By Caparzo
Brunello di Montalcino 'La Casa'

Background
Caparzo's Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Vigna La Casa is a true enological gem, not just in Montalcino. La Casa derives its name from the farm where some of the tenant farmers who worked for Palazzo Montosoli lived. The first vintage of Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa was produced in 1977. At the time, little was known of terroir, and little attention was paid to the concept of zonation, which had only recently been introduced to Montalcino. In this case, Caparzo was once again a pacesetter, producing a "single vineyard" Brunello from one of the finest vineyards in the appellation. With Brunello di Montalcino La Casa, Caparzo was also one of the first wineries to introduce barriques to Montalcino, producing a wine with a polite, elegant spirit. Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa is the fruit of a unique terroir, and expresses all of Caparzo's passion and experience in producing excellent wines.

Vineyard
The 5-hectare (12.3553-acre) La Casa Vineyard is located on the Montosoli Hill, at an elevation of 275 meters, and enjoys a south-southeast exposure. The Montosoli Hill is not large, but its slightly greater elevation shields it from both mists and spring frosts, and yields grapes of incontrovertible quality. The terrain is shisty-clayey, of a sort locally known as Galestro, and is well drained. The vineyard enjoys excellent sunshine, an important factor for this sector of the northern part of the Montalcino appellation, which has lower average temperatures than other sectors.

Production
Manual harvest. Primary fermentation lasts 7 days at controlled temperatures between 28-30 degrees C (82-86 degrees F), and is followed by delestages 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. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation at a controlled temperature of 20-24 C (68-75 degrees F), immediately after racking. Aging for at least two years in wood, at least four months in bottle. 5-6% acidity.

Tasting Notes
Ruby, tending towards garnet with age. Penetrating, ample, and extremely complex bouquet, with wild berry fruit, spice, and vanilla. Dry, warm, firm, harmonious, delicate, austere, and persistent. Many analytical parameters are at a high level, particularly the polyphenolic charge, which is decisive for the refinement of the wines. Good alcohol content, moderate acidity. The wines have good body and concentration, excellent for aging.

Service
Pairings: Roasts, grilled and spit-roasted meats, game, braised meats, aged cheeses
Serving Temperature: 18 degrees C (64 degrees F), best if opened 1 to 2 hours before service
Cellaring Capacity: More than 35 years
[Information provided by Caparzo]
[Information is not vintage specific]

Wine: Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa 2020
Score/Rating: 97
Suggested Drinking Window: After 2027
Review Date: 09/24/2024
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: This is really pretty, with cherry, peach, and orange-peel character. It’s medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a long, long finish. Creamy and so polished. It goes on for minutes. A graceful and complex 2020 Brunello. Is this better than the 2019? Drink after 2027, but already beautiful to taste.

Wine: 2020 Caparzo Brunello Di Montalcino La Casa
Score/Rating: 96
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2045
Review Date: 01/22/2025
Reviewed By: Audrey Frick
Tasting Notes: A jeweled red color, the 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino La Casa is ripe and pure with notes of preserved cherries, violets, fresh leather, and sweet herbs. I love this wine, which has a wonderfully approachable feel and crystalline but ripe fruit shining all the way through it. A real charmer with ripe tannins, even seamless acidity, and a great finish, it's beautiful now but has a lot of life ahead of it. Bravo. Drink 2025-2045.

Wine: Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa 2020
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: Best from 2028 through 2046
Review Date: 06/30/2025
Reviewed By: Bruce Sanderson
Tasting Notes: Though compact and tightly knit, this red delivers a beam of strawberry, raspberry, mineral and spice flavors, and there's a hint of milk chocolate as this plays out on the finish. Offers beautiful balance and a resonant aftertaste. Best from 2028 through 2046.

Wine: 2020 Caparzo Casa
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2039
Review Date: 12/12/2024
Reviewed By: Vanessa Conlin
Tasting Notes: Quite pale in color, the 2020 Casa has appealing aromatic notes of strawberry jam, white chocolate, fresh rose petal, and underbrush. Quite enjoyable now, it offers medium concentration, supple tannins, and a sweeping fresh acidity that lifts the finish.

Wine: Caparzo 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa
Score/Rating: 94+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2027 - 2038
Review Date: 11/2023
Reviewed By: Eric Guido
Tasting Notes: The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa is dark and imposing, placing earth tones, crushed rocks and savory spice before its notes of flinty wild berry fruits. It's silky-smooth, nearly creamy in feel, with masses of mineral-tinged cherry and strawberry tones as a hint of exotic spice emerges toward the close. The 2020 tapers off wonderfully perfumed and long, mixing violets and lavender with nuances of sour citrus over a bed of fine-grained tannins. The balance here is otherworldly.

Wine: 2020 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2038
Review Date: 11/21/2024
Reviewed By: Monica Larner
Tasting Notes: From a single-vineyard site that is recognized by the old Tuscan farmhouse nestled among the vines, this is a more concentrated and fleshed-out expression of Sangiovese. The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa opens to dark fruit aromas, sweet earth and toasted oak. The finish is not too powerful, and that's exactly what gives this wine its elegant mouthfeel. [...]

Wine: Caparzo 2020 La Casa Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2027 - 2034
Review Date: 12/2024
Reviewed By: Kerin O’Keefe
Tasting Notes: Crushed mint, hay, leather and spice aromas shape the delicate nose. Full-bodied and smooth, the palate features succulent red plum, black cherry and cake spice framed in velvety tannins. Drink 2027-2034.

Wine: Caparzo, La Casa, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, 2020
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035
Review Date: 11/12/2024
Reviewed By: Michaela Morris
Tasting Notes: On the opposite side of the Montosoli hill from sister estate Altesino, Caparzo’s five hectares face south to southeast towards the town of Montalcino. The 2020 speaks to its warmer exposition with aromas of ripe blackcurrants and deep violets punctuated by juniper and flint. Rich and smooth, the palate sees brambly berries repeat, with a soupcon of chocolate in the background. There's sufficient mid-palate concentration but overall it is medium in weight, and its suede-like tannins supply a textured tug on the finish.

Wine: Caparzo, Vigna La Casa 2020 Brunello di Montalcino
Score/Rating: 17/20
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2034
Review Date: 12/12/2024
Reviewed By: Walter Speller
Tasting Notes: Lustrous mid ruby. Compact and slow to open up. Brooding complexity. Real purity of cherry and raspberry on the palate. Great balance and length and with gripping but not dominant tannins on the finish.