Montalcino Report

Robert Parker: 95 points for Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino, "first-class Sangiovese from Montalcino"

My father and I were very happy to receive news of the scores and reviews from the Robert Parker's Wine Advocate today. In case you don't have a subscription to the online or print edition, here are the scores and the notes. 

Thanks you, Messers Antonio Galloni and Robert Parker, for taking the time to review our wines. We are glad that you like them as do we! 

I was completely blown away by the wines I tasted from Il Poggione this year. Readers who want to experience first-class Sangiovese from Montalcino won’t want to miss these exceptional wines. Winemaker Fabrizio Bindocci and his team have done an exceptional job for which they deserve all the praise in the world.

— Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate, July, 2009

2004 Brunello - 95 points

The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is awesome. This finessed, regal Brunello flows onto the palate with seamless layers of perfumed fruit framed by silky, finessed tannins. The wine remains extremely primary at this stage, and its full range of aromas and flavors have yet to emerge, but the sheer pedigree of this Brunello is unmistakable. The elegant, refined finish lasts an eternity, and subtle notes of menthol, spices, licorice and leather add final notes of complexity. The estate’s 2004 Brunello is a wine to buy and bury in the deepest corner of the cellar. Brunello is never inexpensive, but this is the real deal, and in relative terms, it is one of the world’s great values in fine, cellar worthy wine. Incredibly, there are 18,000+ cases of the 2004 Brunello, so it should be fairly easy to source in various markets. The Brunello is made from four vineyards ranging from 250 to 400 meters in altitude, all in Sant’Angelo in Colle. The wines from the various vineyards were aged separately in French oak casks prior to being assembled and bottled. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2034.

2003 Brunello Riserva Vigna Paganelli - 93+ points

The 2003 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli is made from old vines in the estate’s Paganelli vineyard in Sant’Angelo in Colle. It is surprisingly fresh in its expression of red cherries, tobacco, leather, earthiness and spices. Deceptively medium in body, the wine reveals gorgeous length and a refined, silky finish, both qualities that are exceptionally rare in this vintage. This is high-class Sangiovese. In the torrid 2003, winemaker Fabrizio Bindocci gave the Riserva 12 days of fermentation/maceration on the skins, and aged the wine in large French oak casks. For the Riserva the estate vinfies with 100% stems, and also uses a higher percentage of newer oak. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 2003 Riserva merit a higher score in a few years. The 1975 Riserva – from another super-hot vintage- was breathtaking when last tasted about two years ago?.and the Paganelli vineyard was only 10 years old at the time! Anticipated maturity: 2010-2028.

2007 Rosso di Montalcino - 90 points

The 2007 Rosso di Montalcino is a soft, floral wine with pretty red fruits that meld into tobacco, spices and minerals. The wine possesses lovely inner perfume to match its accessible personality. The 2007 is a relatively open vintage for the Rosso, and while I don’t see this vintage making old bones, it should offer highly pleasurable drinking over the next few years at a minimum. In 2007 Bindocci decided to de-stem 70% of the fruit, which yielded an especially soft, approachable wine. Because Rosso is a wine generally made for near-term consumption, its hard to argue with that approach, especially in this economy. Still I miss the firmer style of Rosso the house is capable of. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2017.

Congratulations to our friend Jayne Gastropub in San Diego

 

Jayne sent us this photo of 2003 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino in San Diego at her restaurant.

Our friend Jayne Gastropub was named "top 3" Gastropub in the U.S., also because they serve Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino! Congratulations Jayne Gastropub! 

Replanting Sangiovese vineyard in Sant'Angelo (Montalcino)

These are some photographs of replanting a vineyard earlier this summer. 

These are the "barbatelle" called the "rootstock" in English.

The vineyard workers line up in rows to plant the rootstocks.

 

He makes a hole in the ground and inserts the rootstock.

 

That is the rootstock in the ground.

 

The rootstocks are then "trained" using rope and stakes. Soon the vineyard will begin to take shape.

