Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino MAGNUM 2016

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.

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 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.

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 2016 Vintage

Doubling up to make a pair the 2016 & 2015 vintage comparisons will be made for many years to come.

Eric Guido of Vinous had this to say:

If I had to think of one way to universally describe the majority of wines from the 2016 vintage, I would offer that they are like a well-muscled black stallion in its prime. They are dark yet radiant, expressive, nearly explosive at times, yet pure, poised and structured. These are wines that capture your imagination; and no matter how youthfully tense they are today, you simply can’t help but revisit a glass over and over again; because in many cases, the aromatics alone are intoxicating. I frankly cannot remember the last time I tasted young wines from Montalcino that possessed such symmetry from start to finish. The best part is that this success was widely spread throughout the region; and while there was a mix of the bad, the good and the otherworldly, finding a solidly performing bottle of 2016 Brunello di Montalcino won’t be difficult for any consumer. 

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.