wine Writer and a WSET Level 3 Certified Wine Expert. Today, I have a very special guest at Sparks by VinoVonk, and in the show, I’ll dive into the fascinating world of wine, spirits, and innovative drinks. Today, my special guest is from one of Tuscany’s most respected wineries. It’s Miria Bracali from Cecchi. We will also explore the story behind their newest flagship wine from Tuscany. It’s this wine. I think it’s Coevo, Coevo from 2021, a super Tuscan that represents both tradition and innovation. We’ll be tasting it together and learn about the philosophy that makes this wine so special. Miria Bracali, it’s terrific to have you here.

Miria Bracali (00:31.758) Thank you.

Miria Bracali (00:41.602) With.

Jeroen Vonk (01:01.146) And thank you very much for your time. Did I pronounce your name correctly?

Miria Bracali (01:08.086) Yes, yes, I’m Miria.

Jeroen Vonk (01:09.734) Well, Miria, perfect. And you’re in the great country of Tuscany, Toscana in Italy, making a very famous Chianti Classico, of course, and all different wines. You’re the chief winemaker at Cecchi Winery. Could you tell me something more about what you do?

Miria Bracali (01:35.394) Yes, hi, it’s a pleasure for me to be here with you.d I am the chief technologist and director of production at Cecchi, and I’ve been working here for 26 years. I feel that I have grown in tandem with the company.

And working hand in hand with Andrea Cecchi and the entire team to follow, perhaps a consistent and constant direction in the quality search. This is my job, this is my passion. I started with wine many years ago, and I’m here now.

Jeroen Vonk (02:21.682) So, you’re the chief winemaker making a lot of different wines. But, on average, how many bottles per year do you produce?

Miria Bracali (02:32.014) In Cecchi, we produce 8-9 million bottles per year. So we have a significant and enjoyable production. So I’m a little busy every day. We have some exceptional wines that come from our estate because we have…

Jeroen Vonk (02:50.14) Yeah.

Miria Bracali (02:58.774) Estates here in the Chianti Classico area in Castellina in Chianti, Villa Cermen, and Villa Rosa, where we produced a special selection of Chianti Classico. In Maremma, specifically in the Val delle Rose area, located in the southern part of Tuscany, we produce a special selection of various varieties. So Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and… What’s the name of our… Sangiovese?

And the Vermentino is a white grape with a special selection of Vermentino, known as Cobalto. We produce this wine in three different bottles. It’s fantastic; I love this wine because it is so complex, yet still concrete and oaky together, blending perfectly with the…

A very expressive complexity of wine. And then we are in Umbria, at Tenuta Satura, where we produce Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso, as well as Montefalco Bianco, which comes from Trebbiano grapes. Exciting varieties again, because they have great aging potential. It’s sometimes strange for Italian white wine.

We have a newborn in the Cecchi family, as we have Aminta, our estate in Montalcino, and we are launching today, so this year, we will be introducing the wines of Aminta Brunello and Rosso.  So it’s a great time with my team. Together with my colleagues, we are involved every day.

Jeroen Vonk (04:44.978) That sounds very interesting.

Miria Bracali (04:55.67) Wine making.

Jeroen Vonk (04:57.18) Yeah, that sounds perfect and very fascinating. Continually growing, making new wines, new opportunities, and talking about new opportunities. You launched this wine, Coevo. And could you tell me something about this wine?

Miria Bracali (05:14.414) Yes, the first harvest of this wine, Coevo, was 2006. And with this wine, perhaps the fourth generation at the helm of the company, Andrea Cecchi, our president and CEO, intensely felt and desired that this wine would mark a turning point in Cecchi’s oenological history.

So, because Coevo perhaps represents the synthesis of a profound and essential path in the history of Cecchi. Coevo is a memory of our tradition, a reference for the present, but above all for the future. And it is a true testament to two milestone territories for the family, Chianti Classico and Maremma. In fact…

We produce this wine from two different areas here in Castellina in Chianti, utilizing Sangiovese from our Ribaldone vineyards in Villa Rosa and Merlot from Poggio La Mozza’s vineyards in Val delle Rose in Maremma. Why did we choose two different areas of production? Because they represent a milestone in Cecchi’s history.

Wines and the philosophy of Coevo, which means ‘contemporary’ in Italian, allow us to change the blend every year. But with the 2021 vintage we are tasting now, we have a new chapter of the history of wine because we reduced from

Four different varietals to two, only two varietals that are perhaps the masterpiece of our winemaking. With Sangiovese, Cecchi is bound to the territory,  as Sangiovese is the king of the variety, being the basis of all the most critical production in Tuscany, including Cecchi’s own. But with the Sangiovese.

Miria Bracali (07:39.118). From Villa Rosa, we experienced a significant change, characterized by freshness, great elegance, persistence, and the potential for extended aging in Coevo. So I think that it’s an exciting harvest and vintage.

Jeroen Vonk (08:03.73) Yeah, and so the two grape varieties, Sangiovese and Merlot, from different areas, but what are the percentages of each grape variety?

Miria Bracali (08:14.094) 50%. Yes, the same percent. No more importance given to one versus the other, the same.

Jeroen Vonk (08:26.512) Yeah, and could you share something about how you make this wine?

Miria Bracali (08:31.798) Yes, all our wines, so all the techniques in winemaking for us are very easy because the most important thing for us is to announce and to maintain the character of the grapes and what the grapes can say, because it’s all in this way you can have a powerful personality and individuality of our wines.

So, for Coevo, we picked in 2021 in the second part of September. In the cellar, we have an easy winemaking process because we maintain the skin wet without pushing the extraction of tannins, as we don’t want to have…

A strong and muscled wine. What we try to maintain is freshness, elegance, and fine wine. This is very easy, not something unusual.

