Brunello Riserva 2009 among the 25 best wines of 2017 for Andreas Larsson

Our Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2009 figures out among the 25 best wines of 2017 tasted by Andreas Larsson, 2007 Best Sommelier of the World, for Tasted 100% Blind.

In his words, the list is made of «world class wines which possesse complexity, nuance, terroir expression, age worthiness, concentration and length».

Here's what Larsson wrote about our millésime:

«Medium deep ruby red with a lighter tawny rim. Pure but developed nose with sweet red fruit, dark cherry, fine spices, tobacco and some oak. The palate is concentrated but nicely rounded, rather a burgundian texture, with really fine purity, ripe tannin, clove, pepper and vanilla notes, with a lovely texture, plenty of ripeness but a fresh backbone and very long finish, stylishly crafted with elegance and complexity».

Full list: 

Château Troplong Mondot 2015 

Red Clos Fourtet 2015 

Château Trotte Vieille 2015  

Château Dassault 2015

Red Matervini - Antes Andes 2014 

Finca Sobreno - Ildefonso 2011

Bodega Numanthia - Termanthia 2012

Miguel Torres - Grans Muralles 2010

Montes - Alpha M Super Premium 2012

Lapostolle - Clos Apalta 2013

Wine & Soul - Pintas 2014

Bodegas Chandon - Terrazas de Los Andes Single Vineyard Las Compuertas 2013

Parusso - Bussia 2012

Delas frères - La Landonne 2015

Yann Chave 2015

Domaine des Remizières - Cuvée Emilie 2015

Cupano - Riserva 2009

Bodegas Tradición - Palo Cortado Tradicion Vors 30 Años NV

Neumeister - Saziani 2013

Holdvolgy - Culture 6 Puttonyos Aszu 2009

Bollinger - R.D. 2002

Piper Heidsieck - Cuvée Rare 1998

Schloss Gobelsburg - Ried Lamm 1oTW 2015

Erwin Sabathi - Ried Possnitzberg Alte Reben Chardonnay Große STK Lage 2015

Guy Charlemagne - Mesnillésime 2008

Brunello di Montalcino 2009 - Greatest Italian Wine for 2007 Best Sommelier of the World Andreas Larsson

Our Brunello di Montalcino 2009 is on top of the list of all the Italian wines tasted in the last 5 years by 2007 Best Sommelier of the World Andreas Larsson - we recall that the only entitled are those awarded by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale, just 15 from 1969 - for Tasted 100% Blind, together with several other vintages of Brunello and Ombrone.

Full ranking here.

Larsson also selected our Brunello di Montalcino 2011 for the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, the first theme park in the world consecrated to wine.

Cupano in Milan with Andreas Larsson, 2007 Best Sommelier of the World

Cupano Brunello di Montalcino 2011 at Cité du Vin, Bordeaux

Our Brunello di Montalcino 2011 has been selected for the Cité du Vin - the first theme park in the world consecrated to wine, opening today in Bordeaux in presence of French President François Hollande - by a tasting committee led by Michel Rolland and 2007 Best Sommelier of the World Andreas Larsson.

Here you will find the video that will be available to all the visitors, where Larsson describes our wine: https://youtu.be/e4kTfboM3vA

    This is the 2011 from Cupano, which is really one of the high-end producers of Brunello di Montalcino. This 2011 has got some evolution already, displaying a very elegant nose and I call this style of Brunello more, let’s say, Burgundian. I always find texture being very silky and rounded and yet powerful at the same time. The nose here is extraordinary, really fine with floral notes of violet rose, tobacco, almost cigar box with a fine spiciness and sweet but still that sour red cherry I associate with the variety. A really good grip on the palate, plenty of really fine tannins in the background, giving a good lift and a very dense texture. Notes of chocolate praline, cocoa powder, sweet red berries, fine spiciness and very long and intense finish. A wine I think it’s still youthful but perfectly drinkable and it certainly does have the capacity for another 10-15 years in a good cellar. A really fine, powerful, silky and refined Brunello di Montalcino

La Cité du Vin will be, since the beginning, the largest cellar of the world, offering more than 800 wines in its wine shop, restaurant and wine bar. A true revolution that will change the mondovino.

