2016 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Tuscany

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino vintage is a must-collect for ALL red wine lovers.

Decanter rated the vintage 5/5. Wine Advocate gave it a 98. James Suckling called it a contender for Brunello’s greatest ever and Vinous wondered aloud whether it might be perfect—and there might not be a better bottle to cellar than Capanna’s outstanding Riserva. 

Composed of Capanna’s finest fruit from their oldest vines, Vinous called this bottle “tremendous Brunello Riserva in the making.” With a whopping 96-point score, it equals Biondi-Santi’s 2016 Riserva ($754) and Valdicava’s 2016 Riserva Madonna del Piano ($295). 

Owned by the Cencioni family since 1957, Capanna was one of the first estates to usher in Brunello’s modern era—and this isn’t an exaggeration, since patriarch Giuseppe Cencioni was one of 25 founders of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. The estate sits on the hill of Montosoli, perhaps the most famed terroir in all of the Brunello zone, where the vines enjoy Tuscany’s prized galestro soil and a southeasterly exposure ideal for soaking up the bright sun.

Still a family-run affair after more than six decades, Capanna avails itself of the services of consulting oenologist Paolo Vagaggini, who has not only been recruited to guide the Sangiovese program at the University of Bordeaux but counts Fuligni and the iconic Biondi-Santi among his Brunello clients.

Vagaggini has Capanna on an impressive track. He fermented this wine on the skins for nearly a month, before giving it 40 months in Slavonian oak casks that range from 1,000 to 3,200 liters, then 15+ months in bottle. What emerged is the kind of beguiling Brunello Riserva that rewards DECADES in the cellar.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 15.00%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2040
• % Sangiovese
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork