A profound and age-worthy expression of 100% Sangiovese from Montalcino, Capanna’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019 is produced only in exceptional vintages from carefully selected grapes grown in the estate’s oldest vineyards.
The Riserva represents the traditional, long-lived side of Capanna: extended maceration, maturation for approximately 36–40 months in large Slavonian oak casks, followed by at least 15 months in bottle. The exceptional 2019 vintage has produced a wine of considerable structure and freshness, combining raspberry, red cherry and rosehip with dried orange peel, mint, earth, fine wood and subtle smoke.
Producer: Capanna – Cencioni Family
Region: Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany, Italy
Area: Montosoli, Northern Montalcino
Grape: 100% Sangiovese
Vintage: 2019
Alcohol: 14.5%
Maturation: 36–40 Months in Slavonian Oak
Bottle Ageing: Minimum 15 Months
Style: Powerful · Complex · Traditional · Long-Lived
Capanna’s vineyards are located within approximately two kilometres of the winery in the highly regarded Montosoli area, north of Montalcino. For the Riserva, Capanna selects Sangiovese specifically from its oldest vineyards and only in the finest harvests.
Nose:
Deep and beautifully complex, opening with raspberry, ripe red cherry and rosehip, followed by dried orange peel and delicate mint. With air, darker nuances emerge—blueberry preserve, licorice, earth, fine wood and a subtle smoky character.
Falstaff’s tasting of the 2019 similarly highlights dried orange zest, rosehip, raspberry and mint, developing blueberry, fine wood and smoke with additional time in the glass.
Palate:
Powerful and layered, with concentrated red and dark fruit framed by savory earth and spice. The palate has considerable depth, but what distinguishes the 2019 is its freshness and energy. The fruit remains vivid despite the wine’s substantial structure and extended maturation.
Structure:
Full-bodied and firmly structured, with abundant Sangiovese tannins and beautifully integrated acidity. This is unmistakably a Riserva built for ageing rather than immediate softness.
Falstaff particularly praised the combination of substantial tannin, earthy complexity, integrated acidity and freshness.
Finish:
Exceptionally persistent, with lingering red cherry, raspberry, dried orange peel, licorice, tobacco, earth and subtle smoke, carried by firm, fine-grained tannins.
Capanna’s Riserva receives a deliberately traditional and extended élevage.
The selected Sangiovese undergoes 30–35 days of fermentation and skin maceration at controlled temperatures. Both alcoholic and spontaneous malolactic fermentation take place in truncated-cone Slavonian oak vats.
The wine then matures for approximately 36–40 months in large Slavonian oak casks ranging from 10 to 25 hectolitres, followed by at least 15 months of bottle ageing before release. Under the Brunello Riserva schedule, Capanna releases the wine from January of the sixth year following harvest.
This long, traditional maturation is designed to develop complexity without masking Sangiovese with excessive new-oak character.
2019 is an outstanding vintage for Brunello di Montalcino, and Capanna’s Riserva is an excellent example of why.
There is considerable concentration, but the defining characteristic is the combination of power with freshness and aromatic precision. This gives the wine both immediate complexity and the structural balance necessary for extended cellaring.
The quality has been recognized critically: Falstaff awarded the 2019 Riserva 96 points, emphasizing its freshness, layered complexity and substantial tannic structure.
Even more impressively, Capanna reports that the 2019 Riserva received 97 points at the Decanter World Wine Awards.
Capanna Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019 is one of the estate’s benchmark wines—a traditional, cellar-worthy Brunello produced only from carefully selected Sangiovese from Capanna’s oldest vineyards.
The excellent 2019 vintage delivers a compelling combination of raspberry, red cherry, rosehip and dried orange, gradually developing more complex notes of mint, licorice, earth, wood and smoke.
What distinguishes the Riserva from the regular Brunello is not simply additional ageing. It is the selection of fruit, greater concentration and substantially longer élevage, resulting in a wine with more structure, complexity and long-term potential.
With 96 points from Falstaff and 97 points at the Decanter World Wine Awards, this is an important bottle in the Capanna portfolio and one that deserves serious cellar time.
2027–2050+
The wine can certainly be tasted now, but at this stage I would consider it very young.
For drinking before 2030, I recommend approximately 2–3 hours in a decanter and serving around 18°C.
I expect 2030–2045 to be the heart of its drinking window, when the youthful fruit should increasingly integrate with classic mature Brunello characteristics of dried cherry, leather, tobacco, forest floor, balsamic herbs and truffle.
Properly stored bottles should comfortably develop into the 2040s and potentially beyond 2050.
Capanna recommends its Brunello Riserva with roasted red meats, game and very mature cheeses.
I would particularly recommend Bistecca alla Fiorentina, braised beef, roast lamb, venison or wild boar. As the wine develops more tertiary complexity, dishes involving porcini mushrooms or truffle will become increasingly compelling.
For cheese, choose something with sufficient intensity, such as aged Pecorino Toscano or Parmigiano Reggiano.
PAIR WITH:
Bistecca alla Fiorentina · Braised Beef · Roast Lamb · Venison · Wild Boar · Porcini Mushrooms · Truffle · Aged Pecorino Toscano