Jeroen Vonk (09:43.346) Yeah, and after you press it and you did the fermentation, did the wine age on oak or?

Miria Bracali (09:53.186) Yes, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation too, because this way we can maintain a very well-balanced acidity. And then we aged in a five-hectoliter oak barrel, a huge barrel, for almost 18 months. Sometimes depends on the need, because you must taste.

Every month, the wine and its behavior during aging are considered. At the right moment, we decided to put out the wine from the oak and then into bottles.

Jeroen Vonk (10:39.398) Yeah. And now for the most interesting part, of course, shall we taste the wine together?

Miria Bracali (10:46.68) Yes?

Jeroen Vonk (10:48.262) Because I already poured it in, because I don’t want to spill something on myself. But what I immediately had was a nose full of ripe, red fruit, with herbs and notes of nutmeg. I also hadbutt n’tvbutt wasn’t very.

Miria Bracali (11:17.006) Yes, it doesn’t overwhelm the richness of the fruitiness of the wine.

Jeroen Vonk (11:27.164) Yeah, it’s full, but it is aromatic, and also a lot of like violets, roses, and very complex. Is that also related, because Coevo means contemporary, so it’s modern? Is this more like a new sound of Tuscany?

Miria Bracali (11:38.371) Yeah.

Miria Bracali (11:49.58) Wow, yes, I think so. Yes, that’s right.

Jeroen Vonk (11:52.7) Yeah.

Jeroen Vonk (11:56.114) Cheers, salut!

Miria Bracali (11:58.176) Oye, salute!

Jeroen Vonk (12:12.324) It’s very round, very fruity. The tannins are present, but not in excessive amounts. Full-bodied, yet very lightweight in the mouth, with a very drinkable character. And a lot of spices again, including a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg, and dry herbs like rosemary and thyme.

Miria Bracali (12:27.896) Yeah.

Jeroen Vonk (12:37.218) Sage also, a lot of blossoms and roses, but it’s very light-footed, light, very drinkable. And so this is the new sound of Tuscany. However, you still managed to have a lot of heritage in it, as the history is also part of this wine. How did you manage to do this?

Miria Bracali (13:01.282) Yeah.

New language, new heritage, new sound. This is obviously contemporary, meaning the heritage of Tuscan winemaking. Our roots are here in Castellina in Chianti, making it the heart of wine production in Tuscany.

However, at the same time, we would like to look to the future, because we are aware that wine cannot remain stagnant; it must evolve in the years to come. And so you have to maintain a view of what…

What is the meaning of the wine today? In this sense, we will lose the oak’s touch, which can be overwhelming in the wine, but we would like to preserve the fruitiness and freshness, as this allows you to enjoy the wine at every moment of your day. So you can enjoy this wine with food.

But why not with chocolate at the end of the dinner or lunch? So it’s a different vision of perhaps wine. Link to the tradition, but we also look to the future.

Jeroen Vonk (14:43.708) Yeah, and what do you like the most about this wine?

Miria Bracali (14:48.334) So the persistent, the vertical tasting of the wine, because it comes from the Sangiovese from Villa Rosa, because this is the strong character of Sangiovese, it comes from that elevated area. So this freshness, stability, saltiness of the wine comes from there, even if saltiness comes from the Merlot from Maremma, because

In Maremma, we have the breeze that comes from the sea, so this character of freshness comes from there too. So this is…

Jeroen Vonk (15:26.226) So the freshness comes also from the sea wind, but the Merlot is also about roundness. But I usually think it will be too contrasty because you have the powerful muscularity of Sangiovese and the roundness of Merlot. Still, in this way, you get a perfect synergy.

Miria Bracali (15:35.096) Yes.

Miria Bracali (15:50.456) Yeah.

Yes, but the Merlot from Val delle Rose is exceptional because the vineyard is located at a very high altitude and is influenced by the breezes that come from the sea. So, it’s not a jammy Merlot; it’s a round Merlot, but with good freshness. So, it’s a good blend with Sangiovese because, in other ways, it would not be a good blend together.

The Sangiovese originates from Chianti Classico, and the Merlot comes from a warmer region, such as Maremma. Yes, I’m right.

Jeroen Vonk (16:30.62) Yeah, just a short last question. What do you see in the future for Cecchi? What can we expect more of?

Miria Bracali (16:41.196) Yeah, it’s not so easy because every day is the future for us, so we must think something new, must feel something interesting, but perhaps I can see that more and more we are looking forward to winemaking as a matter of interpreting the terroir. This is a very important one. We must be recognized, so we must have

We have a powerful individual personality, and we strongly believe in what this land and our commitment to being consistent with our territories, our vines, and Mother Nature are offering. So we think that identity. It will be the most desirable trait in future wines. And we mustn’t forget to talk to the youngsters. To create a wine culture, it’s essential. You are crucial to our wine and winemaking…

Perhaps they pay too much attention to why they do not distribute quality wines at an accessible or very well-priced price point. This is possibly one of the most important goals for our winery in the future.

Jeroen Vonk (18:26.802) Thank you very much for your time and for the information. I really enjoyed this wine. Miria Bracali, Chief Winemaker from Cecchi Winery, Salute! This was a new episode of Sparks by VinoVonk. Join us for the next episode if you have the chance to consider purchasing this wine. It will be available internationally. Coevo from Cecchi Winery. Thank you very much.

Miria Bracali (18:35.329) Enjoy.

Miria Bracali (18:39.598) 7.

Miria Bracali (18:57.358) Thank you. Enjoy.