This opening is one of the most awaited events of the year: la Cité du Vin is at the second place of the Places to Go for the New York Times, among the 10 architectural grand openings for the Huffington Post, the 40 destinations to spend the holidays for The Guardian and the 20 vacation destinations for El Pais. 

Brunello di Montalcino 2009 & Ombrone 100 Sant'Antimo 2011 on TASTED 100% BLIND

During the last tasting session for Tasted 100% Blind, the 2007 Best Sommelier of the World Andreas Larsson seemed really touched by our wines. 

Here's what Larsson said about them, which resulted as the greatest wines tasted in that session.

Brunello di Montalcino 2009

Red wine with a medium dense ruby-red core, it has some more evolution on the rim; quite viscous with clearly marked legs. Intense nose with some evolution and complexity here; I get a lot of spiciness here, dry spices, with some notes of walnut, leather, sweet plum, tobacco; quite complex. The palate is really bold and opulent, and I think it’s nicely balanced in this style, without any hint of sweetness. It has a very broad and lush structure with plenty of extract, but I think those tannins are really fine, well-integrated, they add freshness and length to this like cocoa powder. Sweet red and dark fruit. I think the oak is very well-treated and integrated as well. Really broad, with a very good length. It really keeps lingering, with that fine spiciness and sweet fruit going on in the finish. Certainly a wine of very good pedigree, something we can comfortably put back in the cellar for 10-15 years, but I find this very drinkable right now. It’s lush, it’s bold, it has plenty of tannin, but it’s all well in balance now; and with a nice meal, I would take great pleasure in drinking this. 95

Ombrone 100 Sant'Antimo 2011

Very youthful colour here, very intense almost opaque at the core, still appearing very young due to that blue-purple; dense, very dense. Very nice nose here. Very perfumed, and I think this is a nice mix between really ripe unctuous black fruit like cassis, dark cherry. Fine spiciness as well. There’s a slightly meaty character here, almost like bacon, smoked meat, with pepper, sweet spices. A hint of oak in the background but it’s really that luscious dark fruit that plays first fiddle. That’s bloody good actually! Very dense palate, lovely pure black fruit, cassis, slightly herb-infused with ripe herbs like mint, sage, sweet cassis, dark plum, really multilayered. It’s still youthful so it doesn’t really have a lot of complexity but it has layers, it has nuance, a very very long finish. I like that combination between that density with rich extract, finely polished, and a very very long finish. This is really a serious wine that will develop for a long time, but I find it bloody delicious already today. 94

We now have 5 wines in the global Top 200 by Tasted 100% Blind: Brunello di Montalcino 2009 in 47th position, Ombrone 100 Sant'Antimo 2011 in 115th, Ombrone 2009 in 145th, Brunello di Montalcino 2005 in 174th and Brunello di Montalcino 2006 in 176th.

And here's the Top 20 of all the Italian wines ever tasted by Andreas Larsson. 

Ombrone, Sant'Antimo DOC: A Useful Guide

In Montalcino there are 4 denominations: Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, Sant'Antimo and Moscadello di Montalcino, an ancient sparkling white wine.

Unlike Rosso and Brunello, which are 100% Sangiovese, the Sant'Antimo DOC is a sort of winemakers' workshop, allowing producers to introduce the so-called International varieties  - that Lionel doesn't use to call this way - in this area.

We took the name Ombrone from the river passing beside our hill, which goes from the Chianti area to the Tyrrhenian Sea and is the west boundary of Montalcino.

The peculiarity of our Ombrone resides in the fact that Lionel changes its assemblage every year, according to the vagaries of the seasons and of the harvest.

Many journalists, sommeliers and critics have talked about our cuvée. Here's a recap.

First of all, Matthew Jukes - Daily Mail and MoneyWeek columnist, most influential wine writer in the UK - has talked about the 2008 (http://moneyweek.com/575-wine-of-the-week-a-wine-worth-its-weight-in-gold-57548/) and 2010 (http://moneyweek.com/a-legendary-super-tuscan-to-blow-your-mind/) vintages, defining the last one «A legendary Super-Tuscan to blow your mind».

