2013 Brunello di Montalcino

The estate planted three hectares in 1997 (one hectare each of Sangiovese for Brunello and Sangiovese for Rosso, and one of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). In 2013 they planted another two hectares of Sangiovese outside of the Montalcino DOCG; this Sangiovese was harvested for the first time this year and will be used to make a new flagship wine or added to the estate’s Supertuscan called Ombrone. The estate has practiced organic farming since the beginning - in 1997, when current owners Lionel Cousin and Ornella Tondini arrived, the land had been abandoned for 40 years and so no chemical agent had touched the area for decades. The estate also embraced many principles of biodynamic agriculture almost from the outset, and Lionel is a huge disciple of Henri Jayer, so you can imagine how good Cupano’s wines can be. Only in hot years can there be problems, as the estate is located a stone’s throw away from Camigliano, in the central-southwest portion of Montalcino’s production zone, where high temperatures and drought conditions are not rare. Over the years, Cupano has made many absolutely spectacular Brunellos, though the estate’s wines vary considerably from vintage to vintage. In some years they are redolent of red fruit, licorice, violet and tea leaf. In others they can be marked by dark fruit aromas and flavors that might bring a great Saint-Émilion to mind, so which Cupano wine you’ll prefer depends on the nose/taste profile you like most. But Cousin & Tondini’s talent is such that I guarantee you’ll like practically every wine they make (and I point out their Rosso di Montalcino, a wine the estate did not believe in making in its first years of life, as one of the denomination’s best in almost every vintage).