Montalcino Report

Robert Parker notes on the 2003 Paganelli cru Brunello di Montalcino: "I was completely blown away"

Although the "riserva" bottling of Brunello di Montalcino by the Tenuta Il Poggione has always been made from grapes sourced exclusively from our top cru, the Paganelli vineyard, with "old" vines up to the 40 and more years of age, the 2003 Riserva is the first time in the history that we have labeled the wine as a cru "Paganelli".

Here is what Robert Parker reviewer Antonio Galloni has said about the wine when he tasted it last year. We have presented the wine the week before the last in Chicago and New York and we will present it this week to journalists and to consumers this week at the Benvenuto Brunello in Montalcino.

"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. 

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
 

A beautiful video about the Val d'Orcia (Orcia River Valley)

Even if you do not speak the Italian, I think you will like the beautiful video on the Val d'Orcia, "Orcia River Valley", from the RAI Uno Linea Verde Show. 

Our zone of the Toscana is one of the most beautiful places in the world. In the video, the announcer speaks about the Chianina, a special breed of cattle that is used for the bistecca fiorentina, sheep raising, and also, of course, about the Brunello di Montalcino. It is very beautiful to watch. 

Buona visione!

Brunello in New York Times and more new features of the Consorzio

We were glad to see that our friend Eric Asimov has written today about the Brunello di Montalcino in New York Times. We have been disappointed that our 2004 Brunello di Montalcino did not receive positive results in his tasting and we plan to taste the wine again soon and to share our thoughts and we are asking other friends of ours to taste it as well to know their impressions. In the meantimes, we were also glad to see that he speaks of the differences in the different subzones of our appellation.

He writes: "The Montalcino appellation […] covers a wide and diverse territory. Bordeaux, for example, recognizes that adjoining territories can have differing characteristics and so distinguishes Pauillac from St-Estèphe, and St-Julien. But as far as brunello di Montalcino is concerned, it is left to consumers to try to recognize which wines come from the lower elevations and clay soils in the south, and which are from the higher, lighter soils in the central area around the town of Montalcino".

One of the new features of the website of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino is a new list of all of the inscribed members of the Consorzio and a map of where each winery is located. You can find the list and the map by clicking here.

We have always believe that the greatness of the wines of our appellation is linked to the zones where the grapes are grown. Many peoples have been asked me to write about the different subzones of Montalcino and so herewith I will begin a series of post about 9 subzones by quoting a famous Tuscany writer about Sangiovese and the history of our appellation who is named Emanuele Pellucci.

"The nature of the soils, the altitude and the microclimate conditions all play a decisive role in the fortunate success of Sangiovese, which first expressed its great potential in Montalcino. The area is an ideal habitat for this type of vine, whose success has then opened the way to its being more correctly used also in other important wine-producing zones in Tuscany. Depending on the levels and the orientation, there is a certain diversity as far as the geological character of the zone is concerned. To the northeast, in the lowest part, there is clayey marl of Pliocene origin, left over from when a part of the territory was covered by the sea. Ascending, we meet soils of Eocene origin, undoubtedly the most suitable for Sangiovese: it grows in splendid fashion where there is a prevalence of marl-clayey soils alternating with masses of "alberse", i.e. a kind of limestone rich in marl. High up, lastly, we find sand stone. There are excellent soils also to the south-west, in the direction of the Maremma, with a prevalence of clays alternating with "alberese"; in the south-east part, marl and "alberese" soils can be found".

Please visit us again soon and I will write more, staring with the "Montalcino and its environs" which is the first subzone of which Pellucci speaks. Thank you for your reading. 

 

Happy as the pigs in...

An American friend of mine once told me about an English saying in his country, "to be happier than the pigs in..." I cannot write the last word! 

Perhaps you remember the post I did earlier this year on integrated farming and our "Large White" pigs. This is the first post of a series of posts with videos about our farm. 

When my father and I made this video, it made me think of that English saying!

The Amiata and the past, present, and future of the wine Brunello di Montalcino

This is a photography taken facing southward from Il Poggione's estate at the Amiata chain of extinct vulcano mountains. The Mt Amiata has been there for a very very long time and it will still be there much long after we are all gone. As that ancient Latins said, TEMPUS OMNIA VINCIT. 

The world of our Montalcino and Sant'Angelo in Colle has changed a lot since my father was a young man. He remembers that when he was young and was the assistant winemaker at Il Poggione, the harvest came much later than it does now. The summer is warmer now because of the global warming and so we all have to pick our fruits sooner. Probably in the the 1970 decade when he was young there were about 100.000 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino produced every year. Today there are 7.000.000 for the 2004 vintage and there are over 250 members of the Consortium del Vino Brunello di Montalcino.

I and my father Fabrizio Bindocci were saddened to read the articles about the Brunello di Montalcino investigation and the conclusions of the investigators that five wineries have broken the rules of the Brunello di Montalcino "disciplinare" or "appellation's regulation". But we are also glad that this chapter in the long history of our land is concluded. There are 250 producers and many were controlled over and over again. But the investigators only found that five have broken the rule.

At Il Poggione, we have always made Brunello with "Sangiovese in purezza", 100% Sangiovese. We know that things change with the passing of the years but we are glad that Brunello is still 100% and that the Mt. Amiata still protects Il Poggione's estate from the bad weather that can arrive from the South. It may have been a difficult year for Montalcino but Mt. Amiata is still there and our beloved Brunello di Montalcino is still "Sangiovese in purezza".

Behold a photograph of Mt. Amiata from the space.

Considerations on 2004 vintage

That is a photo of our village, Sant'Angelo in Colle, made from our vineyards below. It is called "Sant'Angelo in Colle" or "Saint Angel on the Hill" because it is one of the highest elevations points in our appellation of Montalcino. You can see from this photo how it is rising upward.

There have been a lot of discussions recently in the wine magazines and guides about the 2004 vintage. We received very good scores and notes from Antonio Galloni in the Wine Advocate but even he has noted that 2004 vintage was not a great vintage for everyone.

The most recent we have read was this one by the important wine writer Steve Tanzer who wrote:

“Thus far, the coverage of Brunello di Montalcino I’ve seen elsewhere has generally fallen into two categories: 2004 is an outstanding vintage, worth the 5 stars awarded to it by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, or 2004 is an overrated vintage from a growing season that was too warm to make classic sangiovese wines. As usual, the truth lies somewhere between these two overgeneralizations… The potential Achilles’ heel of the 2004 vintage was the warmth of the summer and, in some instances, above-average yields. But there were enough short cooler spells in July and August to invigorate the vines and keep the ripening process going, and the harvest took place during the second half of September and well into October.”

There was warm temperature during the summer but if the vineyards were at high elevation enough like the Il Poggione vineyards, the cooler temperatures of nighttime allowed the ripening to continue. Also, in the southern and west part of the appellation, where is Il Poggione, the cooler temperatures of the sea ventilation also help to keep the fruits cool even during the summer high temperature.

This is one of the reasons why my father and I believe that we have made a great wine in 2004. We also agree with that which Mr. Galloni says:

"Overall 2004 is a much stronger vintage in the southern part of the zone – specifically Sant’Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell’Abate – than it is in Montalcino itself. Simply put – despite a number of truly monumental Brunellos – 2004 is unfortunately not a profound vintage across the board, as it probably could have been and should have been."

Thank you for reading our blog. We hope you are enjoying 2004 Brunello di Montalcino by Il Poggione!

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.

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.

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.