Pre-Arrival Jan 2021

Product information

Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino ‘Casaccia’ 2015

Sangiovese from Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy

$320

Closure: Cork
Canalicchio is known for producing elegant, fine, Burgundian Brunello. 'Casaccia' a unique sub-plot has given us a superb 2015!

Description

***Pre-Arrival – Landing Jan 2021***

The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino La Casaccia opens with an intense mix of zesty red fruits, spice and alluring sweet florals, backed by dark earth, crushed stone, hints of licorice, and a twang of savory herbs. On the palate, silky textures are contrasted by saline-minerals and brisk acids, as red berry fruits flood the senses along with savory herbs and spices, leaving a coating of fine-grained tannin. The finish is long, displaying lingering spiced red berries enlivened by resonating acids, saline-mineral tones and a hint of fine tannin. Talk about a great way to release a new single-vineyard bottling, The 2015 is classic to the core. Drink 2024 – 2040.

Erico Guido, Vinous

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Check out all of the wines by Canalicchio di Sopra

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Canalicchio di Sopra

Founded by Primo Pacenti in 1962, in 1987 Primo was joined by son inlaw Pier Luigi Ripaccioli.

Combine their lands under the Canalicchio di Sopra brand, they added the highly-esteemed Montosoli cru into the blend of their Brunello, along with the long-standing Canalicchio. The trend at the time was to blend vineyards from the north and south of Montalcino, hoping to find balance between the two.

However, Pacenti and Ripaccioli made the defining choice to remain a fully northern producer of Brunello. These two vineyards perfectly contrasted each other’s attributes, as Montosoli brought a unique blend of soils to the mix, made up of galestro, as today’s generation, represented by Francesco Ripaccioli, has described to me as “the most Chianti Classico-like in Montalcino.” However, over time, Francesco Ripaccioli couldn’t help but notice the amount of unique micro-terroirs that existed throughout their holdings.

His experimentation started with the 2013 Riserva, which was sourced entirely from the Montosoli vineyard, and it continues with the 2015 La Casaccia, another single-vineyard Brunello from vines planted in 1990, within the Canalicchio Cru. Frankly, it’s an exciting time to be watching the work of Francesco and his family, as they are at the forefront of Montalcino’s most exciting endeavor – the understanding and classification of the region’s diverse terroirs.

Since 2001, Canalicchio di Sopra has been in the highly capable, thoughtful hands of Pier Luigi’s three children, Francesco, Simonetta and Marco.

Italian Wine Podcast · Ep. 236 Francesco Ripaccioli (Canalicchio di Sopra) on Brunello di Montalcino

In the Vineyard

The soils of the Canalicchio parcels are largely clay with pebbles and strong mineral content, resulting in wines of aromatic intensity, opulence, and minerality. It is the extraordinary elegance, latent power, balance, and silky tannins of the Casaccia parcel which for some years now have seen it bottled separately.

The Canalicchio Vineyards

The Montosoli soils are marl with very high mineral components, clay loam texture with higher levels of lime, with the pebbly texture increasing the pH. The resultant wines show great structure, minerality and sapidity.

The diurnal temperature range (the difference between day and night temps) supports ripening fruit while maintaining acid and freshness.

The Montosoli Vineyards

In the Winery

The Rosso di Montalcino and the Brunello di Montalcino are based on the parcels of Canalicchio and Montosoli, located on the northern side of Montalcino, and which combined total 19 hectares planted.

The wines are fermented in temperature control steel tanks, daily soft pumping over. Maceration on the skins for around 25 days

These sites lend themselves to elegant fine, perhaps even Burgundian wines, they’re not built to hand small new oak. Canalicchio di Sopra ages their wines in 2,500 & 5,000L Slavonian oak botti for 36 months.

The 2015 Vintage

Well, well, well! Every year winemakers (… or their marketing team) around the world tell us it’s the vintage of the decade, maybe even the vintage of the century! Every vintage I make wine I call it the vintage of the year determined to take the P.1.S.S. out of all the marketers!

It’s happened again with the 2015 wines of Brunello. James Suckling Top Italian wine for last your was a Brunello, in fact, it was his top wine for the WORLD!  Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2015. His top 100 wines were dominated by 35 Brunelli! Virtually all were 2015’s with the exception of a couple of Riservas from 2013.

The Rosso di Montalcinos we saw from 2015 certainly support the vintage being a pretty tasty one.

The message is clear BACK THE TRUCK UP!


James Suckling Thoughts on the 2015 Vintage in Brunello

The 2015 vintage is a historical year for Brunello di Montalcino that nobody should miss. The wines show impressive precision of vivid fruit, fine tannins and freshness in acidity despite their ripeness and richness which makes them some of the most exciting in years.

Winemakers in Montalcino were never better prepared to produce outstanding wines in a year like 2015 with their exactness in their vineyards and cellars from fine-tuned canopy management and crop thinning to optical sorting and soft fermentations. So many wine producers in Montalcino made excellent wines in 2015.

‘Depth of fruit and endless length’

My son Jack and I have tasted 187 2015 Brunellos so far this year and the quality is terrific. We rated about half 95 points or more – classic quality. The wines will be officially available in the market beginning in January 2020. But we wanted to give you a preview of the best Brunellos from the vintage, with some already available on a pre-arrival basis from wine merchants.

‘Balance and harmony’

“The words for the 2015 vintage are density, tannins and freshness,” says Roberto Guerrini, whose family owns Eredi Fuligni. He made the wine of his lifetime in 2015. We rated it 100 points. “The wines are rich, yet they are fresh at the same time. It is a great year.”

Where in the World is Canalicchio di Sopra?

Canalicchio di Sopra is Montalcino. There main vineyards are on the exceptional terroirs of Montosoli and Canalichhio Crus. The winery has a number of individual sub-plots in each Cru.

Click to open large map with producer index
100 Points

The intensity of fruit is staggering here, as this stacks up dried peaches, dried strawberries, red licorice, red-plum compote and glazed red cherries, in rapid succession. There’s a breadth of flavor to the palate that will take your breath away; muscular tannins draw in deeply set cherries, melding it together in a glistening coating of acidity, which only helps to carry it longer still. The finish is nearly endless. A stunning new single vineyard from Canalicchio di Sopra. Drink from 2026.

James Suckling

98 Points

The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino La Casaccia opens with an intense mix of zesty red fruits, spice and alluring sweet florals, backed by dark earth, crushed stone, hints of licorice, and a twang of savory herbs. On the palate, silky textures are contrasted by saline-minerals and brisk acids, as red berry fruits flood the senses along with savory herbs and spices, leaving a coating of fine-grained tannin. The finish is long, displaying lingering spiced red berries enlivened by resonating acids, saline-mineral tones and a hint of fine tannin. Talk about a great way to release a new single-vineyard bottling, The 2015 is classic to the core. Drink 2024 – 2040.

Eric Guido, Vinous

Where in the world does the magic happen?

Canalicchio di Sopra Azienda Agricola, Loc. Casaccia, Montalcino, Province of Siena, Italy

Montalcino
Tuscany
Italy