Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Poggio al Granchio shows a dark ruby red color with garnet hint s. The nose offers black cherries, plums, floral notes, white pepper, and a savor y ferrous character. Well-defined tannins balance with vibrant acidity, creating a juicy mouthfeel. The finish is persistent with fruit and spice notes, delivering structure and expression.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Revealing a slightly darker shade of ruby red in the glass, the 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino Poggio Al Grancio is darker but just as compelling on the nose, with notes of black raspberry liqueur, fresh flowers, sappy herbs, mossy earth, and root beer spice. Medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannins, it has a rounded, seamless feel and texture and a long, delicately savory finish, with notes of blood orange to close. It's very lovely wine to enjoy over the coming 12-15 years.
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Decanter
One of three separate cru bottlings, Poggio al Granchio hails from Montalcino’s southeastern flank. The steep site sits on schisty Galestro soil and is surrounded by holm oak trees. Powerfully fragrant, the 2020 expands with liquorice, bay laurel, eucalyptus and warm wet stone. Bringing in notes of iron, the palate is well saturated with dark blue plum concentrated through the core, girdled by gravelly, tactile tannins. Full and virile, this has clearly defined boundaries and salivating acidity, with a tingly, energetic finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Val di Suga 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Granchio offers dark fruit aromas that are generous and fleshed out in this warm vintage. The bouquet has a few high notes as well with spice, tobacco and crushed stone that give upward lift. It's an all-encompassing Brunello that hits both your sense of smell and taste with an attractive level of intensity and focus.
Rating: 94+ -
James Suckling
Focused on black cherries and plums, with touches of soapy, flowery notes and subtle spices. Firm tannins on the medium- to full-bodied palate with crisp acidity and a supple, juicy finish. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Granchio entices with a rich blend of plum sauce, grilled herbs, crushed rocks and lifting hints of pine. This is more lifting and pure in style, with a cascade of mineral-infused red berry fruits that course over a pulse of brisk acidity. Grippy and long, the 2020 tapers off with a mass of structure and tart concentration yet maintains fantastic energy and verve.
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Wine Spectator
Bright with cherry, raspberry, floral, mineral and wild herb aromas and flavors, this red turns linear, defined by its lively acidity. Moderate tannins lend support, and overall this feels balanced, with an extended finish. Best from 2027 through 2042.
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.