Canalicchio Di Sopra Brunello Di Montalcino Tasting with Francesco Ripaccioli

The wine glass of love
                                      Will  it  ever overflow
                                      Have you drank of  it
                                      Do  you really   know
                                      It's filled  to  the rim
                                      With   precious   love
                                      And    understanding
                                      So  take  just  a   sip
                                     It's not too demanding
                                      And follow your heart
                                        With this gift for it
                                              Was given
                                                To you
                                                   F
                                                   O
                                                   R
                                                   A
                                                   L
                                                   L
                                                   T
                                                   H
                                                   E
                                            Sad Times
                                    When you feel so blue

Wine always makes me feel better and this last week has been an Olympic week here at Wine Watch with six events!! 

We have four events next week starting out with an incredible vintage Burgundy tasting at the Chanson Restaurant in the Royal Blues Hotel on Hillsboro Beach on Monday night back to the 1976 vintage.  There are only 3 seats left for this event!!

Then, we have two events on Wednesday night with our 2014 Louis Jadot Barrel tasting here at the store and Castello Quercetto at Café Maxx.

And then one of the top producers of Brunello di Montalcino here at the store…Another GREAT week of wines tastings ahead for our “Wine Drinking People” next week!!

Brunello is the wine with top billing in Tuscany is for the last half of century, a DOCG from a fortress town south of Siena with reds of legendary power and longevity that have commanded lofty prices.  The wines of this world renowned region of Tuscany were conceived by the Biondi Santi family a century ago, today Brunello di Montalcino is produced under scores of labels, representing small farms, established estates and even international corporations.  By the turn of the 21st century, there are over 200 producers of Brunello di Montalcino, mostly small farmers and family estates, producing nearly 330,000 cases a year.

Brunello is Montalcino is one of the hottest topics in the world of Italian wine today.  With wine magazines like: The Wine Spectator, James Suckling, The Wine Advocate and Antonio Galloni's Vinous calling the newly released 2010 vintage from Montalcino " One of The Greatest Vintage Ever", many collectors and wine enthusiasts will be scrambling to pick up the best wines from this stellar year. 

The paradox here is that these wines are years away from showing their grandeur, when a customer wants a recommendation for a wine to take home tonight and drink, young Brunello is rarely comes to mind.  However if you would like a taste of the wines of this elite red wine producing region, Brunello’s baby brother Rossi Di Montalcino has been one of the hottest wines in its price category in the store this year. 

Join us as we taste through 10 vintages of Canalicchio di Sopra’s Brunello Di Montalicino back to the 1995 vintage including the newly released 2010 vintage wine with the next generation of the family Francesco Ripaccioli.  Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be making Osso Bucco to accompany the wines and the fee for this event is $125 + tax.  This is a sit down event and is limited to 15 tasters, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Canalicchio Di Sopra Brunello Di Montalcino Tasting at Wine Watch with Francesco Ripaccioli
Friday, January 29, 2016
7:00 PM

Reception

2013 Canalicchio Di Sopra Rosso Di Montalcino
Price: $29.75       Sale $26.18          Case $304

(88 Points)  The 2013 Rosso di Montalcino shows soft tones of red cherry, wet earth, raspberry and blanched almond. There's a great sense of tightness and energy here that you don't get with many of the other Rosso wines of this warm vintage. The wine is aged one year, in both French and Slovenian oak respectively. There's isn't much heft in the mouth, but you get just enough to pair with egg fettuccine with butter and grated Parmigiano.

To Francesco Ripaccioli the 2010 vintage is historic and offers a similar alignment of the perfect growing conditions seen in 1997. "The only difference," he says: "Is we have 13 more years of growing experience." That experience shows in 2010 and Canalicchio di Sopra is today among the most articulate narrators of the Sangiovese story.   eRobertParker.com #217, Feb 2015

Wine Watch Tasting Notes:  Bright red berry fruit cherry, notes of wild sage and fine herbs, raw steak and light floral notes, very pretty bouquet.  Smooth and silky on the palate with fine tannins and a good amount of light red berry fruit with a clean fresh finish, light spice and earth tones.  Finish 35+ Excellent

1995 Canalicchio Di Sopra Riserva Brunello Di Montalcino
Price: $134.50    Sale  $118.36
Quantity in Stock: 29

A classic example of Brunello with soft smooth tannins, this wine is now fully evolved with the classic black tar and truffle aromas along with a host of dried herbs, sage and rosemary.  The wine opened up nicely and revealed some pretty dried cherry fruit along with some meaty notes and dried flowers, everything in perfect balance today.  The wine finishes fresh and lively and with the right food this wine will really came alive, the fruit being on the undercard with the wine now at 19 years old.  You want to decanter this wine for 30 minutes and serve it with dinner or some reggiano parmesan cheese.  A classic vintage for Montacino and although it is fully mature, it has the balance to last another decade or more in your cellar.  Finish 45+  Most Excellent +

1996 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $120.00    Sale $105.60

(89 points) Canalicchio di Sopra's plum/ruby-colored 1996 Brunello di Montalcino exhibits some of the vintage's austerity along with a nicely layered mid-palate as well as aromas and flavors of coffee, soy, Asian spices, and roasted herbs and meats. Spicy, medium-bodied, angular, complex as well as cerebral, it will drink well for 12-15 years.  Wine Advocate #137 Oct 2001

2001 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Price: $169.00    Sale $148.72

91 points Wine Spectator: "Lots of blackberry, tar and dried flowers. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and a long finish. Chewy. Best after 2010. 330 cases made." (04/07)

