Poggio Antico Riserva Brunello di Montalcino

At Poggio Antico, a winery in the village of Montelcino, in the province of Siena , high quality is always the aim for every wine. Yes, we know that this is not unique here, but things change when you discover the triple selection that this winery puts all its grapes through: first in the vineyard, then on a sorting table (as soon as they reach the winery) and finally, with the help of an optical sorting machine. There is a whole never level to this when excellence is taken one step further and only the best vintages are turned into wine, following a much more scrupulous selection process. This is how they make Poggio Antico Riserva Brunello di Montalcino, a red wine made only in exceptional vintages.

The typical variety of this area, in Tuscany, is Sangiovese (also known as Brunello). Without this grape, this area’s wines would not be understood. As the origin of everything else, this variety grows in the vineyards that Poggio Antico cultivates on the highest hill of the entire denomination, which lies south of the village. Here the winery owns 35 hectares of organic vineyards, planted on calcareous and galestral soils (marl), and divided into three areas: I Poggi, Madre and Le Martine. They all have different microclimates, which come from the combination of the dry and temperate Mediterranean climate and the different altitudes and orientations of the terrain. The high temperatures are softened by both breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea (40 km to the west) and from the Apennines (100 km away). Another must-see is Mount Amiata, the cone of an ancient volcano (1,600 metres high), which protects the vineyards from frost, hail and spring and autumn rains.

As a general rule, all work at Poggio Antico is carried out by hand, and even more so in the case of Poggio Antico Riserva Brunello di Montalcino. In 2020 the winery fully completed its conversion to organic, taking on a series of basic and unchangeable principles like manual work, the elimination of chemical products and the use of natural organic fertilisers. After the harvest, the date of which varies from plot to plot, the Poggio Antico Riserva Brunello di Montalcino grapes are taken to the winery where they are processed and vatted in stainless steel tanks. Each of the plots ferment separately and are aged in French oak barrels and in oak barrels from Slavonia (Croatia). Finally, Poggio Antico Riserva Brunello di Montalcino is bottled, showing a great capacity for aging and development over time. 

A luxury that, as the name suggests, should be reserved for special occasions and the little moments life gives us.