Winemaker Notes
The 2015 Altero was made from a selection of the best wine in the cellar. Aged for 30 months in French oak tonneaux (500 l), followed by 18 months of bottle refinement, the 2015 vintage is definitely cellar worthy. Juicy red currants, cherries, and sprigs of fresh rosemary are robed in vanilla and baking spice with just a wisp of smoke.
Best with BBQ or lightly smoked meats and cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A beautiful cascade of blue and darker fruit precedes generous, enticing notes of saffron, dried orange rind, cumin, roasted thyme and nutmeg. Balanced and tightly framed on the medium-to full-bodied palate with mouthwatering fruit and crunchy acidity, coloring an ornately woven structure of silky tannins. Very long and velvety on the finish. Everything is where it should be. Drink from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the first things I notice in the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Altero is the increased richness or concentration (especially compared to the estate's classic Brunello from the same vintage). That wine is slightly more streamlined and contoured compared to the Altero that wears a heavier mantle made with thicker fiber and texture. This impression is especially evident on the bouquet where you pick up a hint of extra softness or ripeness that comes thanks to this warm vintage. The bouquet offers sensations of dried cherry skin or plum with sweet spice and moist potting soil. If you love classic Brunello, I would recommend the estate's annata expression. The Altero is more contemporary and international instead.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of underbrush, new leather, camphor and tobacco leaf lead the way along with a whiff of ripe plum. The rounded full-bodied palate evokes dried cherry, crushed mint, vanilla and a hint of coffee bean alongside taut fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Drink 2023–2030.
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Wine Spectator
Featuring black cherry, black currant and dark plum flavors, this red is intense and broad-shouldered. Big tannins line the finish, yet this remains fresh, finding equilibrium in an oversized way. Best from 2023 through 2040.
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Decanter
With an eye towards the Tuscan coast, Poggio Antico's vineyards reach over 500 metres above sea level, and these breezy heights gave some reprieve to the vines in the warm 2015 vintage. Altero, which is a selection of the best barrels, demonstrates restrained perfumes of dried violets and lavender, red plum and fresh earth. The palate is full of succulent, plump fruit and polished, chewy tannins . Immediately seductive but with plenty of stuffing, freshness and balance, ensuring at least a decade of enjoyment. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030
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.