95pts Wine Enthusiast
Underbrush, camphor and new leather aromas get together with grilled herbs. Full-bodied and structured, it also shows restraint, featuring dried black cherry, licorice and tobacco alongside firm, fine-grained tannins.
94pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino opens to a saturated and shiny dark ruby color. This edition is loaded with black and purple fruits, such as blackberry preserves and plum. Those more robust tones are followed by spice, tar and campfire ash. The tannins are young (but not stemmy or bitter), and you'd be best served by letting this wine age and relax with more cellar aging. Il Poggione always makes some of the smoothest and most texturally enriched wines in the appellation, and this vintage is no exception.
Rating: 94+
94pts Wine & Spirits
Rich flavors of dark cherry and plum glide in a smooth texture, gaining notes of dark chocolate and licorice as the wine sits in the glass. The tannins are firm and compact, like new leather, yet the generous fruit tones are already expressive, supported by a cool mineral layer and vivid acidity that keep the flavors fresh over several days. This is a refined and elegant Brunello from the warm 2017 vintage, with plenty of aging potential.
93pts Wine Spectator
Sweet, ripe cherry, blackberry and plum fruit flavors are framed by mineral, tobacco and thyme accents in this vibrant, balanced red. Make no mistake, there are ample tannins too, yet this still finds a nice equilibrium on the lingering finish.
91pts James Suckling
Blackberry, blueberry, stone and floral aromas. Hints of cedar, too. Full-bodied and chewy with polish and focus. Dried berries and hints of meat. This shows the ripeness of the grapes. Chewy at the end. Needs time to soften. Better after 2023.
91pts Decanter
Il Poggione started harvesting Brunello grapes on 1 September based on desired sugar and acidity levels. To curtail unripe tannins, winemaker Fabrizio Bindocci removed a small percentage of seeds at the beginning of fermentation, particularly from the earliest picked plots. The resulting wine is a heady mix of allspice, leather and prune plums. There is ample concentration on the palate and a zesty citrus note lends freshness. It's grippy but overall balanced, with just a touch of astringency nudging through. I’d give this another year to come together.
Winemaker Notes
Brunello is the prince of Montalcino wines, produced exclusively from Sangiovese grapes picked by hand from the oldest vines in the farm. After being aged in wood, the wine is bottle aged: this is an essential process in guaranteeing the pleasantness and the complexity that have made the Brunello di Montalcino world-famous. Ruby red in color, with a very intense, persistent nose and with red fruit notes. Warm, balanced flavour with velvet-smooth tannins. Long-lasting aroma.