Notes from Superiore:

"Since 1987 Vincenzo Abbruzzese has been directing the Valdicava winery in the north of the Montalcino area. Martini Bramante, his maternal grandfather, had acquired the estate in 1953 and started Brunello production in 1968. However, wines under their own label were only put on the market from 1977. Before that, a label of the Brunello Consortium with the family name was stuck on the bottles.

The 19 hectares of vineyards form an almost closed area on the slopes of the Montosoli hill at an altitude of 300 metres. They are exclusively and not too densely stocked with Sangiovese grosso according to classical specifications and were almost completely designated for Brunello. Mass selection is practised during planting, the grape yields are kept very small."

Additional Notes from Robert Parker:

"Valdicava has been somewhat of a controversial property over the last few years. The Brunellos are typically very concentrated and dense when young, which can make them hard to assess. Make no mistake about it though; these are very serious wines whose only difficulty lies in giving them a few more years in bottle than the vast majority of Brunellos."