Winemaker Notes
Crafted with painstaking attention to detail from one of the greatest terroirs in all of Tuscany, this is simply stunning Sangiovese. This is a Brunello, only aged in wood for a little less time than the rules require.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
It has been too long since I last tasted the Rosso made by Poggio di Sotto, so I was very happy to include this sample in my flight. The 2015 Rosso di Montalcino opens to a mild garnet color and light appearance. The bouquet is very polished and precise. It offers clean aromas of wild berry and rose hip with some bitter almond and blue violets. To me, this wine delivers on all the expectations of this lower-tier category. The wine imparts beautiful Sangiovese purity with a bright, streamlined and informal personality. This is a lovely, lovely Rosso.
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Wine Spectator
Supple yet intense, featuring macerated cherry, strawberry, rose and mineral aromas and flavors. Shows a saline element that expands as this lingers. Stays fresh and firm, yet balanced. Drink now through 2023.
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James Suckling
Red cherries, strawberries and some crushed lavender and herbs. Medium body, fine tannins and a fresh finish. Drink now. Made from organically grown grapes.
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.