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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James Suckling
Sweet berries on the nose with some stem, floral and spice undertones. Medium-bodied with firm, silky tannins and a bright and juicy finish. From organically grown grapes. Needs at least three years to come together. Try after 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With the forest green label, the organic San Polo 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi has a lifted bouquet with a hint of peppermint or menthol that gives buoyancy. There is some dried fruit, like pitted prune, but you also get fresher notes of blackberry and black cherry. Fruit comes from a three-hectare site with schistic galestro and mineral-rich clay soils. Dried rose and chalky tannins appear on the close.
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Vinous
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi blossoms in the glass with a rich blend of plum sauce and clove lifted by sweet violet and lavender tones. This is pure elegance on the palate, silken and polished. Vibrant acidity and orange excite its tart wild berry fruits. Saline minerals combine with dusty tannins through the long finale. The 2019 tapers off with remarkable balance and youthful poise, leaving the slighted tinge of blackberry to fade. In a word, harmonious.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe cherry, raspberry and boysenberry flavors hold court in this firmly structured red, which features vibrant acidity and a fluid feel, despite the dense tannins clamping down on the earth- and herb-tinged finish for now. Shows fine length. Best from 2027 through 2040.
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.