Me and my wife Isabel are 2 big red wine affectionados, and decided to visit Montalcino in order to purchase a few cases to ship back.
While in Montalcino we went on a few Winery tours (about 15 in 4 days) and realized that most of them tend to have a very commercial approach to tour and wine tasting (not to different from busy Napa), disappointing the ones looking for the authentic Tuscan experience. However the one which really stands out in terms of quality, price and experience it has been Capanna. It is such a small boutique winery that you cannot even find it in on TripAdvisor.
The Cencioni’s family was amongst the first 7 Brunello producers and still lives on this beautiful old property which has been built more than 150 years ago. The characteristic is that they still produce Brunello with the original recipe fermentation and aging for almost 5 years in Slavonian Oak.
In terms of quality hardly ever they scored less than 90/100, we were thrilled by the high standards of the wines. On top of that Danielle (person in charge of sales) offered us a Brunello vertical tasting of 3 different vintages and the latest Riserva (98/100), so it wasn’t hard to fall in love . While there we also managed to talk with the owner, who is also the president of the Consorzio del Brunello. The uniqueness of this experience, it has been the highlight of our trip in Italy definitely a “MUST”
Posted by
Orvieto, Italy
104 posts
Thank you for your post! This sounds like a perfect experience if looking for a non-commercial visit. I live in Orvieto and was just in Montalcino but found that one of the three wineries we were searching for must have moved. Lots of contemporary tastings, but few authentic operations available. There is also a Abbye that produces both wine and olive oil. Entrance is free and Lucca runs the tasting room and speaks delightful English and very nice. Abase di Monte Oliveto Maggiore. web site is: www.agricolamonteoliveto.com The grounds are beautiful as is the small church.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
You are lucky to live in such a beautiful place! Really jealous and great white wine too!
Regarding Monte Oliveto, that's great we have visited the abbey it is a nice spot in the "Crete Senesi". Next time you should also check out Chiusure it's a really nice little town close to the abbey with a couple of good restaurants. From up there you can enjoy a spectacular view. We visited around mid-June. We have also tasted the wines at the abbey, but unfortunately is nowhere near the one from Montalcino but definitely a great experience. Sorry, but we loved the Brunello Capanna far too much :-)
Posted by
26 posts
Thanks I'll take a look at the post.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
While there the girl (Francisca) at our hotel recommended this amazing Tour, we were thrilled by
You should drive from Montalcino to Montepulciano it's just spectacular, you drive through the "Val D'Orcia" (part of the UNESCO Heritage, the scenery where the gladiator movie was recorded) Pienza, town of the Pecorino cheese, to the end up in Montepulciano. Here the program as follow.
- Wine tasting around 10.30 at "[Capanna][1]" Winery in Montalcino (the whole experience it takes around 1 hour and half, you can book with a quick phone call 0577 848298 or email at [email protected]). The winery also ships the wine back to the States at incredible prices, please do not let them know about it :-).
- Little light lunch in Montalcino town around 1.00pm (only 5-10 min driving from Capanna winery) I would recommend Le Logge or Osticcio for something a little more fancy.
- Heading towards Pienza around (40 min driving) 2.00pm (I would recommend to stop along the way to take some pictures beautiful scenery). Once in Pienza where you can either walk a little bit into town and purchase some aged pecorino, or if you prefer you can also stop at Cogusi cheese farm (in-between Pienza and Montepulciano), over there they organize cheese tastings and pic-nics definitely worth it. Then heading toward Montepulciano 10 min from Pienza.
-Around 4.30pm/5.00pm I would dedicate the entire evening relaxing and wondering around Montepulciano, a well-hidden gem at the end of the Val d’Orcia. Porta da Bacco (I think this was the name of the restaurant) offers good traditional Tuscan food and tours of the cellars underground cellars.
This is what we have done in a day it may seems to much, but it has been so exciting that we never felt tired.