The company
HISTORY
The Capanna agricultural company, owned by the Cencioni family since 1957, is located in the Montosoli area, north of Montalcino. Founded by Giuseppe Cencioni, assisted by his sons Benito and Franco, it was one of the first companies of the modern Brunello era; already in the 1960s he began bottling his own wines and, after the recognition of Brunello di Montalcino DOC in 1966, Giuseppe was one of the 25 founders of the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Consortium.
Production, initially of a few thousand bottles, subsequently increased with the planting of new vineyards. In 1975 the export of Brunello di Montalcino DOC – Capanna 1970 – to Germany began; in the following years new markets were reached: United States of America, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Austria, Poland, Denmark and others (approx. 20 in total).
The Capanna company is still run on an exclusively family level today: furthermore, it is Amedeo Cencioni himself, son of Patrizio and representative of the fourth generation, who supervises the oenological and agronomic parts of the cellar.
Video
Capanna Farm
VINEYARDS
The farm vineyards, all located in the area of Montosoli – always considered one of the best in the territory – are located to the north of Montalcino, with a south-easterly exposure. The particular micro-climate, along with the favourable soil characteristics determines the production of wines with an excellent structure,
but always with good acidity, elegant and fruity.
Starting from the 1960’s new Sangiovese vines were planted in addition to the existing ones; in the subsequent decades the area covered by vineyards slowly increased until it reached today’s more than 20 hectares.
During this long period a specialisation of vines was also implemented by carefully selecting the best Sangiovese clones and ancient strains of Moscato bianco – present in the territory as far back as the 16th century – and by adopting new agricultural practices aimed at improving the vine ecosystem and the quality of the final product.
The current vineyards, all trained to bilateral spurred cordons, are made up of Sangiovese (approximately 80%), Moscato bianco (about 3 hectares), Merlot (about 1 hectare) and Pinot grigio (about 5,000 m2); they are all located at an altitude of between 250 and 300 m a.s.l. and the soils are mainly clayey (“galestro”) and skeleton-rich.
Grassing and green manuring is carried out on all the vineyard soils to maintain the structure and the fertility of the soil. During the vegetative-productive cycle of the plants several operations are also carried out. They include selecting the buds in Spring, managing the crown throughout the season, thinning the bunches in the pre-veraison period and manual harvest – with a careful selection of the grapes on the basis of the type of final product.
Wine Cellar
Capanna Farm
THE WINE CELLAR
The wine cellar, initially located in the oldest farm building, was progressively expanded at the same time as the vineyard, while preserving all the construction and architectural elements typical of the Tuscan countryside. Currently, it consists of a large fermentation area, characterised by the presence of the traditional truncated cone shaped oak vats where the best Sangiovese grapes are fermented to make the Brunello and some also for the Rosso di Montalcino. The traditional processing is further enhanced by state of the art technologies, like temperature control – since 1988 – and the pumpover system – both automatic –, also adopted on the stainless steel tanks used for the vinification of the Sant’Antimo DOC, of the Moscadello di Montalcino DOC and of the other wines.
The ageing is carried out in Slavonian oak casks with a variable capacity – from 10 to 30 hl, according to the type of product – positioned inside a splendid basement cellar made up of a charming stone gallery and of original farm rooms renovated elegantly over the years.
This, like the bottling, labelling, packaging and storage rooms have perfect and constant temperature and humidity, guaranteeing a perfect preservation of the products.
Finally, a welcoming tasting and sales room rounds off this pleasant tour.
