Poggio Antico Vigna i Poggi 2019

Here is an exciting new wine from Poggio Antico. The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna i Poggi sees fruit from a 2.5-hectare parcel at a high 550 to 570 meters above sea level that was chosen for this bottling thanks to the mixed soils types (with limestone, galestro, rocks and gravel) that characterize this place. The wine ferments in cement tulips and ages in Austrian oak casks for 30 months. This is a round and nicely concentrated effort with very lively fruit, lots of bright cherry, a hint of grilled herb, fine tannins and medium-plus richness to close. This inaugural vintage (with 7,750 bottles made) starts off with a bang, and it will be interesting to see how this program evolves.

Fragrant and expressive on the nose. wild herbs, pine needles, some hints of Mediterranean scrub, juniper and lavender. Smooth and succulent, supple and agile in the mouth, scintillatingly fresh. Lean and tense in the slight tightness to the tannins and acidity - both channeling the wine in quite a straight line right now, but there's supreme depth on offer, a layering of elements and an elongated fresh finish with a cool lift. Cherries, cranberries, some bloody orange and almost peach pit with a gravelly understone offering wet stones. Grippy and intense, yet reigned in and suave. Not yet demonstrating full greatness but it hints at it.

Lovely berry, meat, bark and earth aromas here. Medium to full body with round yet fine tannins that give a velvety texture and a long, persistent finish at all levels. Drink in three to five years. Try after 2026.

The rich magenta-colored 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna I Poggi leaps from the glass with aromas of preserved black cherries, crushed flowers, sweet sage, and toasted cedar. Full-bodied, this is a gorgeous wine with sweet, velvety tannins, outstanding depth, and a fantastically long finish with warming spices. It’s a high-octane wine, although it has all the components to balance it out, and it’s going to last for ages. Drink 2026-2046.