Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Poggio, Castello di Monsanto

Concentrated, vivid fruit to this, with an intense nose of morello cherries, cassis, baked strawberries, grilled herbs, licorice and semi-dried tomatoes. Lemon zest, too. Medium-to full-bodied with ripe, integrated tannins. Long and delicious. Fantastic depth and energy.

Il Poggio-marken leverer år efter år vidunderlig vin fra zonens øverste hylde, og det gælder selv i de svære år som 2017. Det slår denne vin atter to streger under. Familien har lavet den siden 1962, og den er - berettiget - en af områdets ikoniske vine - ikke mindst kendt for sin utrolige holdbarhed. 1968’eren var stadig i fuldt vigør, da jeg var heldig at smage den for et par år siden. 2017 har måske ikke samme monumentale skarphed og faste kerne som eksempelvis 2010’eren, men mindre kan også gøre det, og man kan bruge lang tid på at dykke ned i 2017’erens vanedannede univers. Fuldkommen ubesværet intensitet og nerve her. Lækker, tobakket frugtsødme går hånd i hånd med muldet kompleksitet fra start til slut. Smagen er forbandet harmonisk, ingen hårde kanter her, og finalen har de sødeste tanniner. Noget af en præstation, det må jeg sige. - Morten Bundgaard

With vines ranging from 25 to 45 years old, Monsanto’s six-hectare Il Poggio site is divided into three parcels that ripen up to one week apart. They are vinified separately and assessed after ageing to determine what makes it into the final blend. While extroverted on the nose - expressing peppery juniper, tarragon and iron - Il Poggio 2016 is still rigid, firm and linear on the palate. Compact and full, it will need more time to unfold. For now, it hints evocatively at a stone-walled herb garden. Powerful and savoury with a sappy finish.

Forventningens glæde er altid... Gu’ er den ej! Il Poggio 2016 er kommet og den overgår mine høje forventninger.(...) 2016eren rykker ind blandt ejendommens fem bedste... måske tre bedste. (...) Buldrende kirsch, der IKKE brænder af alkohol, medicinske urter og aromatiske rødder, campari, tranebærjuice, trækul, mens smagen har den samme friske rødfrugtede naturlighed og varme dom alle de brunelloer, jeg smagte sidste fredag, men... men, men, men, her svævende, vindkølet, der er noget svalt over den, mere smygende saftighed og ja, jeg faldt i fælden og relaterede til bourgogne. Av! Sorry! Det ER chianti classico og det er muligvis den fornemste jeg endnu har smagt fra superårgangen. Den kommer til at holde lige så længe som 82'eren og 68'eren, men jeg kommer ikke til at gemme den så længe. Laura Bianchi og staben fortjener stående ovationer

Balsamic aromas and flavours of juniper, rosemary, sage and loamy earth give way to plum , cherry and iron notes in this dry, powerful red. Burly tannins complete the package. The lasting impression is of ripe fruit, showing some heat ind the balance. This screams terroir and needs time to find equilibrium.

The 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna il Poggio is a beautiful and compelling wine. High-toned floral and savory notes emerge first, with plenty of sage, cedar, sweet pipe tobacco and crushed rose petal aromatics. Pliant and open, the 2015 is already quite showy. It will drink well with minimal cellaring. In fact, it's already pretty expressive. The one thing I would do is open it well in advance to allow some youthful Sangiovese funkiness to blow off. - Antonio Galloni

Still nascent, the 2015 slowly divulges stunning aromas of cherry blossom, blood orange, eucalyptus, and raspberry. It starts out tight and linear then unravels expanding across the palate with ripe woodland berries underscored by slate. Chalky tannins maintain a firm grip throughout. This will continue to deliver its complex nuances for at least a couple of decades.

The 2014 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna il Poggio is going to need a number of years to come into its own, and may very well be the sort of wine that only delivers true pleasure at full maturity, as the tannins are fierce and the acids are piercing. Even so, the 2014 possesses tremendous drive and intensity in its wild, savory Sangiovese flavors and overall structure. Translucent, expressive and beguiling, the 2014 Il Poggio is a winner from Monsanto.

Glänzendes, sattes rubin-granat. Schöne gereifte Nase mit satten Noten nach Brombeeren und dunklen Kirschen. Dann viel Lakritze, etwas zimt, sehr einladend. Kraftvoll und dicht in Ansatz und Verlauf, zeigt viel dichtes, herzhaftes Tannin, sehr gut platziert, reife Beeren-frucht und dezente erdige Noten ergeben ein feines Spiel, sehr langer Nachhall.

The beautiful 2013 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio is drinking very nicely at the moment. This cool vintage wine opens to a darkly saturated appearance with pretty tones of dark berry, cassis, tar, smoke and crushed river stone. Slightly evolved aromas of licorice and road paving add a whole new level of dimension and complexity. - Monica Larner

Monsanto's 2013 Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Il Poggio is a super-classic, if somewhat austere wine, that is going to need at least a few years in bottle to come around. Today, the elements aren't fully put together, especially on the palate, where the wine is quite awkward. Even so, the wine's aromatic intensity and overall persistence make me hopeful for the future. - Antonio Galloni

a 5,5 ha cru on stratified galestro at 310 m. Still shy, but slwly reveals gorgeous scents of mint, redcurrant bush, rosehip an orange peel. Adeceptive lightness of texture belies the underlying concentration. Classically austere, stern tannins and taut acidity, but perfumed nuances of lavender, cherry blossom, cherry pits ad tobacco promise years of enjoyment.

The 2012 Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Il Poggio is dark, sensual and inviting. Silky tannins give the wine immediacy, and sweet red cherry, blood orange, herbs and sweet tobacco are all nicely delineated. Readers will have to give the 2012 at least a few years for the wine to shed some of its youthful intensity. Even so, this looks to be a relatively approachable vintage for Il Poggio that won't need a ton of time be accessible. If opened young, though, the 2012 needs quite a bit of air. - Antonio Galloni

The 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio is a toned and elegant wine with an enormous sense of inner harmony and grace. The wine is splendent in this classic vintage with clear pulses of forest fruit, spice, toasted almond, balsam herb, cola and dark licorice. Those balsam notes are one of the wine's most elegant features because they are delivered at perfect pitch. Silky tannins and bright acidity keep the wine very much alive in the mouth. Castello di Monsanto offers us a very authentic Chianti Classico. Castello di Monsanto is a leading force in one of the least-explored sub zones of the Chianti Classic appellation. Its prestige and reputation is a guarantee for the larger Barberino Val d'Elsa area and my hope is that as these sub zones continue to grow in identity, Castello di Monsanto will enjoy even higher recognition. In my mind, the style presented here (that is more streamlined and elegant) is a blueprint for this exciting area of Chianti Classico. - Monica Larner

I still swoon recollecting this wine - perhaps it was the label that inspired Princess, bride-style adventures. But it is regal - made from well bred fruit, coming from the 5,5 ha single vineyard Il Poggio. Fragrant and graceful with deceptively delicate tannins

The 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Il Poggio is superb, but readers are going to have to be patient, as it is a wine for the cellar. It is quite evident the 2010 has already begun a move into a closed phase, as it is quite shut down in its aromatics. At the same time, the structural profile suggests it will enjoy a long drinking window starting around age 10-12, although that may be optimistic. Energetic, powerful and beautifully layered in the glass - with plenty of translucent energy - the 2010 Il Poggio is a wine to buy and forget about for another decade or so. - Antonio Galloni