Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Bassolino di Sopra

Pian dell'Orino

As good as it gets, the 2016 Brunello Di Montalcino Bassolino Di Sopra is a breathtaking wine and a masterpiece balancing purity and precision. Pouring a jeweled ruby hue, this beauty is expressive and continuously unfolds in the glass and through the palate, revealing a vibrant core of fresh pine, smoky cedar, ripe black cherry, Mediterranean herbs, white pepper, wild raspberry, polished leather, and pressed lavender. It is medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannins, coiled mineral energy, and a harmonious structure so seamless it is hard to place where one component ends and another begins, and lasts long after it is gone. This is a wine that sparks all the senses and gave me goosebumps. It is transparent yet elusive, as it is evolving from one moment to the next. It is impeccable now but will continue to improve over the coming decades. Drink 2024-2050. (AF) (3/2023) — 100 points Jeb Dunnuck

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Bassolino di Sopra is hauntingly dark, complex and powerful in the glass. Coaxing reveals a blend of incense and curries, then cinnamon and clove and, finally, dried strawberries and mint. This casts a dense textural wave of red and black fruits across the palate, laced with blood orange and sweet spice nuances; a brilliant acidity also lifts it. It’s only through the finish that the 2016 reveals its firm tannic core while vibrating with residual tension and finishing with a lingering salted licorice note. The Bassolino di Sopra is holding its power in reserve, and it comes across as deceptively delicate at this moment. That said, this is a masterpiece in the making. (EG) (2/2023) — 99 points Vinous

*This wine is only made in the best vintages (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016)

Country:  Italy

Region:  Montalcino, Tuscany

Appellation:  Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

Climate:  Warm Mediterranean

Altitude:  370-390m

Soils:  Schisty siltites with inclusions of calcarenites characterize this formation. Also calcareous clay, easy weathering marl and flysch soils are common sedimentary soils in this vineyard.

Varietal/Blend:  100% Sangiovese Grosso

Fermentation:  All grapes are carefully checked & selected in the vineyard days before harvest. Immediately after harvest the grapes were destemmed and any insects or dry berries were removed. Another careful manual selection of berries is undertaken on the triage table, ensuring only healthy and ripe berries end up in the vinification vat. Spontaneous fermentation started in one day, reaching a maximum temperature of 30.5°C, and taking 21 days to complete. The whole mashing time from cellaring until draw off lasted 6 weeks. As always, no artificial yeast or other enzymatic or technological additives were used during the whole winemaking process.

Ageing:  Aged for nearly four years (46 months) in a single 12.5 hl oak barrel.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic. Hand farmed & harvested. 2016 was harvested on the 23 of September with a yield of 23.5 quintals/ha (16 hl/ha). Training: one armed cordon. The average age of these vines was 19 years at the time of harvest. SSW exposure.

ABV:  14.5%

Produced Cases:  1028 bottles, 251 magnums, 24 double magnums

CSPC:  100083

About the Producer

Jan Hendrik Erbach & Caroline Pobitzer


Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy

Learn More
A logo for vino al vino with a bottle of wine in the center.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Bassolino di Sopra
Pian dell'Orino

Country:  Italy

Region:  Montalcino, Tuscany

Appellation:  Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

As good as it gets, the 2016 Brunello Di Montalcino Bassolino Di Sopra is a breathtaking wine and a masterpiece balancing purity and precision. Pouring a jeweled ruby hue, this beauty is expressive and continuously unfolds in the glass and through the palate, revealing a vibrant core of fresh pine, smoky cedar, ripe black cherry, Mediterranean herbs, white pepper, wild raspberry, polished leather, and pressed lavender. It is medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannins, coiled mineral energy, and a harmonious structure so seamless it is hard to place where one component ends and another begins, and lasts long after it is gone. This is a wine that sparks all the senses and gave me goosebumps. It is transparent yet elusive, as it is evolving from one moment to the next. It is impeccable now but will continue to improve over the coming decades. Drink 2024-2050. (AF) (3/2023) — 100 points Jeb Dunnuck

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Bassolino di Sopra is hauntingly dark, complex and powerful in the glass. Coaxing reveals a blend of incense and curries, then cinnamon and clove and, finally, dried strawberries and mint. This casts a dense textural wave of red and black fruits across the palate, laced with blood orange and sweet spice nuances; a brilliant acidity also lifts it. It’s only through the finish that the 2016 reveals its firm tannic core while vibrating with residual tension and finishing with a lingering salted licorice note. The Bassolino di Sopra is holding its power in reserve, and it comes across as deceptively delicate at this moment. That said, this is a masterpiece in the making. (EG) (2/2023) — 99 points Vinous

*This wine is only made in the best vintages (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016)

TECHNICAL INFO

Climate:  Warm Mediterranean

Altitude:  370-390m

Soils:  Schisty siltites with inclusions of calcarenites characterize this formation. Also calcareous clay, easy weathering marl and flysch soils are common sedimentary soils in this vineyard.

