Winemaker Notes
Brunello is the prince of Montalcino wines, produced exclusively from 100% Sangiovese grapes picked by hand from vines at least 20 years old. After careful fermentation at controlled temperatures, Tenuta Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino is matured for three years in French oak barrels. After being aged in wood, the wine is bottle aged for a time, an essential process in guaranteeing the pleasing quality and complex attributes that have made this wine world-famous.
Intense ruby color. The nose is complex with notes of cherry, leather, spices and underwood. Full in the body, characterized by tannins that are soft and integrated.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Rich, with excellent density, ripe cherry and plum fruit, and a wellintegrated structure. Licorice, earth and tobacco notes add depth while this cruises to a long, tobacco- and mineral-tinged finish. Shows balance and grip. Best from 2018 through 2033.
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Wine & Spirits
Meaty and dense, this wine shows layers of dark fruit, hoisin, savory herbs, dark chocolate and orange zest, the firm tannins dusted evenly throughout, allowing the fruit to seep through. It feels fresh and savory, a little untamed, ready for seared rib eye or to put away in the cellar to gain more complexity with time.
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James Suckling
Lots of sliced mushroom and berry character. Lots of flowers such as lilacs and violets. Full body, firm tannins and a fresh and clean finish. It's harmonious and beautiful.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Il Poggione 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is not showing as well as expected. Whereas the challenging 2012 vintage exceeds expectations, the celebrated 2010 edition is not especially expressive. We opened two bottles from the cellar to compare, and although there was variation, with the second bottle outperforming the first, they both felt closed. These notes are based on the second bottle that showed an overall cleaner bouquet with dried fruit, dusty mineral and dry clay. The wine delivers ample textural heft, and the tannins are upright and precise. However, the overall delivery is muted and shallow. You are left wanting more from the wine, and I wonder if it is going through an awkward phase at this moment with the potential to extend and open in the coming years. Best After 2017
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas recall blue flower, plum, underbrush and baking spice. The full-bodied palate offers mature black cherry, tobacco, anise and black pepper alongside a backbone of firm but refined tannins. Drink 2017–2022.
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.