Il Poggione pork

These are the "large white" pigs that we started to have few months ago. We chose Large White instead of Cinta Senese as the Cinta Senese meat is really fat, while this has just a little bit of fat. The pork is also part of our concept of integrated farming so that animals are raised together with our vineyards and olive trees. The tradition of our terroir is that animals have always been raised on land near to the vineyards. We believe very strongly that this is a big part of the terroir of Brunello di Montalcino and Sant'Angelo in Colle where we grow our grapes on our estate and make the wine.

We are also Tuscany cowboys and our Limousine cows

You may remember the posts I did on integrated farming earlier this year and last year. Part of our belief in integrated farming is that livestock should also be raised on our estate. We believe that this integrated farming or "agricoltura promiscua" is an important element of the Brunello di Montalcino terroir.

These are Limousine cows and they are kept in a very large fence in the lower part of the farm. We chose Limousine as they're more rustic than Chianina and they're suitable to live outside. Plus, these are from the Appennini, so they're used to cold weather, too

No stable, just open air.

Pool party anyone?

In the case that you live some where where you are "feeling the heat" as they say in the U.S., why not come visit the Farmhouse at Il Poggione for a pool party? This is a view of the pool for one of the 7 private air-conditioned guest apartments in the Il Poggione Farmhouse. Pool party anyone? 

The Farmhouse is an original "casa colonica" in the heart of our estate, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. You cannot see any asphalt roads from here and you feel like you have been transported back into the 1800s (with air conditioning though!). If you want to learn more about Il Poggione Agritursimo, click here. 

This is one of the olive groves that you can see from the Agriturismo. If you would like to join this summer on our estate, please send me an email to: agriturismo@ilpoggione.it. 

Understanding Brunello terroir using Google Earth part III

Click here for a larger version of the map.

In his review of Tenuta Il Poggione's 2004 Brunello di Montalcino, Antonio Galloni noted that "The Brunello is made from four vineyards ranging from 250 to 400 meters in altitude, all in Sant’Angelo in Colle." This is very important because, as you know well, altitude is fundamental for growing grapes for fine wines. You need the altitude so that there will be cooler temperatures in the evening during the summer that allow the grapes to mature more gradually and gently. If it is too hot at night the grapes will mature too quickly and they will "cook". 

In this post on Understanding Brunello terroir using Google Earth part III, there is another very important aspect evidenced to demonstrate how the terroir of Sant'Angelo in Colle is unique and special. 

The top yellow pin indicates Montalcino. The center yellow pin indicates Sant'Angelo in the southernmost subzone of the Brunello di Montalcino appellation. And the bottom yellow pin indicates Mt. Amiata that arrives to 1,700 meters above sea level.

Note how close Sant'Angelo is in reality to the sea and note also how Mt. Amiata provides a sort of "shield" to the south of the Brunello di Montalcino appellation which helps to protect our lands from inclement weather. 

But the most important thing to note is how there is a natural "corridor" that rises up from the sea at the bottom left of the map to Sant'Angelo. One of the interesting things about Google Earth is how it will tell you the altitude of a position where you point the arrow of your computer. Download and install Google Earth: If you pull your cursor along the natural corridor that I have indicated, you can see how the altitudes rise from zero meters above sea level at the sea at the bottom of the corridor up to 400 meters.

This natural corridor brings the cool and dry breezes up from the sea to our vineyards. This is very important for our fruits: the dry sea breeze help us to reduce mildew and rot in our vineyard and the ventilation that they provide help us to preserve freshness in our wines. 

This are some of the important aspects which create the unique growing conditions that represent the Brunello di Montalcino terroir and in particular the subzone of Sant'Angelo in Colle that we think to be the best.

Antonio Galloni: "Il Poggione 2004 Brunello is awesome"

We were very happy to find this review by Antonio Galloni in the website of the Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Thank you, Antonio, for tasting Il Poggione 2004 Brunello di Montalcino!

Please note also that I have added an "Accolades" page with recent reviews of our wines. Thank you, all, for reading and your continued support! 

