Lifting up with gorgeous floral perfumes and hints of white smoke, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino La Casaccia from Canalicchio di Sopra keeps you at the edge of your glass. It opens up with a dark and dramatic display of balsamic-tinged black cherry, sage and Indian spice, contrasted by savory notes of tobacco, rich earth tones and flowery undergrowth. There’s an amazing density of fruit here, offset by salty minerals, zesty acids and a hint of sour citrus. The textures are velvety-smooth, yet the expression remains feminine and lifted. In fact, you can hardly notice its underlying tannic heft until it’s too late, as the 2016 La Casaccia seems to youthfully fold in on itself, halting the expression but promising over a decade of further development. EG Nov 2020

A red with cherry, walnut, bark and hints of dried flowers. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and a tight finish. Really reserved now. Needs three or four years to open. Best after 2024. Oct 2020

The second release of this single vineyard, La Casaccia was planted in 1990. At an average altitude of 300 metres, it sits on predominantly clay soils and is bathed in sun from morning until evening. This doesn’t have quite the plushness or gregarious personality of the 2015 but takes on the 2016 vintage’s more vertical path, opening slowly. Aromas are evocative of pine, cedar and sage. Full but not weighty, the palate brings in earthy nuances with wild berries. Acidity is cleansing, and silky tannins build up to a powerful finish. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2040
Tasted by: Michaela Morris (at Vancouver, 22 Mar 2021)
Part of Brunello di Montalcino 2016: vintage report and top wines

This is a newish single-vineyard wine (it's the second vintage) created by Francesco Ripaccioli and the team at Canalicchio di Sopra at the conclusion of an ambitious estate-wide mapping project. The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino La Casaccia draws its fruit from a two-hectare site planted in 1990 with clay soils and rich in mineral components. A precious 4,133 bottles were made. What I like most is the tightness of the fruit, which you chip away at slowly as the wine softens and yields in the glass. Each layer brings you forest fruit, sour cherry, almond, lilac and candied orange peel. On a second swirl, you might get black olive, bay leaf and scorched earth. There are subtle mineral notes, but what La Casaccia ultimately offers is that uniquely compact and extremely polished quality of fruit. ML Nov 2020

This ripe red is bursting with plum, cherry, floral and mineral aromas and flavors. Succulent and balanced, with savory, sanguine and earthy accents, rolling on through the long, herb-tinged aftertaste. Best from 2024 through 2045. BS

Lustrous mid ruby. Leafy cherry hints but otherwise quite closed on the nose, yet with a clear sense of purity. Dense, yet elegant and with tangy acidity shooting through the mouth-filling fruit. Firm noble tannins add depth and contour. Real cru pedigree. Walter Speller March 2021