Poggio Antico Altero Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2017 Red Wine

Poggio Antico Altero Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2017

Tuscany, Italy

94 pts. James Suckling:

"Fresh and really beautiful for a 2017 with so much drinkability and approachability. It’s full and layered with medium tannins and a delicious finish."

94 pts. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

"The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Altero (with 8,000 bottles made) represent a clear step up in intensity and balance compared to the thinner annata wine. It also offers a dense nucleus of dark fruit with blackcurrant and plum, along with some background spice, tar and smoke. Altero sources its fruit from I Poggi and Il Vignone at the highest elevations (at 500 meters above sea level). These cool growing spots have served the wine well in this hot vintage in terms of preserving aromas and freshness. Best after 2024."

94 pts.Wine Spectator:

"Ripe, lush and expressive, this red features cherry, plum, earth, iron and tobacco flavors, with a solid line of tannins providing support. Long, picking up herbal accents on the finish. Fine balance. Best from 2025."

FROM THE WINERY

Produced for the first time in 1983, it has been a Brunello DOCG since 1995 thanks to a modification to the disciplinary that reduced aging in wood to a minimum of 2 years. A classic and contemporary expression of Brunello that has gained great fame abroad, especially in the United States.

Varietal Composition: 100% Sangiovese

Elaboration: A cold soak was done for 3 days. The fermentation lasted 10 days with temperatures never exceeding 28°C and was followed by a 20-day maceration. Aged for 30 months in French oak tonneaux (500 l), followed by 18 months of bottle refinement.

Tasting Notes: Juicy red currants, cherries, and sprigs of fresh rosemary are robed in vanilla and baking spice with just a wisp of smoke.

Poggio Antico was founded in 1976 and consists of 50 clay, calcareous acres of Brunello di Montalcino. The estate has seen a phenomenal growth, going from 50 to the present 80 acres under vine, developing two parallel Brunello worlds – the more traditional, larger-barrel Brunello, aged longer in Slavonian oak and the modern, finesse-driven Altero, aged in tonneaux of French oak; securing a stellar position in the global market and extending and upgrading the facility to ultrahigh-tech standards. In 2017 Poggio Antico changed hands and was purchased by Atlas Invest, and it is now directed by the new General Manager Federico Trost. Poggio Antico recently lead a soil survey to approach the plot-by-plot management which started with the 2018 vintage by identifying, and consequently harvesting and fermenting separately, the micro terroirs inside each vineyard. All the estate is currently under organic conversion and a renovation of the cellar and of the hospitality center are part of the new plans.