Castello dei Rampolla ‘d’Alceo’ 2018

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Castello dei Rampolla’s Sammarco and D’Alceo have been benchmarks for several decades. Both 2018s will take their place among the best wines ever made here. Maurizia di Napoli and her brother, Luca, craft wines of notable intensity and pedigree. Biodynamic farming and low intervention winemaking are the rule. Of the two flagship wines, D’Alceo is a bit more opulent, likely because the terraced vineyards are south and south-east facing, while Sammarco has a bit more tannic backbone and energy. Both are off the charts great.

Antonio Galloni

Luca di Napoli visited Wine Decoded HQ in Feb 2020 to share a little wisdom, the history of Castello dei Rampolla and a delicious suite of vino. Enjoy the 🎧 podcast below! 🎥 Video coming soon!

There is plenty to like in these new releases from Castello dei Rampolla. Two thousand seventeen was a rough year. Frost in May, hail in August, and hot, dry conditions during the rest of the season had the cumulative effect of reducing the crop by 50%. Rampolla releases their top wines later than most so the current vintage for the dual flagships Sammarco and d’Alceo is 2015. Both wines are incredibly pure and nuanced. Readers will find an unusually open Sammarco in 2015 because of higher percentage of Merlot than has been the norm here. Sustainable farming, minimal intervention in the cellar and great dirt result in some of the most compelling wines of Tuscany, and the world, for that matter. Antonio Galloni

“D’Alceo” fully reflects the character of the vineyard from which it originates. It is intense, warm, refined and elegant.Well-ripened red fruits blend perfectly with delicate notes of cigar and tobacco – an amazing concentration with no heaviness.

We are not talking simply about a wine, but about the personality of a vineyard planted by Alceo, who could not have guessed to what degree of excellence his combination of vines and land, was going to arrive.

The average production is 6000 – 12000 bottles.

VINIFICATION AND AGING

• 3 months: concrete
• 12-15 months: tonneaux 500 L
  no toast / medium toast
• 18-24 months: bottle

In 1980, Rampolla produced their first vintage of Sammarco, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. It was the early days of Italy’s infatuation with international grapes that would in turn bring a handful of wines a level of recognition and accompanying prestige that was unthinkable back then. Antinori’s first vintage of Tignanello was 1971. Solaia followed in 1978. Tenuta dell’Ornellaia did not exist yet and Sassicaia was still under the radar. It was the very beginning of an entire movement.

In this tasting, there is a clear dividing line at 1994, when the wines acquire more density, power and pedigree. It’s not just a matter of the age of the wines or vineyards. It is clearly something more than that. Luca di Napoli credits a move to biodynamic farming that year with the improvement in quality, but that, too, seems, implausible, since even the best vineyards need time to adjust to new farming regimes. Still, it is undeniable that, while Alceo di Napoli made a number of fabulous Sammarcos in the pre-1994 era, the wines simply explode in quality after that.

“The first thing I did when I returned to the estate was to leave more cover crop, which encourages a healthy ecosystem and also forces the vines to go deep for nutrients in response to the competition the roots face closer to the surface from the cover crops,” Luca di Napoli explains. “I also eliminated the use of chemicals and fertilizers. Aside from the obvious, a more sustainable approach to farming forces the vines to naturally self-regulate production, which in turn results in lower yields and keeps the soils alive. Our Vigna d’Alceo was farmed sustainably from the very beginning, while it took a bit longer to get the rest of the property in shape.”

“My only regret is that Alceo did not live to see the results of all his sacrifices” Piero Antinori told me. “I don’t think he ever recovered from the death of his oldest son, Marco. It seems like yesterday. The very next morning I took Alceo with me to Castello della Sala and we spent the day together. He needed to get away.”

While Alceo di Napoli may not have lived to see the heights Rampolla has reached, he would surely be proud to see what his children have done in building on the rich legacy he left behind. The Rampolla wines are world class, something that comes through loud and clear in this unforgettable tasting.

About Castello dei Rampolla

Historical Perspective by Antonio Galloni:

The di Napoli family has owned Rampolla since 1739. Alceo di Napoli inherited the estate in 1965. At the time, Rampolla was essentially a summer residence. Wheat, olive trees and other mixed crops were cultivated, but there were no vineyards. “Alceo di Napoli was a man of extraordinary humility,” Piero Antinori told me recently. “He loved the land. After seeing the potential of the vineyards, we helped him get started and bought some of the first grapes off the property. We were very close in the early days.”

In 1975, Rampolla began making and bottling their own wines under the guidance of legendary oenologist Giacomo Tachis, whose influence is still widely felt. Tragically, Alceo di Napoli passed away unexpectedly in 1991. Di Napoli’s second son, Luca, returned to the estate in 1994 and today manages the property alongside his sister, Maurizia.

Note the concrete vats in the background in the last part of the video.

Where in the World is Castello dei Rampolla?

Castello dei Rampolla is located in Panzano’s famous Conca d’Oro or ‘golden basin” district, an amphitheater of striking, pristine hillside vineyards. Rampolla’s neighbors include Fontodi, Cafaggio, La Massa, L’Orcio, Le Cinciole and Gagliole’s Valletta estate. The map below, prepared exclusively for Vinous by renowned cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti, provides an overview of the area. The vineyards of Panzano, technically a sub-zone of Greve, are all shown in blue. Rampolla’s vineyards are highlighted in orange. The three strips at the northwest corner of the property are the three d’Alceo terraces. Note that Rampolla directly faces Fontodi across the valley.