Winemaker Notes
Ruby red wine color, tending toward garnet with age, this wine offers complex, penetrating aromas of wild berry fruit. On the palate, it is dry, firm, harmonious and delicate.
Great with roasts, grilled and spit-roasted meats, game, braised meats and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe, sweet cherry and raspberry fruit are accented by floral, mineral and wild herbs in this alluring red. A backbone of dense, dusty tannins provides support, and the ripe fruit returns on the savory finish. Excellent length. Best from 2023 through 2043.
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James Suckling
Plum, ripe-berry and floral aromas with hints of sandalwood and fresh mushrooms. It’s full-bodied with firm, ripe tannins and a fresh, crushed-stone finish. A little timid now. Give it another two or three years. Try after 2023.
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Decanter
Prior to acquiring the Altesino estate, Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini purchased Caparzo in 1998. The property includes 28 hectares designated for Brunello and this estate bottling amalgamates vineyards from four distinct areas with different exposures and soils. The 2016 is charming with a delicate lightness and lively brightness. Violet, rosemary and liquorice aromas lead to cool mint and brambly notes on the palate. Easy flowing and seamless with smooth tannins and a dusty cherry finish.
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Wine & Spirits
The team at Caparzo culls sangiovese for this Brunello from estate vineyards in four different zones of Montalcino, varied in soil and elevation. Those components combine in a balanced and harmonious wine, its flavors of crunchy red cherry and black cherry layered with notes of dried herbs, underbrush and a hint of cocoa. Chewy tannins and a bright core of acidity suggest the wine will bring pleasure over the next decade. Best Buy
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.