Reviews
-James Suckling -
-Wine Spectator -
-Vinous -
-Falstaff -
-Jeb Dunnuck -
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
-Raffaele Vecchione, WinesCritic.com -
-Decanter -
Technical Details
- 100% Sangiovese
- Massimo Bracalente
- Italy
- Tuscany
- Brunello di Montalcino
- Estate vineyard Vigna La Casa. 5 hectares, located on the Montosoli hill north of Montalcino, with a south/south-east exposure at an elevation of approximately 275 meters
- Sustainable Practices
- 50% new and 50% second-fill French oak barriques followed by transfer to 50-80 cL traditional French oak casks (botti)
- Fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks followed by delestage and maceration on the skins for an additional 10–15 days.
- a minimum of 24 months, initially in 50% new and 50% second-fill French oak barriques for approximately 12 months, followed by transfer to 50-80 cL traditional French oak casks (botti) for the remainder of the wood aging, followed by at least 4 months in bottle
- 14.5%
- 15,000 cases
Tenuta di Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino 2021
Sustainable Practices
33% OFF RETAIL!
Tenuta di Caparzo is one of Brunello di Montalcino’s pioneering estates known for bolstering the region and wine’s reputation worldwide. And their 2021 – which Suckling calls “an intoxicating wine” (and he’s not just talking ABV) in his 96-point score – is available for a flirty $39.95… a bargain for this particularly great wine, vintage, and quality!
In the late ‘60s, a group of wine-loving friends bought a derelict farm and vineyards north of Montalcino, where very few wineries were bottling Brunello. They got to work, and eventually started separately vinifying and bottling vines from a single vineyard, becoming one of the first estates to introduce the “cru” concept to Montalcino. Caparzo also uniquely combines distinct microclimates across the appellation in certain bottlings to craft more balanced and complex wines.
In 1998, entrepreneur Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini purchased the estate, managing it alongside her children, Igino and Alessandra. She expanded the vineyard holdings from 46 to 90 hectares, replanted blocks, built a modern underground aging cellar, and adopted the eco-friendly systems of solar energy, water recycling, and waste recovery – one of the earlier estates to do so in Montalcino.
The estate’s Brunello di Montalcino is the classic flagship expression – 100% Sangiovese, of course – and 2021 was one of the most exceptional vintages for the region, with late spring frosts that reduced yields, a hot, dry summer without any destructive heat spikes, and crisp evenings in September to allow for perfect ripening and acidity. The wine explodes with cherry, wild strawberry, and raspberry, finely accentuated with violets and rosehip, some smoky earth, fennel, anise, and dried garden herbs. Juicy, structured, persistent, and refined… it hums with vibrant acidity and soft gymnast chalk tannins, and carries the power to age for at least another 15-20 years.
Your pasta, pizza, and roast nights are just begging for this intricately made, generous, gregarious Brunello. And nothing’s stopping you with a price like this!
FOOD PAIRINGS: I make this Italian pot roast multiple times in the fall and winter, and this is the kind of wine that is downright sublime alongside it.