Cupano news: Montalcino

Showing posts with label Montalcino. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 November 2018

Cupano on Vogue Japan

A new Brunello from a creator who studied with the god of Burgundy.

Vogue Japan puts Cupano among the 4 wineries to visit in Montalcino, together with Biondi Santi, Mastrojanni & Castiglion del Bosco.

Full article here.

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

Some points about 2018 harvest

This year we had a just enough winter, with little snow and some frosts at night, a natural panacea for the vines. Spring was very rainy, in a few weeks we reached almost two third of the average annual precipitation: we worked the soil in order to let the water in and we had to fight against mildew until the end of June, forced to make more treatments than usual but always far below the limits imposed by the organic rules.

In order to reduce the sugars in the grapes and to have a better ventilation between the vines, we started taking off the leaves on the northern side at the middle of June. For the same reason we waited until early July before topping the branches, to prevent an excessive reboot of the femminelle.

After the veraison we frequently thinned the grapes to restore the balance of the plants and to have more concentration in the fruits, for a yield of 45 quintals per hectare.

The harvest started on September 12 with Merlot and Cabernet Franc, then Sangiovese on September 17, 18, 21, ending with Cabernet Sauvignon on the 26th. The weather was extremely clear and sunny, leading to a slow maturation without a substantial gain of sugars that allowed us to choose the right time to crop.

With all the wines under 15 alcohol degrees, the natural fermentations were gently carried on through soft remontages et délestages. Elegance and finesse are common characteristics of the vintage, that will be transferred in the barriques approximately in January.

Thursday, 15 February 2018

Benvenuto Brunello 2018: Introducing the 2013 vintage

As we're approaching Benvenuto Brunello, we would like to share with you some thoughts about the new millésimes that will be introduced from 16 to 19 February in the Cloister of Sant'Agostino in Montalcino.

Cupano will be showing Brunello di Montalcino 2013, Rosso di Montalcino 2015 and Ombrone 2015.

We're just back from the «Rencontres Henri Jayer», where many prominent wine personalities, such as Aubert de Villaine, Jean-Michel Deiss, Anselme Selosse, Claude et Lydia Bourguignon, Loïc Paquet, Thibault Liger-Belair, Bruno Clavelier, Pascal Agrapart, Yann Chave, broadly appreciated our newcomers for their terroir-driven character and énergie.

Brunello 2013 was bottled last August, after a long aging in barriques bourguignonnes. It took advantage of a regular Tuscan summer which led to a good ripeness and structure. With intense notes of plump fruits, some freshness on the palate, a well integrated acidity and tannicity, this annata shows spiciness, depth, power and a dense, earthy finish. Still very young, we're pretty confident of its potential.

Rosso and Ombrone both comes out from the long awaited 2015 vintage, which seems to display some common marks. The first one shows a bright ruby red robe, while the second one - made of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon and 48% Merlot - is quite darker and more concentrated. The Rosso was bottled on January 26, Ombrone on February 13. They're both very fruity, elegant, with round tannins and a gentle, silky touch on the palate. 2015 produced wines of perfect phenolic maturity thanks to a great difference of temperatures between day and night and to a sweet marine breeze during summer.

See you in Montalcino!

Thursday, 7 September 2017

Some points about 2017 Harvest

Lionel inspecting the vineyard before the harvest

Having faced a very special année, we can be quite confident before the fermentations.

The grapes were healthy when we picked them, generous, plump, they had well tolerated the drought. The only problem they had was the very unusual African heat of the year, which could change the regular parameters.

The alcohol content was very high but we managed to stay within 15°, mixing different parcels with various age and exposure of the vines.

Concerning the Sangiovese, the old vines, with their stony soil, were pretty much sensitive to the heat but they came out with a good tannic structure, alors que tannicity is not the thing of 2017 vintage. The new vines, for their part, were planted on an alfalfa-treated land, which fostered a deep rooting and brought consistent nitrogen. The fact of having some cooler vines despite of the canicule played an essential role: we made a choix de récolte in order to redress the balance by blending different lots, which allows us to have a natural fermentation.

Another decisive choice we made was a very soft cluster thinning, because we thought the sun itself would have made this kind of sampling. We didn't take much grapes off in Spring, so there wasn't a huge drop in terms of quantity.

We try to be respectful of our standards, without losing the peculiar characteristics of our wines, even in tough vintages like this.

Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Tale of Cupano

Centine, 1995.

