Wine Advisor
Castello Dei Rampolla, d'Alceo Toscana 2013
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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
Strawberry, plums, chocolate and green pepper frame this beautiful red. So much black currant too. Full-bodied with round, mouth-coating tannins. So much going on here. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Better in 2021.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, the 2013 d'Alceo shows an inky dark appearance with impenetrable color saturation. This is another gorgeous wine from an estate I admire deeply. The fruit intensity peels off this wine with elegance, power and intensity. With similar momentum, the wine glides clear over the palate with silky and long intensity. There are some pungent or volatile notes (similar to what you find in the other wines), but they are a plus, not a minus. They give support and intensity to the wine's persuasive aromatic performance. This wine needs more time to unwind in the cellar.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Readers should do whatever they can to get their hands on a few bottles of the 2013 d'Alceo. Seamless and voluptuous in the glass, it is an epic wine that embodies all the qualities that make these terraced vineyards in Panzano so special. Blackberry jam, crème de cassis, plum, licorice and spice meld together in the glass, but it is the wine's textural intensity that elevates it into the realm of the profound. The 2013 has been nothing short of moving on the two occasions I tasted it recently.
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.
