Winemaker Notes
Ruby red in color tending towards garnet with age. Penetrating, ample, and extremely complex on the nose with wild berry fruit, spice and vanilla. Dry, firm, and harmonious on the palate.
Pair with roasts, grilled and spit-roasted meats, game, braised meats, and aged
cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of blue and sweet berry fruit with heady rose and floral notes on the nose, alongside hot chocolate, sandalwood, toffee and nutmeg. It’s full-bodied with ripe, muscular tannins that are superbly integrated. Powerful, yet with transparency and clarity that gives it beauty. Long, graceful finish.
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Wine Spectator
This leads off with graphite and oak spice aromas, while flavors of plum, black cherry, eucalyptus and tobacco lurk underneath. Dense, with firm yet polished tannins, this is guided by vibrant acidity and finishes with a long, complex aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2043.
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Wine Enthusiast
The sweet, floral nose offers decadence, with aromas of vanilla, Luxardo cherries, baked figs, strawberry jam and milk chocolate. The cherry and strawberry elements brighten with a touch of citrus but a dense, dark chocolate undertone brings weight. Acid glows around taut, chewy tannins.
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Decanter
Winemaker Massimo Bracalente says that Caparzo’s holdings in Montosoli were spared botrytis in 2018. Situated on well-draining Galestro soil, its south- to southeast-facing plots are largely protected from late season mists. Harvested between 24 and 25 September, La Casa demonstrates considerable ripeness for the vintage without tipping the balance. It leads with mature aromas of coffee, cherry compote and sweet tobacco. Luxurious, supple fruit flavours absorb oak nuances of nutmeg and vanilla, and pad out chocolatey, chewy tannins. Full and flattering, this has easy-going appeal.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna La Casa is amplified with a sheen of oak spice along with toasted cedar, vanilla bean, black cherry candy, and Mediterranean herbs. Full-bodied, with ample structure, it reveals notes of plum, mocha, and black truffle, building tannins that are firmly gripping, and warming sweet baking spice. I personally prefer the 2017 to this vintage from Caparzo. Allow another couple of years and drink 2024-2030.
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.