Winemaker Notes
Complex on the nose, with distinctive nuances of ripe red fruit and spices such as black pepper and licorice. The same ripe red fruits continue on the palate, accompanied by vanilla notes. Very long finish.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Fascinating pumice, dried red cherries and spices here. Fruity and succulent with a level of gravitas to the drying, structured tannins that keep the palate quite taut and firm. Medium-long on the finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Poggio Landi falls under the greater Dievole wine group that operates in some of the best appellations of Tuscany. Their 2015 Brunello di Montalcino leaves no doubt as to its warm-vintage origins. Compared to the estate's Rosso di Montalcino, fruit is harvested at slightly lower elevations (at 200 to 300 meters above sea level, compared to the Rosso that comes from a site that rises as high as 400 meters in altitude). That range of elevations will no doubt come in handy as Montalcino faces climate change. This wine maintains a tight, polished and traditional personality. It plays perfectly into the house style that favors an elegant and less extracted approach. Yet you also sense the extra sunshine and warmth of the vintage in those aromas of wild cherry, plum and crushed flowers.
-
Wine Spectator
Bright, featuring black currant, black cherry, floral and wild herb flavors. Elegant yet firmly structured, with a lingering aftertaste that picks up a chalky mineral accent.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Dark-skinned berry, leather and cooking-spice aromas lift out of the glass. The balanced savory palate offers dried black cherry, tobacco and black pepper alongside fine-grained tannins.
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.