Castello del Terriccio ‘Lupicaia’ Toscana 2011 – 750ml Consortium

94pts Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

There is evident heat to the fruit in the 2011 Lupicaia, but the balsam intensity or tertiary aromas also come through. The wine shows green notes of grilled herb and a sharper, more defined level of fruit intensity. The wine is profound and deep. The tannins are very well integrated, and the wine shows a vertical softness that makes this vintage stand out from the rest. I could see it pairing nicely with the classic Tuscan veal stew, spezzatino di vitello.

93pts Vinous

Castello del Terriccio’s 2011 Lupicaia, the estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot blend, is dark, sensual and inviting. Scents of tobacco, grilled herbs, licorice, espresso and French oak meld around a core of super-ripe dark stone fruit. Unctuous and concentrated in the glass, the 2011 needs time to shed some baby fat and find its center.

92pts James Suckling

Aromas of ripe fruit, meat, walnuts and dark berries. Blackcurrants, too. Full body with round, velvety tannins. A little chewy. Balsamic and fresh-mushroom undertones. Big wine. Bordeaux blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon. Better in 2018.

17/20 Jancis Robinson

Deep smudgy crimson. Smells sweeter fruited than the 2013 – 2011 was a warmer vintage. More damson and cassis here. But there’s a lovely scent of cigar box and pepper here too. The tannins have the thickness of new oak ageing but are starting to resolve to a more chocolate character. Still a way to go.

Winemaker Notes

Intense ruby ​​red colour. The olfactory profile is characterized by aromas of currants and red fruit, notes of spices and woody nuances. On the palate it has a good body, it is ample, warm, with good tannins and balanced freshness. The finish is persistent.

Vineyard Notes

The Toscana Rosso IGT “Lupicaia” of Castello del Terriccio is the most famous wine of the estate. Its name originates from the homonymous hill, where in the past wolves were often sighted. The vineyards are located at an altitude of 120 meters above sea level, with south, south-west exposures. After the manual harvest, fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature of 31 °C, which lasts 16 days for the merlot and petit-verdot and 20 days for the cabernet sauvignon. Before bottling, the wine rests in barriques for a period of 18 months.

The extensive Castello del Terriccio estate is situated along the Tuscan coast about 10 miles north of Bolgheri. The property enjoys not only an ideal maritime location and unique microclimate but also an incredibly rich history, including Etruscan miners, bishops, counts of Pisa, and a Polish prince. The vinification techniques of this winery are very straightforward with the sole objective of exalting, at each stage of the winemaking process, the original character of the grapes and the unique nuance each wine receives from the soil. Castello del Terriccio presents a small but prestigious portfolio of limited-production wines from the estate’s vines including four distinctive red wines (Lupicaia, Tassinaia, Castello del Terriccio, Cappanino), two whites (Rondinaia, Con Vento) and a rosè (Sassi Rosa).