My tastings of the 2004 Brunellos are now complete, and one wine stands apart. On its own, this Brunello is one of the top wines of the vintage. But it gets better. At $75 full US retail, it is also relatively fairly priced for a wine of such pedigree. Keep in mind that WA prices assume everyone across the distribution chain takes a full markup, something that is not very likely in this economy. Chances are the wine can be had for much less. Total production is an incredible 220,000 bottles, (18,300+ cases if you prefer to think that way), which means the wine should be readily available in most markets. Any guesses....?

It’s the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione. Here's my tasting note:

The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione is awesome. This finessed, regal Brunello flows onto the palate with seamless layers of perfumed fruit framed by silky, finessed tannins. The wine remains extremely primary at this stage, and its full range of aromas and flavors have yet to emerge, but the sheer pedigree of this Brunello is unmistakable. The elegant, refined finish lasts an eternity, and subtle notes of menthol, spices, licorice and leather add final notes of complexity. The estate’s 2004 Brunello is a wine to buy and bury in the deepest corner of the cellar. Brunello is never inexpensive, but this is the real deal, and in relative terms, it is one of the world’s great values in fine, cellar worthy wine. Incredibly, there are 18,000+ cases of the 2004 Brunello, so it should be fairly easy to source in various markets. The Brunello is made from four vineyards ranging from 250 to 400 meters in altitude, all in Sant’Angelo in Colle. The wines from the various vineyards were aged separately in French oak casks prior to being assembled and bottled. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2034

Understanding Brunello terroir with Google Earth part II

Here is part II of the post of yesterday.

The image above is a detail from the appellation map in the post of yesterday.

The satellite photo above evidences Tenuta Il Poggione to the south of Sant'Angelo in Colle, which is situated at 400 meters above sea level. The Yellow Pin evidences where our "tenuta" is situated. As you can see in the image, our vineyards like at just below 400 meters above sea level and they benefit from south and southwest exposure. These two factors are very important for growing grapes for great Brunello like ours.

This is a three dimensional image viewing Sant'Angelo in Colle and Tenuta Il Poggione from the south. As is evidenced in the image, our "tenuta" and vineyards are located on the slope that descends from Sant'Angelo in Colle. 

In the next coming post, I will speak of the rapport between Mount Amiata to the south and the nearness to the Thyrrenian Sea. 

Understanding the terroir of Brunello using Google Earth

Now more than ever are people talking about terroir of wine. So with this post I wanted to explain the terroir of Montalcino and Sant'Angelo in Colle by using a wondrous tool called Google Earth (if you do not have Google Earth, please download it and search for Sant'Angelo in Colle and Montalcino and you will find all kind of interesting informations and photographs of our land). 

This is the first post in a series of posts that I will try to explain the terroir of Brunello di Montalcino using maps and images from Google Earth.

Here's a map of the Brunello di Montalcino appellation confines. Only Sangiovese Grosso grapes grown in this area can be used in the production of Brunello di Montalcino.

Here is the same map with the the area around Sant'Angelo in Colle evidenced.

The winery and estate where my father and I work, Il Poggione, is in the village of Sant'Angelo in Colle (the name of our village means Saint Angelus on Hill). Our vineyards are situated just to the south of the village. The fact that we are in the south of the appellation is important but I will speak about that in the next post.

Here is a Google Earth screenshot of the same evidenced area.

In the lower corner to the left you can see that Sant'Angelo is at 400 meter above sea level. The altitude of our vineyards is very important for having cool temperatures at night to allow the fruits of the vineyards to ripen slowly during warms days of summer months. Not all of the appellation is so high in altitude and not all the growing site can make such good fruit for superior Brunello. That is why our village is called Sant'Angelo IN COLLE because it is situated on a hill. This is very good for the vineyards.

Here is the link to Google Earth: http://earth.google.com/

I invite you to download Google Earth and look about Montalcino and Sant'Angelo in Colle and to see why it is such a special place to grow grapes for fine wine.

In the next post I will show more images and talk about Monte Amiata and why so important.