Caprili is an estate winery near the hamlet of Tavernelle in the south-western part of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy. Its main wines are Rosso di Montalcino DOC and Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. It also produces a Sant’Antimo DOC Bianco dry white, and a Moscadello di Montalcino DOC sweet white made from Moscato Bianco (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat de Frontignan). 

Owner: The Bartolommei family. Contact: Giacomo Bartolommei.

Background: The Bartolommei family owners spent most of the first half of the twentieth century as sharecroppers, moving from farmhouse to farmhouse on the Villa Santa Restituta estate, before finally scraping together enough money to buy Caprili in 1965. The Bartolommei family were originally from the nearby province of Grosseto, and moved to Montalcino in the early 1900s. They (and their livestock) became sharecroppers on the Pieve Santa Restituta estate in the early 1950s, eventually buying part of that estate’s land in 1965, when Alfo Bartolommei and family switched from sharecropping to being estate farmers. Vineyards were planted which Alfo named Madre (“mother”). May contain Sangiovese biotypes. Clones for later plantings were taken from this vineyard (Siena University has checked the DNA of these vines) (O’Keefe: 2012, p.193-195). Alfo Bartolommei’s children were called Paola and Manuele. Manuele’s son Giacomo Bartolommei (Alfo’s grandson) is the current winemaker and sales manager,

Staff: Paolo Vagaggini was consulting on winemaking until 2010, since when it has been Mauro Monicchi. ‘Old style, no added yeast and everything aged in botti,’ Mauro told me at Il Moro 22 Sept 2015.

Vineyards in Montalcino: 58 hectares of land in total of which 21 hectares are vines. Of these, 18ha are Sangiovese for Brunello, and the rest is Moscato Bianco for Moscadello di Montalcino DOC and Trebbiano Toscano for Sant’Antimo DOC Bianco. The vines are near Tavernelle and in the Camigliano sub-zone on hilly ground with varied soils and exposures. 330 metres. The owners told me their soils were mainly galestro. Kerin O’Keefe decribes the soils as ‘mineral-rich Eocene soil composed mostly of limestone and silicate with a considerable amount of rocky fragments (O’Keefe: 2012, p.193-195). The vines face south west an average 330 metres (1,083 feet) above sea level (O’Keefe: 2012, p.193-195).

Vineyard plots: Ginestra was planted in 1986 (4,000 vines/ha). | Ceppo Nero is on galestro and clay = deep colour (and 16.5% for the 2017 wine in tank when I visited with Mauro Monicchi in summer 2017) and vines nearer the forest have more clay, less stones. Planted 1986-1987. Always get deep colours in this area. | Il Palazzetto comprises 2ha, on white clay with Banfi on one side and forest on two sides. | Testucchia, a plot named after a local plant which provided bamboo-like poles. | Vigna Madre.

Maremma vineyards: Yes.

Winery: Cement tanks for fermentation. Botti grandi for aging.

White wines

Sant’Antimo Bianco DOC: Dry white from Vermentino mainly, plus Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia.

Red wines

Rosso di Montalcino, Caprili : 2011 8 months in 34hl, 40hl and 60hl botti. Quite flat, a bit lean but tasted chaptalised, and dull (Benvenuto Brunello 2013). Quite a modern look to this, bright style (Anteprima 2014). | 2013 26,000 bottles. Light raspberry, crisp red fruit style (Anteprima 2015).

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Caprili: 1978 The estate made its first Brunello. | 2000 A lovely elegant red cherry style with the tannin a little dry at the finish, but plenty of clarity too (Anteprima 2005). | 2008 32,000 bottles. Tastes like it had had tannin added, a bit simple and sharp (Anteprima 2013). | 2009 12,000 bottles. OK, bit dry and sweet cherry, seems a bit tight as my sense is the terroir is potentially quite exuberant (Anteprima Feb 2014). | 2009 15%. Nice bright ruby colour. Warm inviting nose if a bit simple raspberry. Ripe. Simple savoury raspberry fruit and tannins, even textured. Savoury and enjoyable with the emphasis on drinkability. Well styled at the Consorzio Tues 27th May 2014 with Ian d’Agata and others. | 2010 26,000 bottles. Just lacks a bit of fruit (Anteprima 2015). | 2014 A good effort in terms of fruit expression, integration of fruit and the balance between fruit and oak tannin, bright and fluid with some inner depth (Anteprima 2019).

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva, Ad Alberto: From the Madre vineyard, last replanted in 1965. | 2004 Bottled. | 2008 8,000 bottles. Sappy and quite sexy and more exuberant than the 2009 normale. Of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 vintage series Giacomo Bartolommei told me he felt 2008 was the best vintage (Anteprima 2014). | 2008 15%. Mid-deep ruby garnet. Ripe raspberry tannins. But, this is still a good classic “old” or traditional style: heart-warming, savoury, and correctly weighted between ripeness and firmness at the Consorzio Tues 27th May 2014 with Ian d’Agata and others. | 2012 Bottled.

Sweet white wines

Moscadello di Montalcino DOC, Caprili: 2000 Clean, soft, light, simple and spritzily appealing (Anteprima 2005). | 2012 3,500 bottles. | 2014 4,000 bottles. | NV Lot 2019–L19353. 10.5% alc. Clean musky fruit, light spritz, balanced sweetness, very pleasant, clear, contains sulfites but no hint of sulfites on nose or palate (09 Apr 2020).

Contact

Caprili

Loc. Caprili, 268

I-53024 Montalcino (SI), Italy

Tel+39 0577.848566 | Website: www.caprili.it