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Canalicchio di Sopra, Brunello di Montalcino, 2012

Red Wine from Tuscany, Italy
$119.99
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Canalicchio di Sopra calls 2012 an extreme year whose extremes, oddly enough, cancelled each other out. That push-and-pull is the reason to pick up this bottle. Where 2010 was a straight, even run to a great vintage, 2012 was a winding, sometimes harsh season, and the winemaker had to interpret it and take risks. The family's answer was equal parts of its two northern-Montalcino crus, Canalicchio (heavy clay, very rich in magnesium, iron and manganese) and Montosoli (galestro, a crumbly rock-and-clay soil, here very mineral, loamy and silty). The wine then spent three years in big 25-hectolitre casks of Slavonian oak. As the family tells it, the result has a warm year's richness on the nose and a cool year's minerality on the palate. Founder Primo Pacenti's grandchildren, Francesco, Marco and Simonetta Ripaccioli, run the estate today. If you've had the 2010, this is a great comparison: the same family, but a very different road to the bottle.

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Antonio Galloni

94 points

"The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is stunning, finessed yet full of life, with bright cherry, sandalwood, shavings of cedar and dried Mediterranean herbs. It washes across the palate with a velvety mix of red currant and hints of balsamic spice, taking on a bit of a bitter twang toward the close. Hints of sour citrus and still slightly grippy tannins linger, as the 2012 shows its minerality, and hints of licorice slowly fade. I’d give the 2012 a few more years before really jumping in. It’s stunning." —Eric Guido

Robert Parker

94 points

"Canalicchio di Sopra is high on my shortlist of favorite producers in Montalcino. The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is a sumptuous wine made according to carefully considered criteria. Every step of the winemaking process represents a selection of sorts, culminating in an expression of extremes. The precision, the focus and the pristine nature of the aromas cannot be exaggerated. It is such a pleasure to taste a wine of this caliber and distinction. Aromas of dark fruit and savory spice find seamless integration. Background tones of balsam herb, cola and licorice add a superior level of complexity. In the mouth, the wine is polished, fine and silky. The mouthfeel is thinner compared to 2011 and 2010. Otherwise, this is a fabulously elegant Brunello." —Monica Larner

Jancis Robinson

17 points

"Montalcino Nord (Montosoli). Bright garnet. High toned and refreshing. Round and appealing already. Vegy, racy finish. Sleek and refined. Nothing overdone." —Jancis Robinson MW

Kerin O'Keefe

93 points

"Wild berry, dark spice and Mediterranean herb aromas lift out of the glass along with a waft of new leather. The enveloping, full-bodied palate doles out fleshy black cherry, star anise, pipe tobacco and a cinnamon note framed in chewy tannins. Drink 2020–2027." —Kerin O'Keefe

More about Canalicchio di Sopra

Canalicchio di Sopra is the north side of Montalcino in a bottle: two contrasting crus, cooler slopes, and Brunello with tension and silky tannins rather than brute power. It's one of the area's most respected traditional estates, and a family affair from the start.

Primo Pacenti founded the estate in 1962 and was one of the twelve founders of the Brunello di Montalcino Consorzio in 1967. His son-in-law Pier Luigi Ripaccioli followed, and today his grandchildren Francesco, Marco and Simonetta run things, with Francesco in the cellar and Marco in the vineyards.

They farm about 19 hectares of Sangiovese, and only Sangiovese, in two places. The Canalicchio cru around the winery sits at roughly 280 to 320 meters on mineral-rich clay. Montosoli, the famous neighboring hill, sits lower on lime-rich marl and galestro and brings structure, minerality and sapidity. The straight Brunello usually blends the two, while single-vineyard bottlings from Montosoli and La Casaccia show each side on its own. Fermentation is in stainless steel and aging in large, older casks, so the oak never gets in the way.

The Rosso is the early-drinking way in; the Brunellos reward a decade or more in the cellar.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Sangiovese

  • Vintage

    2012

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Traditional

  • Style

    Elegant

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Medium Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

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Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Bistecca alla fiorentina, wild-boar ragù over pappardelle, roast leg of lamb with rosemary and mint, or a wedge of aged pecorino Toscano.

Tasting Profile

The nose is rich, like a warm year, with the balsamic and minty notes the producer links to Montalcino's northern zone. The palate is cooler and more mineral. Elegant, silky tannins and well-blended but lively acidity point to a long life in bottle.

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