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
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James Suckling
A very nice mix of vibrant red cherries and bergamot leaves gives a very elegant feel to this,together with restrained, smoky tones and licorice. Almost minty freshness. Full-bodied, dense palate with velvety tannins, savory character and refreshing, integrated acidity. Great fruit concentration and good length. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose opens herbaceous and spicy, with chilis, wild oregano and wild fennel, then turns sweet and tangy with tamarind and tart cherries. Sweet cherries and strawberry jam define the palate, but the finish brings bitter citrus zest and mouthwatering acid for balance.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Poggio Landi 2020 Brunello di Montalcino, made with certified organic fruit, is savory in character with toasted spice and tobacco. I am reminded of Christmas spice and nutmeg. The wine has already started to evolve in an initial push toward tertiary aromas that are perhaps made more apparent by the oak aging. You feel phenolic ripeness with gritty, open-knit tannins. There is a moment of leanness on the mid-palate, which makes the wine feel a little short. In all, it feels propped up by the tannins more so than the fruit. I suggest a medium-term drinking window as a result.
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Wine Spectator
This red is both fluid and dense. Starts out with a lacy texture, offering fading cherry and plum fruit, plus savory notes of wild herbs and eucalyptus. Mouthcoating tannins emerge and corral the finish. Drink now through 2038.
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.