Col D'Orcia : Poggio al Vento Riserva 2013

This shows ripeness and richness of fruit. It’s full-bodied with juicy fruit and a savory finish. Verges on jammy, yet there’s tension and freshness with orange-peel and floral undertones. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.

Certified organic by Suolo e Salute. Just mid ruby with a bricky rim. Still a little closed and more mineral-stony than fruity. Opens up to fine balsamic notes. Just the merest suggestion of cherry pie. Super-elegant and long with clinging, fine tannins. Tactile and complex. At the beginning of its evolution. (WS)

Clear, intense garnet red. Very inviting and intense nose of cranberries and pomegranate, some saffron, juicy, fresh cherry. Pithy, very well-placed tannins on the palate, fine sweet texture, lingers long, very juicy, has potential for many years.

Poggio al Vento is only produced in exceptional vintages from a selection of the best grapes from a seven-hectare area of old vines. The 2013 Poggio al Vento Brunello Riserva opens with buoyant, lifted aromatics of fresh red plum, dried Mediterranean herbs, dried roses, and dusty earth. The palate is more linear, with tangy red plum, tea leaf, and thyme. The 2013 still has plenty of tannic grip, but acidity has the edge here. It was aged for four years in French and Slavonian casks before bottling. Enjoy over the next fifteen years, 2022–2036.

Aromas of underbrush, wild berry, leather, camphor and Mediterranean herb waft out of the glass. The full-bodied palate is still young and primary but shows great aging potential, delivering juicy red cherry, pomegranate, licorice and tobacco set against firm tannins while bright acidity keeps it balanced. Drink 2023–2043.

This is Col d'Orcia's top-shelf wine that was skipped over in the difficult 2014 vintage. The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento sets this venerable Riserva program squarely back on track thanks to its balanced intensity and classic lines. Like in the other Sangiovese-based wines from this historic Montalcino estate, this wine is distinguished by those estate-specific savory and sanguine notes that recall rusty nail or iron, all followed by balsam herb, powdered licorice and even a touch of eucalyptus oil. The wine's texture is medium in weight and ultimately this expression is more buoyant in mouthfeel than you might initially expect of a wine that has aged for this long. Some 15,500 bottles will be released in January 2020.