Brunello di Montalcino AdAlberto Riserva
In outstandingly favorable years, the finest fruit from the oldest vines is selected for the Riserva, which takes even longer to produce and age.
Exclusively from the oldest estate vineyard, Vigna Madre. These vineyards are the “mother-vineyards” for the rest of the estate. Most of the vines are 57 years old, the others are at least 45 years old. The old vines express the characteristics most associated with Brunello. These vineyards also deliver the most well-balanced wines.
A classic wine for the cellar, the Riserva can maintain its unique characteristics in the bottle for decades, further enhancing the power of Brunello with the mellowness that only time can bestow.
Appellation: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG
Type: Red, dry
Varietal: 100% Sangiovese Grosso
Color: Ruby red color with garnet hues.
Bouquet: Ample, ethereal fruit with a hint of resinous spice and rose petals.
Taste: Warm, intense, harmonious. Complex, with substantial body and plenty of length. It is recommended to uncork the bottle several hours before serving.
Alcohol: 14%
Food Pairing: Ideal with red meats, roasts, game and aged cheeses.
Production Area: Montalcino (Siena).
Vineyard: Madre vineyard (mostly planted in 1965).
Elevation: 365 meters (1,200 feet) a.s.l.
Exposure: Southwest.
Soil: Mixed limestone and silica rocks.
Training system: Spurred cordon.
Vines per hectare: 4000.
Yield: 80 q/ha.
Harvest: Early- to mid-October.
Vinification: Fermentation and post-fermentation maceration in steel tanks lasting 21 days. The fermentation takes place in a natural way, exploiting the indigenous yeasts present in the grapes. The fermentation temperature is kept between 30 and 33 °C.
Aging: After malolactic fermentation in steel there follows aging in wood. Four years in 30 HL Slavonian oak barrels and subsequent refinement in the bottle for a minimum of six months.
Production: 4,000 bottles. This wine is not produced in all years.
2008 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – 91 Points – Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Feb 2014)
"The 2008 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a much more austere and stern wine with a stronger sense of structure and acidity at the back. Smoky graphite tones intermingle with dried cherry and cassis. It's a wine that expresses itself from the inside out, starting with delicate aromas that build in strength as the wine airs in the glass. The polished finish is characterized by lasting notes of tobacco and licorice." ~ M.L.
2008 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – 90 Points – Wine Spectator (June 2014)
"This is dense, showing cherry, plum, leather and earth notes, matched to a chewy texture. Just a bit dry on the finish now, but long and elegant. This should come around in time." ~B.S.
2006 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – 93 Points – Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Apr. 2012)
"The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a gorgeous wine laces with dark cherries, plums, exotic spices, licorice and tobacco. It possesses lovely inner perfume, firm, yet well-integrated tannins and lovely overall balance. The 2006 Riserva is approachable today for its mid-palate juiciness, but it will be even better in a few years." ~A.G.
2006 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – 95 Points – Wine Spectator (Jul. 2012)
"A fresh version, scented with cherry, berry and wild herbs with racy acidity driving its pure fruit and tobacco flavors. Elegant and intense, building to a lingering aftertaste of fruit, spice and mineral." ~B.S
2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva – 92 Points – Robert Parker Wine Advocate (#188 April 2010
"Caprili’s 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a pretty, sensual wine graced with layers of dark fruit, menthol, French oak, spices and minerals. Deceptively medium in body, the wine possesses surprising weight that blossoms with time in the glass. Sweet scents of tobacco, leather and licorice add further complexity. Today the tannins are a touch vigorous, so a few years of cellaring seem warranted….I was quite taken with these Brunellos from Caprili, a small property located in the southwest corner of Montalcino. The Brunellos are made in a fairly traditional style. The estate favors natural yeasts, lengthy fermentations and aging in Slavonian oak casks.” ~A.G.
