2018 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

Some vintages in Montalcino are like a dream. 

Take 2016. Anybody who couldn’t make a great bottle of Brunello in 2016 should have hung it up and planted potatoes.

But in years like 2018, top performers like Caparzo show us why the age-old nugget still rings true: Buy the producer, not the vintage. Impeccable farming and blending decisions were absolutely critical in the cool, classic 2018 season, and Caparzo’s broad palette of vineyards—in four different parts of the appellation—ensured a balanced, beautiful wine.

Caparzo is one of our best-selling Brunello of all time, so we and Wine Access members expect a ton from it. Given its track record with the critics and raves from our members, who gave the last vintage a stunning 4.3 score, our expectations were elevated for the 2018.

We’re thrilled to tell you that they delivered again. The wine is so fresh, so polished, so expressive in its black- and red-fruit aromas that it was an instant smash with our tasting panel. 

Caparzo was a key player during the 70s and 80s Montalcino renaissance, introducing the concept of cru vineyards to the region in 1977. It's this careful attention to multiple vineyard sites that allows Caparzo to create consistent bottlings year after year. 

Tuscan locals named the area around Caparzo long before the winery existed, likely inspired by Latin caput arsum, a "place touched by sun." The estate vineyards rise around 720–980 feet above sea level and enjoy a gentle Mediterranean warmth that helps produce dense yet fresh berries.

After two years aging in large Slavonian oak barrels followed by another three in bottle, the 2018 is poised to deliver sheer pleasure right now—and well into the future.