Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Sangiovese
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a vineyard with old vines and schistic galestro soils, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Poggiarelli opens to a deep and unique sense of aromatic layering, starting with dark fruit, sweet tobacco leaf, flavored cigarette and spice. The wine is rich with dense fruit flavors and ripe tannins. You taste Sangiovese's skins with a hint of bitterness. However, the truly distinguishing factor of Poggiarelli is the etched mineral notes.
-
Decanter
The Poggiarelli vineyard is in a secluded part of Montalcino. At 450 metres to the east of the town, it is tightly nestled into the hill and surrounded by holm oak forest. To curb its fierce tannin profile, winemaker Tommaso Cortonesi introduced 15 to 20% whole bunches in 2019. This imparts a spicy evergreen twist to the iron and dark wet earth aromas. Broad shouldered and sturdy, the palate broods with hints of blackcurrant offset by stony minerals. Tannins are expansive and grainy yet deftly woven into the whole. Juiciness appears toward the backend giving buoyancy. Spice notes reverberate on the finish, taking on shades of cinnamon.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The medium red 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Poggiarelli is savory with smoky incense as well as notes of preserved cranberries, dried orange peel, tomato leaf, and leather. Medium to full-bodied, it offers a good deal of structure while remaining refined and balanced, with ripe tannins and even acidity. It has a long, lovely finish and offers a lot to look forward to as it matures. Drink 2026-2040.
-
James Suckling
Plenty of plum and cherry character here with aromas of flowers and cherry blossom that follow through to a medium body, very fine tannins and a flavorful finish. Plenty of clean fruit at the end. Give it time to develop in the bottle. Better after 2025.
-
Wine Enthusiast
An extremely fresh, juicy nose has wild strawberries and raspberries, then guava paste and blood orange jam. The palate is equally fruit-forward, but undertones of spices and soil bring welcome balance, before a current of tannins and acid flows into a finish of tart citrus and sweet chocolate.
-
Wine Spectator
Raspberry, black currant and floral aromas burst from the glass in this fresh and distinctive red, while the fruit flavors mingle with iron, tobacco, sanguine and wild herb accents. Burly tannins emerge on the long, palate-staining finish. Best from 2026 through 2040.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.