People have long called Poggio di Sotto’s Brunello “Burgundian” because of its finesse, refinement, and purity. Rarely has this estate’s wine earned the moniker so well as in 2012. This is a sophisticated Brunello that layers its pure red and blue fruits with violet and rose petals, warm baking spices, cool earth, and crushed river rocks. Elegant and lifted, this wine glides across the palate to reveal a sweet inner perfume complemented by fine-grained, polished tannins and ideal acidity. This racy, detailed ’12 Brunello has decades ahead of it! Crafted from biodynamically grown Sangiovese Grosso, the grapes macerate in stainless steel and oak tanks for about 33 days, and the wine ages for 48 months in oak barrique and eight months in bottle.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Toscana
- Sub Region/Classification: Brunello di Montalcino
- Commune/Village: Montalcino : Castelnuovo dell'Abate
Poggio di Sotto’s founder, former shipping executive Piero Palmucci worked for years with consultant Giulio Gambelli, the name behind one of Montalcino’s majestic stars, Gianfranco Soldera. Together, this estate created a reputation for wines with a strong perfectionist streak and a painstaking production process. Palmucci always pursued an academic approach to viticulture and vinification, assiduously monitoring practices and results in both the cellar and in the vineyard. Adamant about color correctness in Brunello, Palmucci believed that dark Brunellos are disingenuous and don’t resemble a properly pure-varietal expression. Thus, a Poggio di Sotto Brunello visually embodies this stance in its medium-red garnet color. Possessing a formidable tannic structure and high level of acidity, a Poggio di Sotto Brunello begs for proper aging. Although Gambelli passed away in 2012 and Palmucci sold the estate to Claudio Tipa, owner of ColleMassari and Grattamacco, in 2011, Tipa has pledged to maintain the Poggio di Sotto’s traditional, age-worthy, deeply finessed style in the future. ColleMassari made a good choice in securing consulting winemaker Federico Staderini. Just as Gambelli and Palmucci did, Staderini's team employs scrupulous protocol in the vineyard and maintains prime conditions in the cellar; wines released since the sale of the estate continue to show all the hallmarks of classic Poggio di Sotto wines; they're aromatic, transparent beauties that embody the estate's unique terroir.
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