Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino 2019

The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino pulls the taster close to the glass with its dark and earthy blend of crushed ashen stones, giving way to rosemary, cedar, exotic spice and a core of raspberry preserves. Enveloping and serene, this flows across the palate like pure silk, steadily building in tension as tart wild berries and orange hints give way to a sweet herbal thrust. The 2019 finishes with tremendous length and is classically structured, as crunchy tannins resonate and violet inner florals slowly fade over a tactile coating of minerality. Il Poggione has captured the radiance of the vintage, yet this is just a baby today.

Saturated dark red in color and coming from 25- to 60-year-old vines, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino is a brooding and serious wine on the nose and needs a little air on opening at this youthful stage, with aromas of cigar box, vanilla, smoky cedar, blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, and charred rosemary. Opulent and rich, this full-bodied Brunello reveals rich, velvet tannins, warming richness, and spice, and its oak-noted frame enhances the richness. It's deserving of several years of proper cellaring to harmonize and is a lovely, warming wine to enjoy over the coming 15- 20 years. It was raised for 3 years in large French oak barrels.

Features ample plum, cherry, iron, tobacco and underbrush flavors buoyed by a plump texture to match the dense structure, plus vibrant acidity to keep it all focused. Another year of aging should allow the finish to stretch out and this wine to reach its full potential. Best from 2026 through 2042. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 16,600 cases made, 4,000 cases imported.

The Il Poggione 2019 Brunello di Montalcino shows an evolved bouquet with aromas of dried fruit, forest floor, crushed flower and autumnal leaf. On a second nose, you get dark licorice, wet slate, cola and grilled rosemary. The tannins are powdery and dry. I recommend a medium-term drinking window as a result. You do feel the powerful 15% alcohol content in this ample 200,000-bottle release.