2023 Il Carnasciale x Kobayashi Caberlot Toscana IGT | Tuscany, Italy 1.5L Magnum

...I have been buying one magnum of Il Caberlot made by the Tuscan producer Il Carnasciale every year for over 10 years; it is one of my favorite wines. They only sell wines in MAG format...the story is that they are the only people in the world to grow a spontaneous hybrid of cabernet franc and merlot (hence caberlot). This variety was discovered in a small Italian grapevine nursery in the '80s. And they planted the vines at a very high density of 10,000 vines per hectare on a tiny organically farmed plot on a beautiful mountaintop in a forest in the middle of nowhere of Tuscany. The whole story feels somewhat mysterious and fantastical, and believe me when I say that you are winding through the forest on a dusty bumpy road there is a sense that you are departing from the physical world that we are accustomed to and being transported into a dreamland or some kind of psychedelic journey. The wine continues down this path and is really something out of this world, it is in fact a singular expression and highly sought after by wine lovers all over the world, especially the wine explorers seeking something exotic and beautiful - like you...I'm not sure why, but it feels like Kobayashi and Il Carnasciale have a lot in common - because on the surface we have nothing in common. Their family history is Polish, they reside in Paris and Italy, they make Italian wine. But, they are doing something out of bounds, they are pushing quality adn have carved into a new territory. I felt a connection when we met in 2017, and a true kinship when we met again in 2022. While I was tasting a Caberlot, I mentioned that their label design "X" is the international sign for collaboration, something stirred in me at that moment and I asked Moritz if he might be interested in doing a collaboration with his unique grape variety in one of our unique Japanese Mizunara Oak Barrels. He paused in thought for what felt like an eternity, and simply said "That could be very interesting." ...fast forward to over a year later and hundreds of daily emails to get a once-used Japanese barrel through European Union customs, Mario and I went to their estate in Italy to blend this wine... This collaboration wine somehow shows an absolute harmony. The piney, cedar and incense qualitites of the Mizunara marry perfectly with the savory pepper, dark fruit and herbal Caberlot aromas. The wine has a refreshing acidity, balance and is so good it invokes an emotional response...It is a dream come true for me in a sense. | Travis Allen for Kobayashi

...a unique, exclusive collaboration blending the rare Caberlot grape with 3% Sangiovese, uniquely aged in Japanese Mizunara oak. Developed with wine expert Mario Kobayashi, this Toscana IGT offers a new dimension to the cult-status Caberlot, featuring refined, nuanced, and complex flavors. | cellar tracker