Wine Advisor
Castello Dei Rampolla, d'Alceo Toscana 2011
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Description
“D’Alceo” fully reflects the character of the vineyard from which it originates. It is intense, warm, refined and elegant. Well-ripened red fruits blend perfectly with delicate notes of cigar and tobacco – an amazing concentration with no heaviness.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is very firm and dense with fantastic structure and a superb depth of fruit and silky tannins. Full body showing a core of ripe fruit featuring currants and blackberries. Minerals and fresh mushrooms to add. Better in 2018.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2011 d'Alceo is a stunning blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 15% Petit Verdot. The bouquet is perfumed and enticing with dark rose, cherry fruit, spice, leather, cola, grilled herb and so much more. Fruit comes from a six-hectare single vineyard (whereas fruit for the Sammarco represents a special selection from various vineyards.) The intensity and purity is what sets this wine apart. Both are impeccable. In the mouth, d'Alceo feels long, linear and meaningful. Castello dei Rampolla practices biodynamic farming.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 d'Alceo is fascinating to taste next to the Sammarco, as it is much more open-knit, silky and expressive. Cherry jam, pomegranate, spice and new leather flesh out in the glass. The integration of fruit, tannin and acidity is further along than in the Sammarco. The 2011 d'Alceo should open up pretty early, which should be welcome news to readers cellaring some of the more tannic vintages. I expect the 2011 will provide readers with a long drinking window of pure pleasure.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Tasted from tank just prior to bottling, the 2011 d'Alceo is shaping up to be magnificent. Blackberry jam, white flowers and fragrant spices saturate the palate in a stunning wine endowed with superb pedigree and class. It is so rare to find a wine that combines this level of ripeness and acidity, without feeling heavy at all. The 2011 clocks in a 14.6% in alcohol and a whopping 6.4% acidity, a balance of elements that is exceedingly rare. Once again, picking early was the key. What a gorgeous wine this is!
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 d'Alceo, tasted from tank just prior to bottling, is shaping up to be magnificent. Blackberry jam, white flowers and fragrant spices saturate the palate in a stunning wine endowed with superb pedigree and class. It is so rare to find a wine that combines this level of ripeness and acidity, without feeling heavy at all. The 2011 clocks in a 14.6% in alcohol and a whopping 6.4% acidity, a balance of elements that is exceedingly rare. Once again, picking early was the key. What a gorgeous wine!
About the Producer
Castello dei Rampolla was founded in 1956, however the history of its owners, the Napoli Rampolla family, dates back on this site to 1739. The estate is based in the hilltop town of Panzano, and is famed for the Conca d’Oro (golden basin) – an outstanding natural amphitheatre composed of the village’s hillsides, neighbouring Fontodi. It was under the stewardship of Alceo di Napoli Rampolla in the second half of the twentieth century that Castello dei Rampolla began to make a name for itself. Having been inspired by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta – the legendary creator of Sassicaia – Alceo decided to attempt his own Bordeaux style wine with Cabernet Sauvignon. He recruited the help of world famous consultant oenologist Giacomo Tachis and soon enough Castello dei Rampolla’s ability to incarnate Bordeaux blends in Tuscany pushed the estate into the spotlight. Their wine, Sammarco, became a superstar in the Castello dei Rampolla collection, despite criticism from Chianti Classico traditionalists in the region.
