2018 Brunello di Montalcino

Francesco Ripaccioli of Canalicchio di Sopra is one of the most passionate and inspired winemakers in Montalcino today, with an eye set not just on his success but on the success of the entire region. Ripaccioli is also a studious winemaker, constantly looking for input from those who taste his wines. Nearly every visit involves going through multiple back vintages, current releases, and components of at least the next three years to come. Spending time with Ripaccioli is always an education. The winery farms northern slope vineyards on both the Montosoli hill and within Canalicchio, which are all broken down into micro-terroirs. Today, each plot is treated individually in the vineyards and is vinified separately as Ripaccioli continues to seek the perfect blending of vintage, location and the hand of the winemaker. All the research on the vines and soils has led Ripaccioli to designate cru bottles, starting with the Vigna La Casaccia, and now with the inaugural release of the Vigna Montosoli. It’s a bold statement to release a new wine in a vintage like 2018 instead of waiting for a more highly praised year. Or maybe, it’s just a bit of genius, because the Vigna Montosoli is easily one of the 2018's top wines and should not be missed. Of course, Ripaccioli has a positive outlook on the vintage, and his logic is hard to argue. In this part of the north, 2018 is viewed as a fresh and rainy year. The timing of the rain was ideal for the vines' vegetative process, including the two weeks of perfectly cool, dry and sunny weather prior to harvest. Ripaccioli will tell you it is a site-transparent vintage (at least in this part of Montalcino), so why not release a brand-new single-vineyard wine?