Falling In Love With Montalcino

After being harvested by hand, the grapes are taken to the cellar, where fermentation and maceration last for approximately 20 days using only natural yeast.

The vineyards are situated south of Montalcino, on the side of a hill overlooking the town of Sant’Angelo in Colle, looking directly towards Mount Amiata. They are located on a natural terrace facing south, where they are protected from the scirocco and tramontana winds by Poggio dell’Arna – with the abbey of Sant’Antimo on the east side of the hill and by Poggio Civitella, a large hill 800 metres above sea level. The terrain is medium soil mixture of Eocene origin with abundant stones. The south west-facing vineyards are at altitude of 420 metres a.s.l. The training system is spur cordon; 45% of the vineyards have 2,200 plants per hectare; the remaining 55% have 4,000 plants per hectare. The yield is 7 tons/ha.

La Torre Rosso di Montalcino is aged for 18 months in 2,500 litres French oak casks. Only a small proportion, about 10%, spends a 12-month period in French oak barriques. The wine is finally allowed to rest for 2 months in the bottle before being released.

During the first two days of the fermentation, special attention is paid to the seeds, which are removed if not ripe enough. This operation is made possible by the cutting edge technology of Caparzo’s fermentation tanks. The primary fermentation takes 7 days, at controlled temperatures of between 28 and 30°C, and is followed by delestages ("rack and return") and pump overs. Because of the superb quality of the skins, the wine is kept in contact with them for a further 10/15 days.

The Caparzo property covers 200 hectares of land in the hilly area of Montalcino, with 90 hectares used for vineyards. The vines are trained with the “spurred cordon” system at a density of 5,000 plants per hectare. Before handpicking, the grapes undergo field selection to ensure they are perfectly ripe with flawless clusters. Harvesting starts in early September with white grapes, followed by red grapes in the third week, and ends in mid-October with white Muscat, a variety with ancient roots in the area, which Caparzo interprets with a limited production of late-vintage Moscadello di Montalcino D.O.C. The vineyards are distributed on different hillsides, including Caparzo, La Casa, La Caduta, Il Cassero, and San Piero Caselle, at a height ranging between 220 to 300 metres above sea level. The soils’ composition varies, with Vigna Caparzo having a sandy-clayey composition, Vigna la Casa with shale-clayey (marl), La Caduta with shale-arenaceous rich in skeleton, Il Cassero with sandy-stony and shale-clayey, and San Piero Caselle with sandy-clayey composition. The exposure of the vineyards, the nature of the lands, and the areas’ microclimates add fullness, ageability, and character to the wines of Caparzo. Tradition dictates that Sangiovese grosso reigns supreme, but even with varying climatic trends, the disposition of the vines and the diverse conformations of the grounds, allow for consistently exceptional, high-quality wines to be yielded each year.

Malolactic fermentation takes place spontaneously, at a controlled temperature of 20-24°C, immediately after racking. The wine is subsequently aged in wood for at least 2 years and in the bottles for at least 4 months.

After being harvested by hand, the grapes are taken to the cellar, where fermentation and maceration last for approximately 20 days.

The terrain is harsh and stony and located on a hillside at 430 metres a.s.l. near Sant'Angelo in Colle. The south and west-facing vineyards are on Eocene terrain with a base of pietraserena, galestro and limestone. The vineyards have an extension of 5,6 hectares and are divided into four square areas, each harvested separately at the end of September. Vine density is 3,900 plants/ha. on spur cordon. The yield is approximately 6 tons/ha.

La Torre Brunello di Montalcino is aged for 42 months in 3,900 litres Slavonian oak casks; only a part, about 17%, spends a 12-month period in 250 litres French barriques. The wine is finally allowed to rest in the bottle before being released. During the first year the wine is racked three times, in December, March and September. In subsequent years it is racked once, in March.