Varietal/Blend:  100% Sangiovese Grosso

Fermentation:  All grapes are carefully checked & selected in the vineyard days before harvest. Immediately after harvest the grapes were destemmed and any insects or dry berries were removed. Another careful manual selection of berries is undertaken on the triage table, ensuring only healthy and ripe berries end up in the vinification vat. Spontaneous fermentation started in one day, reaching a maximum temperature of 30.5°C, and taking 21 days to complete. The whole mashing time from cellaring until draw off lasted 6 weeks. As always, no artificial yeast or other enzymatic or technological additives were used during the whole winemaking process.

Ageing:  Aged for nearly four years (46 months) in a single 12.5 hl oak barrel.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic. Hand farmed & harvested. 2016 was harvested on the 23 of September with a yield of 23.5 quintals/ha (16 hl/ha). Training: one armed cordon. The average age of these vines was 19 years at the time of harvest. SSW exposure.

ABV:  14.5%

Produced Cases:  1028 bottles, 251 magnums, 24 double magnums

CSPC:  100083

Giovanni Autuori
Calgary + Alberta South

T: 403-971-1898

E: giovanni@vinoalvino.ca

Joe Gurba
Edmonton + Alberta North

T: 780-203-5284

E: joeg@vinoalvino.ca

The logo for vino al vino is a bottle of wine in a circle.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Bassolino di Sopra
Pian dell'Orino
As good as it gets, the 2016 Brunello Di Montalcino Bassolino Di Sopra is a breathtaking wine and a masterpiece balancing purity and precision. Pouring a jeweled ruby hue, this beauty is expressive and continuously unfolds in the glass and through the palate, revealing a vibrant core of fresh pine, smoky cedar, ripe black cherry, Mediterranean herbs, white pepper, wild raspberry, polished leather, and pressed lavender. It is medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannins, coiled mineral energy, and a harmonious structure so seamless it is hard to place where one component ends and another begins, and lasts long after it is gone. This is a wine that sparks all the senses and gave me goosebumps. It is transparent yet elusive, as it is evolving from one moment to the next. It is impeccable now but will continue to improve over the coming decades. Drink 2024-2050. (AF) (3/2023) — 100 points Jeb Dunnuck

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Bassolino di Sopra is hauntingly dark, complex and powerful in the glass. Coaxing reveals a blend of incense and curries, then cinnamon and clove and, finally, dried strawberries and mint. This casts a dense textural wave of red and black fruits across the palate, laced with blood orange and sweet spice nuances; a brilliant acidity also lifts it. It’s only through the finish that the 2016 reveals its firm tannic core while vibrating with residual tension and finishing with a lingering salted licorice note. The Bassolino di Sopra is holding its power in reserve, and it comes across as deceptively delicate at this moment. That said, this is a masterpiece in the making. (EG) (2/2023) — 99 points Vinous

*This wine is only made in the best vintages (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016)

TECHNICAL INFO

Country:  Italy

Region:  Montalcino, Tuscany

Appellation:  Brunello di Montalcino DOCG

Climate:  Warm Mediterranean

Altitude:  370-390m

Soils:  Schisty siltites with inclusions of calcarenites characterize this formation. Also calcareous clay, easy weathering marl and flysch soils are common sedimentary soils in this vineyard.

Varietal/Blend:  100% Sangiovese Grosso

Fermentation:  All grapes are carefully checked & selected in the vineyard days before harvest. Immediately after harvest the grapes were destemmed and any insects or dry berries were removed. Another careful manual selection of berries is undertaken on the triage table, ensuring only healthy and ripe berries end up in the vinification vat. Spontaneous fermentation started in one day, reaching a maximum temperature of 30.5°C, and taking 21 days to complete. The whole mashing time from cellaring until draw off lasted 6 weeks. As always, no artificial yeast or other enzymatic or technological additives were used during the whole winemaking process.

Ageing:  Aged for nearly four years (46 months) in a single 12.5 hl oak barrel.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic. Hand farmed & harvested. 2016 was harvested on the 23 of September with a yield of 23.5 quintals/ha (16 hl/ha). Training: one armed cordon. The average age of these vines was 19 years at the time of harvest. SSW exposure.

ABV:  14.5%

Produced Cases:  1028 bottles, 251 magnums, 24 double magnums

CSPC:  100083

Calgary + Alberta South

Andrew Stewart

403-604-0408

andrew@vinoalvino.ca

Rajat Parr & Sashi Moorman in the vineyard

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Edmonton + Alberta North

Joe Gurba

780-203-5284

joe@vinoalvino.ca

Saskatoon + Saskatchewan South

Kerrie Gavin

306-290-0277

kerrie@vinoalvino.ca