TASTING NOTES
The product of younger vines on the famous Poggio Antico estate, this Rosso di Montalcino shares the purity and concentration of Brunello but in an earlier-drinking, more accessible form. Thrilling strawberry and cherry fruit mingles with smoke and spice in this elegant, classic wine.
PRODUCER
Poggio Antico consists of 200 hectares of woods, fields, olive groves and vineyards, about fifty kilometres south of Siena. The current limits of the estate can be traced back to the early nineteenth century, while the vineyards themselves were planted in the late 1970s. Poggio Antico is now owned and run by the Gloder family, who bought the property in 1984.
VINEYARD
At 450 metres, Poggio Antico has one of the highest vineyards in Brunello. The breezes at this altitude keep the grapes disease-free, removing the need to use fungicide sprays. The calcareous rocky soil is exposed south to south-west, and offers excellent drainage. Shoot thinning, green harvest and bunch removal are used to reduce yields and increase concentration. The grapes are hand-picked into plastic crates.
WINERY
Fermentation took place in eighty-hectolitre truncated-cone-shaped stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures, never exceeding 32°C. A punch-down system was used in order to achieve a gentle extraction. The wine was aged for sixteen months: twelve months in French oak tonneaux and four months in bottle.