Castello di Monsanto Il Poggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2017
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
From the Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Tuscany Region in Italy, this Chianti Classico is made from Hand picked grapes selected at the optimum moment of the vintage. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel at controlled temperatures with about 25 days of skin contact. Ruby red in color, tending towards garnet. Intensely aromatic and complex with strong aromas of black cherry and apricot fruit. Full bodied with rich blackberry fruit flavors, an elegant mouthfeel and a strong backbone of tannins.
This red wine is an exceptional compliment to red meat, roasts, and game.
Blend: 95% Sangiovese; 5% Canaiolo & Colorino
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
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.
-
Wine Spectator
Eucalyptus and iron accents frame the core of cherry and raspberry fruit in this intense, powerful red. Strikes a balance between fruit and savory elements, with plenty of ripe fruit midpalate, followed by a long finish of mineral, underbrush and tobacco. Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino. Best after 2024.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Poggio has a soft and supple perfume of baked red cherry, cinnamon, incense, and roses. It is medium-bodied, with a silky texture throughout, fine-grained tannins, and warming spice on the finish. It is a lovely wine. Initially, it felt like it was beginning to show signs of maturity on opening with its pillowing and sunny fruit, but it held up wonderfully and improved over several days.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Laura Bianchi and her team make exceptional wine, and I am always happy to recommend Castello di Monsanto. The 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Il Poggio exhibits a dark garnet color, although there is less shiny luster in this hot vintage. Ripe aromas of baked plum, raspberry tart and strawberry confit rise from the bouquet. The fruit is complemented by lightly toasted spice. With fruit from 5.2-hectares with galestro-rich soils,
Other Vintages
2018-
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
The Castello di Monsanto estate was established by Fabrizio Bianchi in the hillsides of Barberino Val d’Elsa in the province of Florence in the north-central reaches of the Chianti Classico denomination. Bianchi worked to clear a vineyard he named “Il Poggio” (“The Hill”), which would be utilized for production of a single vineyard wine riserva, the first example in Chianti Classico. Always the pioneer, Bianchi began to eliminate the white varieties, Malvasia and Trebbiano, from his Chianti Classico in 1968, preferring to use only the traditional red varieties of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino.
Cellar innovations in the early years included Slovenian casks for aging, instead of old chestnut barrel, as well as the introduction of stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Furthermore, Castello di Monsanto harvested the first 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, ‘Nemo,’ from the ‘Il Mulino’ vineyard. Today, the Monsanto estate totals 500 acres, of which slightly more than half are woods, while olive orchards occupy an additional 37 acres. Vineyards, situated between 800 and 1,000 feet above sea level, account for 175 acres. Three quarters of the plantings are Sangiovese, the basis for Chianti Classico, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the next most widely planted varieties.
One of the most impressive components of Castello di Monsanto is the cellar and its underground tunnel, some 820 feet in length that serves as an aging cellar as well for a potential total of 1,500 barriques. This cave system, one of the most dazzling in all of Italy, took six years to build by hand. The gallery, connecting the new cellar with the original, is located underneath the castle and dates back to 1740.
Today, Fabrizio Bianchi and his daughter, Laura, represent the tradition and elegance that have been associated with the estate throughout its existence. “Il Poggio” was not just an innovation back in 1962; it truly represented a new vision for Chianti Classico. Today, each new vintage is eagerly anticipated as one of the very best bottlings of this wine type.
Each of the wines of Castello di Monsanto, from the award-winning Chianti Classico Riserva, to ‘Nemo’, a Super Tuscan, to the lush and exotic Vin Santo ‘La Chimera’, are true Tuscan treasures. Simply what you would expect from Castello di Monsanto, the grand jewel in the heart of Tuscany.