Caparzo

Sometimes some places, like some persons, attract your attention before you know why. This was true for Caparzo. Since I was a child I have dreamed of living in a place like this, immersed in the green, far from the chaos of big cities, where time seems to have stopped. Several years have passed and the surrounding beauty still amazes me. Montalcino is a set of smooth lines defended by the magnificence of the Amiata Mountain.

Series of hills flee everywhere without visible interruptions, shaped in different ways by streams and gulleys that reforge together in the grey clay. The colours and perfumes of seasons in Val d’Orcia are unique: from barren clays to golden tuffs, from the dark vegetation of woods to the bright vegetation of vineyards, from the blue of watercourses to the silvery foliage of olive trees. You can find all this in a glass of wine. Montalcino is the land of Brunello, made only with Sangiovese grapes. In no other place this vine is able to transmit at best the distinctive features of its terroir. With Caparzo I had the chance to test myself with a great Tuscan wine and become acquainted with the pride of an ancient agriculture. It is a constant commitment that fills me with pride. Following the vines every day, seeing them grow, sprout and finally harvesting the fruit. You are aware of having worked hard, without neglecting any detail, but at the end the land will be the one to decide. And every year, every vintage time, you hope that the wine is the best one you have ever made.

Today I feel part of this world. My land, my seasons and my efforts are found in my wine. This is a feeling that repays all the work and all the efforts made for creating that bottle." The origins of the placename Caparzo are still unknown. According to some people, the name should derive, as shown by ancient maps, from Ca’ Pazzo; according to others, the term should derive from the Latin Caput Arsum and should indicate a “place touched by the sun”. The beginning of the history of Caparzo dates back to the end of the sixties, when a group of friends, fond of Tuscany and of wine, purchased an old ruin with vineyards at Montalcino. We are at the dawning of Brunello di Montalcino, the Association has just been set up and the producers-bottlers are only 13. The farm estate was renovated, modernised and new vineyards were planted. In a short time, Caparzo was able to impose itself on the market of Brunello. Thirty years passed from the first rows of vines and from the first cellar experiences. In 1998, the farm estate came to a turning point when Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini purchased Caparzo. She immediately carried out her objectives: combine tradition with innovation to create a high-quality wine, expression of an excellent territory, with the help of her son, Igino, and daughter, Alessandra.