A Thursday morning meeting with Francesco Ripaccioli, third generation producer at Canalicchio di Sopra...(these are my notes from Francesco's presentation)
Brunello was first documented as a wine in the late 1800's, as a single varietal wine that could be aged for long periods of time. From 1888 until 1945, only one producer was documented to have produced a few vintages of Brunello. That winery, Biondi-Santi, paved the way for other producers to emulate the style of Brunello. The region developed as a quality production in the 1950's and 1960's, and in 1968 the region was granted DOC status. At first it struggled to find it's identity as quality against the French wines of the time.
Canalicchio was part of the 'second-coming' of brunello. Canalicchio is one of the twelve members of the consortium of Brunello, in 1967. The estate of Canalicchio di Sopra was founded in 1962, and the first bottling of Canalicchio was 1966 by Primo Pacenti, Francesco's Grandfather. Primo Pacenti learned his way around Brunello vineyards working as a farmer for Biondi-Santi. Many wine producers considered Primo to be crazy in the '70's for the developing the Green Harvesting that everyone now utilizes as a perfectly normal practice. [Green harvesting is the practice of cutting away lesser quality fruit in the late summer and early fall. This allows the vines to put more energy into the remaining, better quality grapes.]
In 1987, Francesco's father's estate, Le Gode di Montosoli and grandfather's estate, Canalicchio di Sopra combined. Canalicchio is a very famous Cru on the northeast side of Montalcino, and produces a very elegant style of wine. Le Gode di Montosoli tends to produce more structured, higher acidity wines. Montosoli is famous for being one of the very first vineyards used for the very first Brunello from Biondi-Santi. The two properties are only 1 kilometer apart, yet produce very distinctly different wines. Only about 20 producers have property (or rent vineyard space) in this Montosoli hill. Canalicchio owns one of the largest holdings on the hill of Montosoli.
All of today's Canalicchio di Sopra wines are blended in the cellar from the two estates. The Riserva is roughly 95% single vineyard wine from the Canalicchio property. 16 hectares of vineyards are divided into 12 plots. Each plot is vinified separately in small French oak barrels. Vineyards younger than 15yrs old are only used for Rosso (DOCG rules require 3yr old vineyards). In August, a green harvest cuts back total production drastically (grapes that are too big, not maturing at the correct rate, etc.). Production works roughly to one bottle of wine per plant in the vineyard. The 2012 vintage was another successful vintage, and introduced two more selection processes. They harvested at two separate times, to maximize picking at just the right ripeness. They also introduced a hand-sorting table to further discard 3% imperfect grapes.
We then tasted the three latest releases of Canalicchio di Sopra, as well as two Cellar Selections from our warehouse...
2010 Rosso di Montalcino DOC - made exactly like Brunello, but from the younger vines. After one year of aging, barrels are selected that are not going to be aged into Brunello. All of their wine starts as if to become Brunello, but they pick the best to be aged into Brunello. In the past, less Rosso was produced and more grapes were sold. Now they sell less grapes and make more Rosso. Considered one of the top 1% of Rosso quality for the price. This vintage is a much bigger and bolder than usual Rosso. Very elegant, very structured, subtle fruit, long-long-long finish.
2008 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG - 27,000 bottle production - aged for three years in large Slovanian oak casks (minimum requirement is two years), aging can range from 32-38 months, and will be bottled as the wine is ready. They consider this as they're calling card. The Brunello is their flagship and is already a fine selection process. Francesco described 2008 as a very typical vintage. Really bright acidity, yet very elegant and soft for what I expected. He considers this a better wine than the 2006 vintage. The 2006 required more aging and wasn't ready to drink. The 2008 is ready to drink much younger. Much more elegant and structured than the Rosso.
2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG - 5,000 bottle production - production is so small that it's not a marketing ploy. They're intention is to make Brunello a great bottle, the Riserva is only the tiny little "pick of the litter" selection. The Riserva is not made every vintage, only when they see fit. Since 1966, the Riserva has only been produced 15 times up through 2007. Over the last 10 years, the Riserva has been produced 5 out of those 10 vintages. In years that the Riserva is not produced, the Brunello is that much better. Right out of the bottle, the Riserva is much denser and darker in color. As a vintage, Francesco considers 2007 an atypical vintage, of much more international of style. Much bigger, fruitier, and opulent than the traditional Canalicchio style. Brighter acidity, but a leaner finesse of a finish. Smells more old world to me, even though they describe it as more opulent.
2001 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG - he considers this his favorite Riserva vintage, a much more traditional vintage for Canalicchio. Says the bottle never seems to age, everytime you open a bottle of 2001 it's just as young as it was last time. Not really showing the age in color, very little brick coloring, still plenty of bright reds and burgundy colors. Very soft fruit, very bright acidity, soft tannins, bright acidity. Smells much more old world, with just the tiniest little touch of aged-sherry aromas. Super soft mouthfeel after the acidity fades, with a super long elegant finish.
1995 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG - ageless, like that of the 2001, every bottle seems to be just as young as the next. Right out of the bottle the wine looks older, a very dark aged color of dark red. Almost no reds in the color of the wine, more rust color than anything else. Smells less like sherry than the 2001. Very, very mild fruit, with still very bright acidity. Extremely elegant, but a little too old for the average customers that wouldn't appreciate it. As the wine opens, the balsamic nature burns off, and a little subtle fruit shines through. Just stunning.
[I apologize if sentences are scattered, this is a copy & paste from my iPad notes during our morning meeting.]
Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum
