We're really happy that Italian Wine Merchants' sommeliers and key figures have often talked about Cupano and chosen our wines for their Expert Picks. We decided to collect all the articles involving our estate and wines in a chronological order in this post, that we will update au fur et à mesure.
September 9, 2015: David Gwo - Rosso di Montalcino 2008 1.5 L & Brunello di Montalcino 2008.
The 2008 Cupano Rosso is drinking exceptionally well right now, especially out of magnum! With softer tannins and less oak character, the Rosso demonstrates its delightful dark cherry, leather, and tobacco notes while being backed by zippy acidity. The perfect pizza or pasta wine, this bottle also a great weekend warrior. Magnums are always fun to open among good company and this Cupano Rosso is surely a crowd pleaser!
I’ve had the opportunity to taste many vintages of Cupano, and this ’08 bottling is lovely. The 2008 will be earlier drinking than vintages like 2004 or 2006, but it has all the characteristics one looks for in a modern-style Brunello. Dark fruit, dark flowers, spice, and oak are at the forefront of the palate, but if you give this bottle a few more years, everything will round into form nicely. Cupano is an incredibly consistent producer and there’s no doubt that the 2008 will be a pleasure to follow into the next decade.
April 13, 2015: Crystal Edgar - Brunello di Montalcino 2002.
This was a year in the Tuscan region that did not impress many winemakers. However, Cupano certainly doesn’t disappoint. In fact, this Brunello is deeply impressive! Intense yet genial, elegant yet backed with power, harmonious yet delineated, the ’02 Cupano Brunello di Montalcino seems to offer all components one would expect for a top Brunello, and it succeeds admirably with all components in balance.
March 17, 2015: Will Di Nunzio - Brunello di Montalcino 2007.
Every tasting, every dinner and, really, anytime, this bottle is an instant crowd pleaser. This smooth Brunello’s perfect fruit, balanced tannins and incredible vibrancy made for a perfect glass next Chef Mike’s Buacatini. What a pair! We were all in awe. From southern Montalcino, Cupano is Sergio’s latest addition to the IWM portfolio, and it’s a label that has been on our shelves permanently since December 2013, consistently making our customers overjoyed with wine delight.
November 10, 2014: Will Di Nunzio - Brunello di Montalcino 2008.
Cupano Brunello has become a staple wine in the past year since we’ve carried it at IWM. Almost every IWM client has read about and or tasted this wine, and those who have had it have loved it. I had this bottle with some great customers last Thursday, and of the six wines poured it was the favorite. It’s hard to get Brunello like this 2008; it’s a classic, approachable wine to enjoy now and for the next ten years. IWM’s Chef Mike Marcelli makes an incredible Saltimbocca all Romana, which is the ideal dish to have with this great wine.
October 2, 2014: Francesco Vigorito - Brunello di Montalcino 2003.
Many people might stray away from a 2003 Brunello, but I can guarantee that this Cupano Brunello will change your mind about that. [...] What you’ll get in the 2003 Cupano Brunello are loads velvety textured fruit, soft, integrated tannins and beautifully mature profile. This is a Brunello to drink now and drink often because it’s that good. Come see what Cupano is all about!
September 30, 2014: Garrett Kowalsky - Rosso di Montalcino 2005 1.5 L.
So I am sure by now you are all at least familiar with the name “Cupano.” It is the superstar estate in Montalcino that Sergio identified and secured exclusivity with! Their wines are naturally a little bigger, so it is unsurprising that their 2005 Rosso would still be outstanding. Even better is that we have the wine available in Magnum, so not only can you drink it now…you can drink it over the next decade. The wine was rich and palate staining and stood up perfectly to the amatriciana she had prepared. A wine perfectly matched for autumn’s hearty dishes.
August 25, 2014: Janice Cable - Smell, The Oldest Sense, And Two Tuscan Wines.
