Caparzo

Origins of the name ‘Caparzo’ are unconfirmed – some believe it derives from the Latin, ‘Caput Arsum’, meaning “a place touched by the sun”. It’s a name most apt for this gem of a winery, nestled amidst the rolling hills, glittering streams and silver olive trees of Tuscany’s Montalcino, home to the Sangiovese grape. In fact, the Caparzo winery was formed at the dawning of a wine tradition to which it contributes – that of Brunello di Montalcino. A ruined farm and vineyard estate, Caparzo was purchased in the 1960s by a group of friends with a passion for Tuscany – and wine. Renovated and replanted, the Caparzo winery quickly imposed itself on the market.

Its purchase in 1998, however, sparked the true turning point for Caparzo. Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini inherited the vineyard with two key objectives that continue to characterise its wines today: first, to combine tradition and innovation to create high-quality wine and, second, to give full expression to the 90 hectares of vineyard terroir on which her grapes are grown. Dotted across the hillsides of Montalcino, Caparzo’s vineyards are found in the region’s optimum sites, the exposure and microclimates of which give fullness, ageability and character to Caparzo’s Brunello di Montalcino. Single vineyards La Caduta, Il Cassero and San Piero Caselle are located at heights ranging from 220 to 300 metres above sea level with varied soils of shale, clay and skeleton.

However, central to the winery’s reputation is the La Casa vineyard. Found in the northeast of the Brunello zone, on the hill of Montosoli, La Casa is often considered one of the most prestigious sites of the appellation, famed for its galestro soils. Its grapes are treated separately in the winery, after Caparzo introduced the concept of ‘Cru’ to the Montalcino region, as a means of expressing their unique character and incomparable quality – Caparzo’s Brunello di Montalcino ‘La Casa’ brings together an encapsulating, pure Sangiovese fruit expression, alongside orange, lemon rind and glazed cherries with terracotta, mushroom and scorched earth, reflective of a winery “touched by the sun”.