Producer

Caparzo

I have reviewed two wines from Caparzo, all from the 2019 vintage, all from Brunello di Montalcino. All are Sangiovese. Scores range from 94 to 94, averaging 94; the highest is the 2019 Caparzo “La Casa” Brunello di Montalcino (94 points).

Caparzo is a historic Montalcino estate, founded in the 1960s by a group who recognised Brunello’s potential on the world stage, and instrumental in the region’s rise to fame. Now owned by Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini, it farms a significant spread of vineyards across the appellation’s different hillsides, blending their soils and microclimates into a consistent house style that bridges traditional austerity and modern fruit.

The classic Brunello di Montalcino is exactly that: structured and balanced, approachable young but able to age gracefully for 15 to 20 years.

Caparzo was also one of the first estates to bottle a single-vineyard Brunello. “La Casa”, first released with the 1977 vintage, comes from a vineyard at 275 metres on the Montosoli hill in the north of the appellation, where cooler temperatures and stony soil give elegance and a distinct mineral backbone. Aged 36 months in large Slavonian oak, it is deeper and more structured than the classic bottling, with blackberry, licorice, cedar, spice and dried herbs, as the 2019 shows, and it has long been a benchmark for Sangiovese’s terroir and ageability.