2004 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $112.00    Sale $98.56

2004  Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino (Magnum)
Price: $236.00    Sale $207.68

(92 Points) Dried violets, berries and hints of vanilla follow through to a full body, with racy, silky tannins and a tanned leather, berry aftertaste. Chewy. Needs bottle age to mellow. Better than the 2001. Best after 2010. 2,800 cases made. “JS Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2009

2004 Canalicchio Di Sopra Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva
Price: $159.00    Sale  $139.92
Quantity in Stock: 12

(93+ Points) The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is built on a core of elegance and refinement rather than the sheer power that typically characterizes the estate’s wines. This is a sensual, layered Brunello that only gradually reveals its seductive charm. Sweet, silky tannins support a core of ripe dark fruit all the way through to the sublime, delicate finish. Readers looking for a blockbuster 2004 Riserva should look elsewhere, but those in search of the elegant side of Brunello will find much to admire here. That said; the wine gained quite a bit of volume and depth with air, so it will be interesting to see where things go from here. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024.  Canalicchio di Sopra - Ripaccioli seems to be making better and better wines with each passing vintage. The estate’s Rosso and Brunellos are sourced from vineyards in the Canalicchio and Montosoli districts, both on the northern side of Montalcino, and are aged predominantly in cask.  Wine Advocate #188, Apr 2010

2006 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $96.00       Sale $84.48

2006 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino  (Magnum)
Price: $196.75    Sale $173.14

2006 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino  3L
Price: $432.00    Sale $380.16

Dried herbs and red berry fruit on the nose with notes of licorice spice. Notes of tar and black spices on the finish, a very classically fashioned brunello with layers of dried herbs and porcini notes. Most Excellent

2007 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Price: $150.00    Sale $132.00
Quantity in Stock: 7

Around 500 cases produced, very concentrated and rich on the nose with red cherry liqueur like fruit fresh earth and fine herbs with incense . A very elegant style with lots of structure very fresh and savory very classic style old world with fresh earth and dried mushroom and a potpourri of dried floral nuance through the finish.      Most Excellent +

2009 Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $73.00       Sale $64.24

(92 points) The 2009 Brunello di Montalcino is a standout expression with long and polished notes of dried fruit and tobacco presented in a smooth and seamless fashion. It shows good structure and balance but an even prettier nose with ethereal balsam herbs, tar, licorice and pressed violets that emerge as the wine evolves in the glass. The wine hints at a greater evolution to come. Drink: 2017-2022.  Wine Advocate #211 Feb 2014

2010 Canalicchio Di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $101.75    Sale $89.54

(98 points)  The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino will blow you away. This is a delightful expression that boasts its extreme quality from the minute the wine is poured from the bottle. As you should expect, it just gets better and better with each additional minute in the glass. It opens to a vibrant dark ruby color and blackish-garnet hues. The bouquet is ever changing and shows a long succession of aromatic characteristics that rage from dark fruit, plum, spice, leather, licorice, red rose, balsam and grilled herb. It's textbook Brunello from a great vintage and this side of the appellation (on the northeastern side) performs fantastically in 2010. This beauty should hold fifteen years or more. (ML) 98 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino will blow you away. This is a delightful expression that boasts its extreme quality from the minute the wine is poured from the bottle. As you should expect, it just gets better and better with each additional minute in the glass. It opens to a vibrant dark ruby color and blackish-garnet hues. The bouquet is ever changing and shows a long succession of aromatic characteristics that rage from dark fruit, plum, spice, leather, licorice, red rose, balsam and grilled herb. It's textbook Brunello from a great vintage and this side of the appellation (on the northeastern side) performs fantastically in 2010. This beauty should hold fifteen years or more. (ML) (2/ 2015)  (2/ 2015)

Menu

Selection of cheese:  Parmesan Reggiano, Beemster Gouda

Beef shank Osso Bucco over black truffle risotto

Dark chocolate creme Brulee with wild berries

This is a sit down event and the fee for this event is $125 + tax, we are limited to 15 tasters, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about the producer:

Primo Pacenti, the winemaker at Canalicchio di Sopra is a delightful gentleman whose wines are much like him - open and unpretentious.  These wines are ones that mature rapidly and offer straightforward satisfaction.  He has been making wine since the late 1960’s in the limestone and clay soils of his vineyard in a zone that is one of the most rapidly evolving and expanding in the fine wine world.

In 1962 Primo Pacenti, a lover of the land with a knowledge of its products, founded Azienda Agricola Canalicchio di Sopra. Situated in the northern side of the Municipality of Montalcino and in the middle of the tourist itinerary of Val d’Orcia, the farm extends for about 60 ha, 15 of which are cultivated with vines and 2 with olive groves.

Three generations live here side by side with the common aim of producing quality wines: the generation of the grandfather, Primo Pacenti, who founded the farm and managed it until the 1990’s, as well as participating actively in the social life of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino; that of the father, Pier Luigi Ripaccioli, who with the grandfather has undertaken to increase the quality by proposing careful and meticulous work; that of the grandchildren, Simonetta, Marco and Francesco who joined the management in 2001, bringing with them new ideas and new technologies always in respect of ancient methods and customs.

The vines grow in two of the zones with the highest vine growing and wine making vocations in Montalcino: Canalicchio di Sopra and Le Gode di Montosoli. The different exposure and the geological differences of the soils produce different Sangiovese grapes where balance and power compensate one another in the wine cellar through the patient work which always seeks the best blend of tradition and innovation.