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

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.

CINQUE annate di Cupano nella classifica globale dei 200 migliori vini del mondo

A seguito della prima degustazione alla cieca di vini italiani, tenutasi ad Essen lo scorso mese di gennaio 2013, sono ben 37 le bottiglie italiane che entrano nella classifica globale dei 200 migliori vini del mondo, stilata dai due migliori sommelier del mondo, Markus Del Monego e Andreas Larsson.

Link: Tasted Journal Tuscany. Blind Tasting. Aprile 2013.

Il primo numero di Tasted Journal dedicato all’Italia ha visto la partecipazione di circa 120 viticoltori provenienti da tutto il Bel Paese.

Tra questi spicca il Sassicaia del 2009 della Tenuta San Guido che, grazie ad un eccellente punteggio di 95 su 100, si attesta nei primi 50. Ottimi risultati anche per la Tenuta San Leonardo e Cupano, che fanno il loro ingresso nella prestigiosa classifica di Tasted con tre annate, e per Petra, Masciarelli, Domenico Clerico e Ornellaia, che piazzano due vini ciascuna. La regione più rappresentata è la Toscana, che porta 17 vini nella Top 200, seguita dal Piemonte, con 7, e dal Veneto, con 6.

Link: Cupano Brunello 2005 Riserva

Link: Cupano Brunello 2006 Riserva

Link: Cupano Brunello 2007

Link: tastedjournal.com