But a couple transported me to Italy in a single deep inhalation, specifically the Montevertine Rosso and the Cupano Brunello di Montalcino. Both of these wines smell so deeply of places I knew, places I’d spent time, places whose dirt I’d had under my fingernails, whose pointed scents I’d held in my nose, whose sun I’d felt on my shoulders, that they each felt like little time-travel machines, taking me back in time and across continents to Radda, to Montalcino, to places I know and love and haven’t seen in several years.
July 22, 2014: Robin Kelley O'Connor - Brunello di Montalcino 2008.
For the end of the day, the perfect wine for a twilight dinner of local farm-picked ripe tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella is Cupano Brunello di Montalcino 2008. The Brunello di Montalcino of Cupano have quickly become an IWM favorite. We have been blessed to clear the Cupano cellars of nearly ten vintages of their Brunello. Lionello Cousin, who founded Cupano in the late ‘80s with Ornella Tondini, is French, and he has brought his native sensibilities of winemaking to Montalcino to harmonize with his wife’s Italian passion and roots. They use non-interventionist methods both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Today I have selected the outstanding 2008 vintage. [...] This beautifully crafted ’08 Brunello is going to be a wine for the ages. Lionel Cousin is intensely engrossed in every aspect of his vineyard management. He uses only the ripest, best, low yield organically grown Sangiovese Grosso grapes for the Cupano Brunello. The wine spends 50 months in oak barrels and bottle before release. Deep bright ruby in color, this powerful, intense wine has a nose that’s loaded with exotic spices, fruit flavors. Offering an underlying velvety texture with great nuance, pitch perfect balance and a long finish that continues on for minutes, this is a wine you can drink now or put down for years.
May 19, 2014: Will Di Nunzio - Ombrone 2006.
Silky smooth, impressive, drinkable and delicious—this Ombrone is currently my favorite wine in this price range. What a bargain! Round and balanced, this is a wine that everyone loves. I have had it three times in the last 10 days and each time it put a smile on my face. By now we all know the great wines of Cupano, but to have a little wine like this at this age has been an absolute pleasure. I would drink this anytime.
April 21, 2014: Will Di Nunzio - Brunello di Montalcino 2002.
Yes, you read correctly, this is a 2002, the same vintage when many Italian winemakers fell into a depression because their vineyards were ruined by rain, hail and cold weather. In every storm is a little rainbow, and alongside some of the greats, Cupano prevailed against all odds. In my many offers of Cupano, I’ve written about the vineyard and I always, always highlight that the estate has great drainage. What does that mean? It means that in what is considered the worst vintage in 50 years you can get delicious wine because the water goes straight through the soil, rather than sitting and pooling and wreaking havoc with the vines and the grapes. The meticulous care of the owners helps, but nature makes it that simple. Enjoying this great bottle from an “off” vintage is an enlightening experience that everyone should have.
March 24, 2014: Janice Cable - Cupano Sant’Antimo Ombrone, A Wine For Lifelong Friends.
This past Christmas, I poured the Ombrone 2006 for friends at Christmas dinner. It drank like a perfect little chamber orchestra, each note building upon the one before, each one working in concert to create a delightful, deceptively powerful experience. I alone at the dinner had been to Montalcino—in fact, I think I was more or less the only wine person—but everyone loved the wine.
That’s the kind of wine Cupano Sant’Antimo Ombrone is. It’s like its two gracious makers, Ornella and Lionel, people who open their house, their lives and their bottles to strangers and make them lifelong friends.
March 24, 2014: Will Di Nunzio - Brunello di Montalcino 2007.
You’ve likely been seeing the great wines of Cupano, and it’s not by accident. Cupano is an incredible estate whose wines are beautifully balanced and extremely well made, but this high quality, like most of the best wines, speaks volumes about its vineyard. It is said, and some may argue, that Cupano has the best soils in all of Montalcino, why? Drainage, plain and simply. This is one of the few places you will find large river rocks embedded in the soil that allow any rain to dry up fairly quickly. Drainage gives the vines the correct amount of water. avoiding any watering down of the grapes thus maintaining concentration. This rich, delicious, balanced and extremely drinkable Brunello was the hit for the Italian table. Definitely something to pick up.
