2020 Rosso di Montalcino

Moving to the third Rosso, the 2020 Rosso Di Montalcino offers a very pretty bouquet of pure raspberries, a hint of anise, pepper spice, and gravelly earth. Medium-bodied, it’s light on its feet and has ripe tannins and a great finish. It’s a wonderfully elegant wine that shows how a couple of years in the cellar can benefit these wines. Drink 2024-2030. I met with Francesco Ripaccioli for this report both at his family estate on the north side of Montalcino, as well as here in New York to taste older vintages of Canalicchio di Sopra in January 2024. He, along with his brother and sister, represent the third generation of the estate. Canalicchio is divided between two areas of Montalcino, the first parcel purchased by his grandfather, Primo Pacenti, after World War II, and the second in Montosoli, where they have six hectares of vine that his father purchased in 1958. Today the combined land spans 60 hectares, 19 of which are dedicated to the vineyards, and for their wines, they both combine the terroirs of the two regions as well as make unique expressions for each of the two locations. The rest of the land is committed to biodiversity and to an Agriturismo also on the north side of the Montalcino hill. Their wines show a lot of complexity, with age-worthy potential across all categories, as readers will find in my notes on the library vintages. The (unofficial) sub-zone of Canalicchio is characterized by a particular type of calcareous clay, with a high pH of 8.2, which contributes to a very elegant texture that you can find in the wines coming from the Cassacchia Vineyard. In Montosoli, there is more dry soil with galestro and schist, although it has the same pH. The Montosoli side tends to contribute more structure and salinity to the resulting wines. In the cellar, they ferment the wines separately and produce these three expressions of Brunello as well as Rosso di Montalcino.