Brunello Di Montalcino

Caparzo Brunello Di Montalcino is best paired with red meats, pasta with meat sauces, legume-based soups, and aged cheeses.

The origins of the place name Caparzo are still unknown. According to some people, the name should derive, as shown by ancient maps, from Ca’ Pazzo; according to others, the term should derive from the Latin Caput Arsum and should indicate a “place touched by the sun”. The beginning of the history of Caparzo dates back to the end of the sixties, when a group of friends, fond of Tuscany and of wine, purchased an old ruin with vineyards at Montalcino. We are at the dawning of Brunello di Montalcino, the Association has just been set up and the producers-bottlers are only 13. The farm estate was renovated, modernised and new vineyards were planted. In a short time, Caparzo was able to impose itself on the market of Brunello. Thirty years passed from the first rows of vines and from the first cellar experiences. In 1998, the farm estate came to a turning point when Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini purchased Caparzo. She immediately carried out her objectives: combine tradition with innovation to create a high-quality wine, expression of an excellent territory, with the help of her son, Igino, and daughter, Alessandra.

The Caparzo property covers 200 hectares of land in the hilly area of Montalcino, with 90 hectares used for vineyards. The vines are trained with the “spurred cordon” system at a density of 5,000 plants per hectare. Before handpicking, the grapes undergo field selection to ensure they are perfectly ripe with flawless clusters. Harvesting starts in early September with white grapes, followed by red grapes in the third week, and ends in mid-October with white Muscat, a variety with ancient roots in the area, which Caparzo interprets with a limited production of late-vintage Moscadello di Montalcino D.O.C. The vineyards are distributed on different hillsides, including Caparzo, La Casa, La Caduta, Il Cassero, and San Piero Caselle, at a height ranging between 220 to 300 metres above sea level. The soils’ composition varies, with Vigna Caparzo having a sandy-clayey composition, Vigna la Casa with shale-clayey (marl), La Caduta with shale-arenaceous rich in skeleton, Il Cassero with sandy-stony and shale-clayey, and San Piero Caselle with sandy-clayey composition. The exposure of the vineyards, the nature of the lands, and the areas’ microclimates add fullness, ageability, and character to the wines of Caparzo. Tradition dictates that Sangiovese grosso reigns supreme, but even with varying climatic trends, the disposition of the vines and the diverse conformations of the grounds, allow for consistently exceptional, high-quality wines to be yielded each year.

Malolactic fermentation takes place spontaneously, at a controlled temperature of 20-24°C, immediately after racking. The wine is subsequently aged in wood for at least 2 years and in the bottles for at least 4 months.

During the first two days of the fermentation, special attention is paid to the seeds, which are removed if not ripe enough. This operation is made possible by the cutting edge technology of Caparzo’s fermentation tanks. The primary fermentation takes 7 days, at controlled temperatures of between 28 and 30°C, and is followed by delestages ("rack and return") and pump overs. Because of the superb quality of the skins, the wine is kept in contact with them for a further 10/15 days.