Cupano • Montalcino, Italy

ABOUT THE WINERY

Lionel (from Cognac) and Ornella (from Tuscany) bought this land in 1994, located south west of Montalcino in the Tavernelle region, where they found the soil to be extremely pure and never touched by chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides or any other form of industrial agriculture. Equally important it is well drained because of the cobble and marine elements. In 1997 Ornella and Lionel planted 3.4 hectares of vines on the south facing slopes of Podere Centine. The vineyard has been certified organic since planting. With no prior knowledge of farming, Lionel studied the art of winemaking during the process of producing wine. His personal mentor was Henri Jayer. Lionel held firmly to french traditions and joined a passionate group of wine growers in Burgundy who follow organic vineyard practices and traditional winemaking. He was also a close colleague of Lucio Sandrone and Aubert de Villaine. Lucio and Aubert recently said Cupano is one of Italy’s greatest wines. Sadly, Lionel passed away in April of 2021. Ornellia now stewards Cupano with the same principles with aid of winemaker Andrea Polidoro who was mentored by Lionel. Andrea is the founder “Long Live Brunello”, an annual showcase in in Montalcino of aged Brunello.

THE VINEYARDS

Carlo Ferrini helped Lionel and Ornella find and evaluate potential vineyard sites as well the rootstock, clones and vineyard design. The vineyard lies 30km from the sea. It is composed of sandy, clay with cobble substructures where the Ombrone River once flowed. A tectonic shift created by the Mt. Amiata volcano lifted the ancient river bed that is now the Cupano vineyard. Lionel once found the fossilized remains of an ancient whales in the vineyard which is indicative of the marine and calcareous influences in the soil structure. Francois Bouchet, French Biodynamic expert, created their viticultural program.

SOIL COMPOSITION:	The site has mix of alluvial cobble and sandy clays with marine sediments and fossils
HA BY VARIETAL/CLONE:	2.4 Hectares of Sangiovese facing the south for Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. 0.6 Hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon 0.4 Hectares of Merlot In 2013 Ornella and Lionel added 3 more Hectares 2 for Sangiovese totaling 4.4 Hectares and the remainder dedicated to Cab Franc, Cab Sauvignon and Merlot
SLOPE/ELEVATION ORIENTATION:	Located on a hilltop, the vineyard slopes to the east, south and west.
DATE PLANTED:	1997, 2013

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY

All of the estate fruit is harvested by hand. Cassettes are brought to the winery and the clusters are sorted by hand. The clusters are gently de-stemmed with settings used for Pinot Noir. The grapes are fermented with indigenous yeasts. Gentle pumpovers and delestage are employed to gently extract flavors and to preserve the seductive texture of the wine. The wines are racked once after fermentation and once after Malolactic. The wine rests for a few weeks and then is transferred for aging on the fine lees in French burgundy barrels for minimum of three years. Wines are bottled without filtration or clarification.

Rosso di Montalcino

Fermentation and elevage:	20 days maceration in steel tanks, 1 year in French Tonneau, 1 year in large Slavonian oak barrels
Avg. Production:	170 9L cases

DETAILS

Brunello di Montalcino – ‘The pinnacle expression of Brunello from our vineyard sites’

Fermentation and elevage:	20 days maceration in steel tanks, 3 1/2 years in French Tonneau, and Slavonian Oak barrels after which the wine is blended and aged a further 6 months
Avg. Production:	660 9L cases

DETAILS

Ombrone – named after the adjacent Ombrone River that provided the alluvial cobble that the Bordeaux varietals need to fourish

Blend:	individually fermented Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Fermentation and elevage:	Aged 18 months in French oak, bottled 24 months after harvest
Avg. Production:	660 9L cases

DETAILS

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