Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color, not excessively bright, and with light garnet reflections. On the nose, floral aromas of violet, cyclamen and jasmine, notes of fresh fruit and spice. In the mouth it is well balanced, with a good structure and acidity as well as very smooth tannins and excellent persistence.
The elegance and harmonious structure of this new cru pair well with red meats, wild game including fowl, more elaborate dishes, and even mushrooms and truffles. Excellent with cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Tuscan pecorino.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
San Polo’s two single vineyards are literally separated by a road, yet even at a casual glance, the difference is obvious. Podernovi slopes very gently to the southeast and is the more vigorous of the two sites, yielding bigger, juicier grapes. This appears to be an advantage in 2017, for the wine demonstrates lovely balance. It's not over-concentrated and alcohol is a reasonable 14%. It flows gracefully and confidently across the palate with a chalky, finessed texture and its aromas are fresh, bringing in intriguing truffly nuances. There's sweetness of fruit on the palate but with good grip and lots of acidity.
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James Suckling
Fresh and floral aromas such as cherry and flower with hints of sandalwood follow through to a medium body with firm and creamy tannins and a vivid finish. Tight and structured yet polished and serious.
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Wine Spectator
Aromas of fading rose and Mediterranean scrub are enticing in this red, which also exhibits ample cherry, plum, iron and sanguine flavors. This is embraced by a cloak of burly tannins, yet has the stuffing to find an equilibrium in 3-5 years. Best from 2025 through 2042.
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Wine Enthusiast
Underbrush and crushed mint aromas come to the forefront along with leather and dark spice. Elegantly structured, the linear palate features dried cherry, orange zest, licorice and coffee bean framed in polished, fine-grained tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Packaged with the green label, this is one of two vineyard-specific wines from San Polo, and I'm happy to see this estate focus on terroir, rather than Riserva status. The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi is a certified-organic wine with a strong balsamic character (like we saw in the annata version). However, this wine is darker and more structured. I feel that those medical aromas outweigh the fruit and create a slightly more monotone final result.
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.