Ornella Tondini and Lionel Cousin moved to Montalcino from Paris with their daughter Orsa during the 90s. Ornella was a journalist at L'Autre Journal, while Lionel worked as filmmaker and director of photography. They already had a strong connection with Montalcino, having spent the most of their summer holidays at Frescobaldi's Il Giardinello hosting many contemporary artists, actors, musicians and writers.

They bought Centine from the owners of Castello Banfi. That land - located south-west of Montalcino, close to the medieval town of Camigliano - had been abandoned for more than 40 years. The soil they found was extremely pure, never touched by chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides or any other form of modern agricultural practice.

Thus Ornella and Lionel chose to plant three hectares of vineyard - 1 hectare of Brunello di Montalcino, 1 hectare of Rosso di Montalcino, 0.6 Cabernet Sauvignon and 0.4 Merlot - around their hill in 1997, starting with an organic by definition certified agriculture. Carlo Ferrini selected the land for the vines and the vine-stocks, the growth system and the height of the plants.

Lionel was born in Cognac but educated to wine in Burgundy, where he met Henri Jayer, whose winemaking philosophy was taken as a reference: few hectares, wine made in the vineyard, limited yields, further selection on the sorting table with removal of any unripe or moldy grapes, autochthonous yeasts, cold maceration on the lees, no filtration, no clarification, French barriques.

Cupano first vintage was the 2000. Since the beginning, Lionel intended to produce wines for aging, in a true French style, seeking for evolution, elegance and complexity. He had some advisors - e.g. the beloved Giulio Gambelli and François Bouchet until their death - but for some years now he has been working on his own, defining himself a vigneron.

Centine, 2017

The vineyard is 30 km far from the Mediterranean, taking advantage of temperate climate and sea breezes, dominating the Orcia Valley and the Ombrone flowing under the hill. The terroir, made of sandy clay with large substructure of cobble stones, is quite unique in Montalcino. The bed of the Ombrone, as a matter of fact, used to pass on that land, but then the tectonic shift activated by the Mount Amiata, an ancient volcano left of the land, made the hill come up, so the river went down the valley leaving all the sediments behind.

Part of the Brunello vineyard

Ornella and Lionel planted three more hectares in 2013 to face the growing demand, doubling the production from 2018.

Friday, 10 February 2017

Benvenuto Brunello 2017: Introducing the new Millésimes

As we're getting close to Benvenuto Brunello 2017, we would like to share with you some impressions regarding the new annate that will be introduced from 17 to 20 February in the Cloisters of the Montalcino Museum.

Cupano will be showing Brunello di Montalcino 2012, Rosso di Montalcino 2014 and Ombrone 2014.

2014 was une année difficile: adverse weather conditions, constant rain, wave of moisture led to the dissemination of the Drosophila Suzukii, which attacks the skin of the grapes. The presence of this small insect suggested an early harvest but our choice was to take some risks, making a strict selection in the vineyard and waiting for a complete ripening.

Given those circumstances, we're pretty satisfied and surprised by the result. In a tough vintage, in fact, Sangiovese shows off some unusual parameters and a new kind of expression, comparable to a vin d'altitude. Rosso di Montalcino 2014 has some original characteristics, in a burgundian inclination: it's delicate, with an elegant texture, plenty of ripe red fruits, good acidity and length. Aware of the pattern of the 2005, which wasn't so «extreme», we're quite confident regarding its aging potential and evolution. We can't wait to introduce it at Rencontres Henri Jayer on February 22-23 at Château de Gilly-les-Cîteaux.

Ombrone 2014 is made of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. These grapes faced the même combat but they're more resistant to humidity and heavy rains than Sangiovese. That's a well-structured, robust wine with hints of black fruits, good palate, rich, strong, pleasant.

Our Brunello di Montalcino 2012 - which resulted among the top 5 of the vintage for Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson - of course needs some time and we're sure it will get better and better with aging, but it already displays great presence, generous structure and full ripeness. It was a hot vintage, offering now complexity, red fruits, strength and weight.

See you in Montalcino!

Saturday, 29 October 2016

BaroloBrunello, 12-13 November, Chiostro di Sant'Agostino - Montalcino

For the first time Cupano will take part to BaroloBrunello, which will be held on November 12-13 in the Cloister of the Montalcino Museum.

More than 40 notable producers - e.g. Burlotto, Ceretto, Damilano, Vajra, Parusso, Capanna, Casanova di Neri, Il Marroneto, Le Ragnaie, Poggio di Sotto, Salvioni, Salicutti - will show their wines during these days.

Here's the complete program of the event with all the wineries.

Tickets for sale only at: https://www.eventbrite.it/e/biglietti-barolobrunello-2016-21029186864