Tasting Notes
Andrea Polidoro, who took on the wine making and vineyards after Lionel Cousin died in 2021, decided that he's no longer going to be making the Vino Rosso di Cupano as it was, which was a multi vintage blend of barrels of the Brunello that weren't showing quite well enough at the time of bottling the Brunello, but with extra time in barrel came good - the blend was always going to be up and down in terms of quantity, and as a wine it was fun, but it was not necessarily going to strengthen Cupano's brand going forward - but instead to make a wine from a single plot of vines that they planted in 2013.
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It’s the almost obsessive attention to detail that sets Cupano apart. Before planting his land, Lionel carried up rocks from the Ombrone river bank to improve grounding and drainage. Each vine in the 7 hectares of vineyards was planted by his own hand, and his meticulous attention extends to pruning individual bunches with nail-scissors! It is also completely organic and some biodynamic practices. Although we have said it before, it’s worth a reminder: Lionel learned winemaking under the tutelage of the late Henri Jayer (of Vosne-Romanée), arguably the greatest and most influential winemaker of the 20th Century. They became close friends until Jayer died in 2006, and Lionel is committed to maintaining his friend's principles.