On a freezing, snowy winter day, the Ripaccioli brothers unveiled their new Brunello di Montalcino, which comes from the dedicated vineyard on the Montosoli hill.
After passing through a heavy snowfall, we finally arrive at Canalicchio di Sopra remarkably unscathed by the adverse weather conditions. The occasion is the presentation of the new estate-bottled Brunello di Montalcino: Montosoli. In fact, the vineyard is located in the Gode di Montosoli area on the northern slope of the hill, where the galestro soil takes on slightly clayey-sandy characteristics. Nevertheless, it retains the character of the classic, more galestro-rich southern slope (that of Baricci, Caparzo, and Altesino).
The Progress of Canalicchio di Sopra
Over the past fifteen years , the Canalicchio di Sopra winery has made a huge leap forward in quality, evolving from a historic Montalcino winery (its first bottled vintages date back to the late 1960s) into one of the best in the appellation. The credit for all this goes to the three Ripaccioli siblings: Francesco, the winery’s public face; Marco, who oversees the vineyards and the cellar; and Simonetta, who manages hospitality at the winery’s relais—a beautiful property offering an outstanding breakfast.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
The estate’s crus
. The estate is located in the upper part of the Canalicchi area (read more about this highly suitable region on the north-facing slope here), and the vineyards are all divided into individual parcels. After extensive research, the brothers selected several plots from which to produce single-vineyard wines; the first was Casaccia with the 2015 vintage, while the Mercatale vineyard—the oldest—is used to produce the reserve wines when they are released. Francesco is keen to point out that the creation of these crus does not detract from the vintage Brunello, which remains the winery’s most important wine as it defines the winery’s style.
These are distinctive aspects of the winery that highlight certain characteristics of its vineyards. Hence the decision to debut the Brunello Montosoli in a vintage—such as 2018—marked by extreme rainfall and low temperatures, which are not ideal conditions for this region. The Montosoli vineyard adheres to the winery’s philosophy, which calls for maceration in stainless steel tanks for over three weeks, followed by extended aging in 25- and 50-hectoliter barrels for more than 30 months in Slavonian and French oak from various coopers.
Future vintages of Vigna Montosoli
During the tasting, Ripaccioli also presented the future vintages of this cru, such as the 2019—which is truly fantastic and will be bottled shortly; the 2020, which is extremely well-balanced and easy to drink; as for the 2021, it’s still too early to assess its character.
So, how did this debut go? Very well—read the attached description by clicking on the wine’s name.
