Winemaker Notes
Capanna Brunello di Montalcino is a deep ruby red color with garnet hues. The bouquet is ethereal, with notes of red fruit and vanilla. The harmonious palate shows excellent tannicity and structure, with a very persistent finish. Made with 100% Sangiovese.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Brunello spent 36 months in classic Slavonian oak. The lifted aromatics upon opening quickly blow off and give way to more subtle floral tones, of fresh raspberry, dried herbs, and dusty earth. The palate is crisp and linear, with fine but angular tannins, refreshing citrus-like acidity, and a long finish. The 2016 is layered and complex within its transparency. There is a lot to love with this wine for those who enjoy traditional Sangiovese with brightness and lift. Check in now and over the next 20 years. Rating: 96+
-
James Suckling
Gorgeous aromas of black cherry, cedar, leather and dried flowers follow through to a full body with firm, creamy tannins that are long and caressing. Tight and focused. Pretty clarity to this. Give this three or four year to open.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted the Capanna 2016 Brunello di Montalcino side by side with the estate's 2015 Riserva and found that these two wines illustrate the vintage differences with clarity. This wine, the so-called "classic Brunello" from the slightly cooler vintage, is immediately more direct and expressive in terms of its bouquet. Aromas of cherry, earthy spice and rosemary essence are lifted and buoyant. However, the mouthfeel is surely more compact and tannic compared to the softer 2015 Riserva. What this wine lacks in texture, it delivers in terms of length and finish
-
Vinous
The 2016 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino is full of potential but is already so easy to like. Its bouquet is sweetly spiced and nuanced, showing dried roses which give way to a dusting of cedar and clove with crushed red berries and hints of flowery undergrowth. Silky textures envelope all that they touch in mineral-drenched cherry, propelled by zesty acids with building inner florals. That said, this is decidedly more feminine and lifted in character than I am used to from this estate. It is focused on purity throughout but with a balanced structure that will ensure over a decade of positive maturation.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of wild berry, violet and forest floor take center stage along with whiffs of new leather and menthol. The full-bodied palate offers dried cherry, orange zest, licorice and tobacco alongside firm tannins and fresh acidity. Best between 2024 and 2031.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.