2012 Brunello di Montalcino

The 2012 vintage was a time of evolution at Canalicchio di Sopra, as Francesco Ripaccioli was undergoing intense studies of the vineyards to understand better how to communicate their estate's diverse terroir in the final product. This included the micro-vinification of individual crus within each vineyard, resulting in the La Casaccia as of 2015 and the Vigna Montosoli in 2018. When speaking about 2012, Ripaccioli has a much more positive spin on the vintage, explaining that the heavy snowfalls in the winter helped to create a water reserve in the soils that was paramount to the success of the vines through the warm and dry summer months. Canalicchio di Sopra began harvest on September 25th and ended on October 4th, having taken advantage of nearly a full month of cool conditions, which allowed the berries to achieve perfect phenolic ripeness.

Besides an excellent 2012 Brunello di Montalcino, there’s more exciting news from this venerable Montalcino estate. Beginning with the 2015 vintage, a brand new Brunello cru will be released from the Casaccia vineyard in the northern Canalicchio area of Montalcino. I have tasted from barrels at Canalicchio over the years, and can vouch that the vats containing wine from Casaccia were almost always the estate’s most interesting. The vines are not especially old (planted in 1990 at an altitude ranging from 297-310 meters above sea level) but the wine is especially deep, very refined and perfumed. Owner Francesco Ripaccioli has been studying the potential of his vineyards for years and feels the time is right to launch his first cru (the potentially outstanding 2015 vintage helps). Also, the estate has also bought another two hectares of vines in the Canalicchio area, the vigna Bersaglio planted with Sangiovese in 2000 at 278-293 meters above sea level. Last but not least, the estate has started work on a brand new three story cellar.