The 2008 Ombrone was reviewed by Antonio Galloni for The Wine Advocate too: http://cupanonews.blogspot.com/2012/05/ombrone-2008-on-wine-advocate.html

Also the two Best Sommeliers of the World, Markus Del Monego and Andreas Larsson, ont dégusté that vintage for TASTED: http://www.blindtasted.com/wine/view/13565-cupano-ombrone

Always talking about the 2008, here's what Francis Bown of Bown's Best wrote: http://www.cupano.it/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/BownsBest.jpg

Now let's go back to the 2006 vintage, which is 50% Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in equal parts.

Ian D'Agata & Massimo Comparini included our Ombrone 2006 in their list of 100 Italy's Best Wines in 2010: http://www.cupano.it/INGLESE/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/miglioriViniItalia_2010.pdf. D'Agata talked about Ombrone in Ecco, his personal guide to the greatest Italian wines too: http://cupano.it/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/ECCO%20GUIDE.pdf

Will Di Nunzio and Janice Cable from Italian Wine Merchants, iconic Italian wine shop in New York, have often talked about that millésime: http://www.insideiwm.com/2014/05/19/expert-picks-cupano-and-il-palazzone/

http://www.insideiwm.com/2014/03/24/cupano-santantimo-ombrone-a-wine-for-lifelong-friends/

Ms. Cable also wrote an introduction to our estate and esprit de vie: http://www.insideiwm.com/2013/12/09/looking-at-cupano-makers-of-brunello-and-iwms-newest-find/

Still, it came out as the greatest Sant'Antimo both for 2006 (http://www.cupano.it/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/Altissimoceto.pdf) and 2007 (http://www.cupano.it/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/AltissimoCeto2010_2011.pdf) for Altissimo Ceto, achieving special mentions. These reviews were made by Ivano Antonini, 2008 Best Italian Sommelier, and Cristiano Cini, who are part of the 4-members jury declaring the Best Italian Sommelier every year.

The 2007 Ombrone was reviewed on Wine Enthusiast as the greatest «Other Reds», outside the Chianti, Brunello and Montepulciano denomination: http://www.cupano.it/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/Wine%20Enthusiast%20OMBRONE%20TESTO.pdf

Furthermore, here's an introduction to this vintage made by our British importer Swig: http://www.cupano.it/PDF_STAMPAeALTRO/Swig,%20Ombrone%202007.pdf

The 2009 and 2010 vintages received 94 points by TASTED, greatest Italian wines tasted in 2014: http://www.blindtasted.com/wine/view/13116-cupano-ombrone

http://www.blindtasted.com/wine/view/13117-cupano-ombrone 

In Summer 2015 the Ombrone 100 - Cabernet Sauvignon in purezza - 2011 received 94 points from TASTED too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxwwrdhUWvA

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Cupano goes to Hong Kong with TASTED & Vinovogue

Here is an excerpt of Vinovogue's Vinexpo Asia-Pacific special issue in which you will find our Ombrone 2010, with ratings and notes from the two Best Sommeliers of the World who tasted it blind:

Andreas Larsson - Intense dark ruby red. Quite balsamic notes with hints of dried fruit, leather, and dark cherry, the palate is well integrated with a good evolution/complexity, ripe fruit, integrated tannin, fresh, long and dark fruity aftertaste, still youthful on the finish with rich tannin, should develop well for a long time. 93

Markus Del Monego MW - Dark purple red with violet hue. Seductive nose with elegant notes of blackcurrants, blackberries and mild spices, discreetly smoky nose. On the palate well structured and balanced with excellent weight and length. Hints of dark chocolate in the finish. 95

You can read the whole Vinovogue special issue at the following link (Ombrone, page 27)

Both the magazine and the journal had a massive distribution all over Hong Kong - airport, restaurants, hotels, bar, cafes and wine shops - as you can see in TASTED's newsletter.