New Releases from Poggio di Sotto

Poggio di Sotto continues to receive widespread critical acclaim for its pliant, high-toned style of Brunello di Montalcino. We are thrilled to release the 2020 today, a wine that satisfies the senses from start to finish. Full, open, measured and flowing with shimmering, classy red fruits, flowers and crushed stones, this is a must-have Brunello. Head Winemaker Luca Marrone explained that for all its warm conditions, “frequent important rains throughout the season mitigated the environment leading to a very gentle and balanced ripeness. A vintage that makes us very happy, it is not so concentrated, but nor is it weak. It easily supported the full three years ageing in cask and we are delighted to bottle such a complex Brunello again at a moderate 13.5% alcohol level.” Evidently one of the wines of the vintage, it comes highly recommended.

Alongside the Brunello, we release the stunning Rosso di Montalcino 2022 – in every sense a baby Brunello. All the grapes at harvest are destined for Brunello and re-assessed after two years. The casks that show a more forward, engaging profile are bottled as Rosso and the rest are left for an extra year to become Brunello. In exceptional years, the most promising single cask is designated Riserva and left to age for four years in wood.

“If you consider these three factors—consistent quality over many vintages, a steadfast adherence to a classical winemaking tradition and a ready influx of capital—you might agree that Poggio di Sotto has few rivals in Montalcino.” – Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate.

“Very much still a baby at the time of my tasting, the Poggio di Sotto 2020 Brunello di Montalcino shares many similarities with the epic 2016 vintage in terms of its pretty perfumes and polished length. However, this elegant wine does not have the same sheer inner power. This bottle ultimately offers a fresh and charming interpretation of Sangiovese. This is a delicate wine with floral aromas, wild rose, crushed stone and white cherry. Aged in large Slavonian oak casks, it requires more time to flesh out. Harvest started the last week of August and finished the first week of October, which represents a conscious decision to start picking earlier than most. The vineyards are planted on schistic galestro soils, and that territorial imprint comes through strongly in all of these wines. I love that refreshing hint of lemon rind or navel orange at the very end.” – 97+ pts, Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate.