Poggio di Sotto

This is to me BY FAR the best from Brunello made. I can’t imagine a better one. I am asking that
the people who set prices make this wine cheaper so that I can buy lots of it. I was fortunate a few years ago to have several bottles of the 2010 and some others older.

I have tasted many Brunellos including some very old
Biondi Santis. Poggio di Sotto is the best. Period.

I am open to being convinced I am wrong.

Don, while I have PdS firmly in the group of top wineries in Montalcino my choice is always Soldera as THE best. The fact that Guilio Gambelli worked with both Palmucci and Soldera is evident in their to some extent similar profile but Soldera has, to me, that little extra twist that makes it unique.

BTW, the Rosso 2006 from PdS is a fantastic wine, still drinking beautifully and better than most Brunellos from that vintage.

My question is if the Brunello and Brunella Riserva are too expensive for me, is the Rosso worth it? Because at that price I can buy almost any other Brunello or Sangiovese…

I love Poggio di Sotto, and the Rosso is great, although certainly pricey. Worth it? Hard to say, but never regretted buying one.

-Al

In my opinion, yes, but the classic vintages need to be aged.

Yes, absolutely, without fail, yes…just don’t go buying up so much that I can’t get a few bottles too!

I‘ve had Poggio di Sotto and Soldera several times side by side and for my taste Soldera is head and shoulders above Poggio di Sotto, if not on another planet.
I‘ve trained with Piero Palmucci roughly twenty years ago. He was an admiror of Soldera and for a while he visited Case Basse on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, these two characters didn‘t get along for too long time. Although Palmucci put his money in the right place and did impecable work in the vineyards Poggio di Sotto never reached the level of Soldera. IMHO of course.
I haven‘t tasted the wines of Poggio di Sotto since Claudio Tipa bought the place but I wouldn‘t spend the money these wines cost nowadays, seeing at what winemaking has become around Montalcino in the last years. Many good stuff for reasonable prices.

Anders,

Which Brunellos do you feel are worth the tarriff now?
Thanks

In the north-east, despite change in the ownership and rise of prices, Baricci is still representative of Montòsoli and reasonable priced.
I would put Brunelli/Le Chiuse di Sotto there as well as they have vines in Montosoli as well as near Castelnuovo. Laura is doing a very good job in pursuing the work Gianni started.
In the south-east there are few who know the soils there as well as Andrea Macchetti who makes the wines at Mastrojanni. Personally I go for the regular Brunello, I have yet to be convinced that the lieu-dits are as good as their price up-marks.
Then there is Andrea Cortonesi at Uccelliera who does good work and is priced decently, although his vineyards are on the low side of Castelnuovo dell‘Abate and might suffer from the heat, I haven‘t tasted his wines in a while.
In the center Fuligni is on a good run, the 2016 regular Brunello is terrific.
In south-west in Sant‘Angelo in Colle the wines of Riccardo Talenti are on a price/quality ratio that is ecceptional.
These are just some Brunellos I feel are worth the tarrif now. I could easily add Piancornello, Poggione and other. I have to admit that also San Giuseppe, which I was sceptical towards for a long time, do make some outstanding wines nowadays, at least from the limited sample I have tasted (2012, 2015; not convinced of 2004, 2007)

And of course, for me, Biondi Santi is a no-brainer (1998 outstanding, 2004 very good, not happy with 2015)

More for you then Don!

I sold these wines for a few years and got to try everything from 2007-2012. Eric Guido loves them and has poured me some other notable vintages, but I don’t think I’ve had anything younger than 1990. I feel like the new owners have modernized the style a bit too much for my liking, and I never really felt like the wines delivered for the price. I have no interest in arguing about it, I will just move on and enjoy it when others give me the opportunity to taste them.

This, plus Livio Sassetti, are pretty much my buy list in most good/solid vintages. I also occasionally pick up Conti Costanti, Canalicchio di Sopra, Stella di Campalto and Ciacci Piccolomini ‘Pianrosso’.

I’m rethinking Uccelliera a bit. It’s definitely the most ‘modern’ and ‘international’ in style of the wines on this list (dark-but-polished, with a plush-and-fruity appeal on release…somewhat akin to Casanova di Neri’s Tenuta Nuova, or any number of IGT “Super Tuscans”), and a great wine for New World fans looking to make a first connection with Brunello. While I enjoy the wine on release, and (as noted above) remains fairly reasonable in price, it does lose that initial “guilty pleasure” appeal of dark and spicy fruit, after which I am not convinced that it remains in my top tier (and I haven’t seen clear evidence that it becomes anything special with additional aging).

There are plenty of very good Brunellos in the $50-$70 range, so I do begin to question my annual purchases when they begin to cross the $80 threshold, and some of the above are approaching (or exceeding) that range (e.g. Fuligni, and Conti Costanti) and at least one (Stella di Campalto) is now well beyond what I’m willing to spend (but it is delicious, and if you’re willing to pay well over $100 for wines like Cerbaiona, Biondi-Santi, Poggio di Sotto, etc., you may find Stella di Campalto to be a good “QPR”. One man’s QPR is another man’s “prohibitively expensive”).

Uccelliera is also a little glossy/edging modern for my taste. I don’t think I’ve even had Soldera.

-Al

In the upper end of prices Salvioni is also a sure bet to me. Cerbaiona with Molinari as well, more uncertain now with the new ownership. And Il Maronnetto shines in 2016 - a very very fine wine.

Ok guys, so what is it about Soldera that makes it so much better?

For me Soldera has an unique balance and etheral lightness to it while at the same time there is plenty of concentration and structure. It is, to me, the essence of a great wine, delivering emotional pleasure as well as sensory pleasure.
Yes, I visited Gianfranco some 15 years ago and have been a fascinated fan for even longer and I think I’ve tasted every wine made back to 1979, apart from a couple of Rosso’s I believe has been produced.
Sorry but I can’t make it more tangible - simply one of the few truly great wines of the world IMHO.

Have you had the 2016 Uccelliera by any chance?

my top 5 are Soldera, Stella Di Campalto, Salvioni la Cerbaiona, Poggio Di Sotto and Cerbaiona di Diego Molinari

Don’t think so. I used to taste them at a wine shop with themed tastings.

-Al

Bummer, I guess that price and quality are correlated!
I’ve generally assumed that these are a poor value proposition FOR ME, so haven’t even tried some on your list. That said, I don’t doubt their excellence, and do indeed like the handful of Salvioni I’ve tried. This thread is making me reconsider my buying strategy that focuses only on mid-priced brunello.