Brunello Di Montalcino, 2017

Name: Brunello Di Montalcino
Brand: Poggio di Sotto
Price: 833.53 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2017 2018 2019 2020

justerini & brooks tasting note

A dry, early year, the harvest at Poggio di Sotto was wrapped up by 22nd September. In true adaptive fashion, the goal with 2017 was to extract as little as possible, harnessing the natural power and richness of the vintage to dictate the style without force. In this respect, Luca reduced the maceration time to just two weeks instead of the usual 3 weeks plus, and opted to bottle a year early to preserve freshness and perfume, totalling 30 months in large traditional oak cask. As Luca explained, it is about “the right interpretation of the vintage.” In that regard this Brunello has an unbelievable sense of soothing balance and detail. At just 14% ABV, the profile is one of smooth, svelte, highly elegant red fruits, very true to the Sotto style, with curvy tannins and floating mineral inflections. While it has all the soul of a warm vintage there is nothing dry or excessive about this. It can only reasonably be described as an unbridled success.

critic reviews

97/100Monica Larner,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Made with certified-organic fruit, the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is an impossibly graceful wine from a challenging vintage. This bottle defies the oddsand the dry heat of the growing seasonto reveal soft layers of cherry, cassis and more vibrant fruit. It glides clear over the palate with silky momentum, and you only notice the tannins at the very end. Even those should soften and integrate as this collectible wine continues it bottle evolution. Production is 19,000 bottles.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2045

date of review 02/2022

95/100Eric Guido,Vinous

A captivating mix of ripe plums, strawberries, cloves, violet pastille, balsam herbs and white smoke emanates from the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino. This is undeniably elegant in feel, showing a weight unexpected from a young Poggio di Sotto, yet working in perfect harmony, with tart cherries and wild berries drenching the palate in primary concentration, as saline-minerals and brisk acids add energy and verve. There’s simply so much going on here that each return to the glass reveals something new. The tannins are sweet and rounded, and while structured, this remains fully satiating and fresh, as hints of lavender and black currant slowly fade. It’s totally atypical of a young Poggio di Sotto, yet also a wonderfully unique expression of the vintage, one that should mature evenly in spite of the drastic climatic conditions. In order to create the best wine possible, severe selection reduced production by 40%, and there will be no Riserva from 2017, as all of that juice was added to the Brunello. What’s more, winemaker Luca Marrone chose to shorten the aging in wood by an entire year. It may not be classic in style, but the 2017 is a wine that’s not to be missed.

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2031

date of review 12/2021