Winemaker Notes
Rich, powerful, extremely concentrated yet elegant and velvety. The silky and ripe tannins make it particularly smooth to the palate. Loads of plum, dark cherry and licorice and a very very long finish. A wine that will keep and further improve for many years.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
From an estate near the town of Tavernelle, just southwest of Montalcino, this brunello makes a powerful statement. It is both heady and rich in its black fruit, while giving no ground on brooding tannin and acidity. The structure developed through aging two years in 500-liter French tonneaux, followed by two years in bottle. It feels tough and austere, yet it also feels fresh, the fruit balancing that toughness with gentleness. Tremendously long, extremely concentrated, powerfully extracted and still elegant, this has a long life ahead.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2001 Brunello di Montalcino Altero is the estate's more modern Brunello. A saturated ruby, it offers an expressive, perfumed nose along with nuances of scorched earth, toasted oak, licorice and sweet dark fruit in a richly concentrated, expansive style. This deeply-flavored Brunello will require a few years to integrate and should drink well for at least another decade. Extended aeration is not suggested with this wine, however. Tasted alongside the regular bottling a day after opening, the Altero was less impressive than it was the day before, while the regular bottling was still developing positively. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2019.
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Wine Spectator
Lots of bright fruit and licorice with just a hint of wood. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish.
Nestled on the highest vineyard hill south of Montalcino, Poggio Antico spans 91 acres at an average altitude of 1,804 feet. The estate predominantly cultivates Sangiovese, with smaller plots of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The unique calcareous and Galestro soils enhance the Sangiovese grapes, producing the complex and elegant Brunello.
Founded in 1976, Poggio is divided into four main areas, is fully certified organic, focusing on sustainable practices like green manure and permanent grassing to nurture soil health and biodiversity. Poggio Antico's vineyards, managed with meticulous care, have been divided into 15 Units of soil. These precise agricultural practices ensure each vine's optimal expression, with plot-by-plot winemaking and aging to preserve the unique characteristics of each soil unit and express the real identity.
The diversity of soils, different but always high altitudes (1,640–2,034 feet asl), different exposures, Sangiovese biotypes, separated cultivation, harvest, vinification, and aging, create a symphony that is carefully directed by a specific winemaking style where elegance, freshness, and identity of the terroir are the principles of the winery. Poggio Antico’s commitment to quality is evident in their selective harvesting and organic cultivation, aiming to create wines that truly embody the essence of the terroir.
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.