“It’s fair to say we’ve been both bold and lucky.” This quote from Luca Marrone, enologist of both Poggio di Sotto and Tenuta San Giorgio in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, resonated with me throughout my tastings. Especially when you consider that the majority of producers thought of 2016 as a perfect vintage. Granted, it’s important to keep in mind that, from north to south and east to west, Montalcino has many different elevations, soils and expositions. In the case of both Poggio di Sotto and Tenuta San Giorgio, the challenges of 2016 came in the form of heavy rains which affected them throughout the warm summer months. The lucky part had to do with their southern location, the never-ending breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea through the Orcia Valley to the west and cold-air flows from Monte Amiata, which helped keep vines well ventilated, protecting the grapes from mildew. The bold part had to do with keeping more bunches on the vines to evenly distribute water, but also in splitting the harvest up between the two estates in three stages, taking in fruit to fuel the 2016 Poggio di Sotto Brunello in the first half of September, then another harvest of ripe berries after the mid-September rains, followed by one last berry-by-berry harvest a week later. As a result, the wines of the two estates, with vineyards that share similar elevations and expositions (South-West for Poggio di Sotto and South-East for Tenuta San Giorgio), couldn’t be more different. That said, each of them have their qualities and are standouts in the 2016 vintage.
During the spring season, sunny and mild weather alternated with rainy days and sudden thermal downturns. This trend has continued until June. July and August were more regular, with some rain and relatively high temperatures. The dry weather of the second half of August and the vast differences in temperatures during night and day in this period has been a blessing for the perfect ripeness we achieved in the historic vineyards in the first half of September, from which we got the wines for the Brunello. The result is a combination of gentle and powerful expression and classic austerity, with deep and lively aromas. Of remarkable freshness, elegance and persistence.
Leonardo Berti, Winemaker
