After an encounter during a tasting some 7 years ago, I decided to bury my bottles, way back in the cellar. Today, this is an unusually dark, concentrated and brooding Chianti. Notes of scorched earth, graphite, dark fruit, ink, Aceto Balsamico, dried herbs and Cuban cigars dominate the nose. The palate is extremely well balanced and the finish long and rewarding, while high levels of ripe soft tannines and mellow acidity provide structure. Magnificent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clear dark red. Very earthy dark fruit, black cherry, warm earth, dries meat, salami and singed thyme nose. Dry powerful warm dark fruit flavours and a tight dry tannic finish.
Powerful stuff. Not as elegant as the del Sorbo that came after it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Double decanted 2 hours prior to consumption. Soaring aromatics of sappy cherry. Lovely cherry fruit complemented by earth and a tiny hint of road tar. Fairly tart with nice grippy tannins. This should hold for years. A beautiful wine. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A blend of Sangiovese (95%), Canaiolo and Colorino. Fermented and macerated with the skins for 20-22 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged for approximately 18 months in partly new 500-liter demi-muids. 14% alcohol.
Quite deep, dark and only very little translucent blackish-red color with an evolved maroon hue. Somewhat restrained nose with aromas of dusty earth and asphalt, some wizened black cherries, a little bit of dried figs and raisiny fruit, light licorice tones, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of blood. The wine is ripe, silky and juicy on the palate with a full body and moderately evolved flavors of sweet, dark fruits, tobacco, some bitter sour cherry and lingonberry tones, a little bit of wizened cranberries, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and dates, an umami hint of meat stew and a touch of peppery spice. The overall feel is pretty structured, thanks to the high acidity and ample, grippy tannins. The finish is long, quite savory and rather tannic with flavors of peppery spice, sour cherry bitterness, meaty umami, some wizened cranberry tones, a little bit of toasty oak spice, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and figs, a hint of charred game and a touch of dusty, sun-baked earth.
A savory and rather sunny Chianti Classico Riserva that doesn't feel super-ripe, but certainly has a solar quality to it, lending a somewhat roasted feel to the flavors. There's a lot of good stuff here - especially the combination of impressive structure and bold yet not overdone fruit - but the wine is still not a bullseye. Although this wine is very lean, sinewy and well-proportioned in a world of jammy, overripe wines, this nevertheless feels a bit too roasted, sunny and extracted for a Chianti Classico - it might not be that obvious when drunk alone, but in our tasting of 12 Chianti Classicos, this wine felt a bit "too much", if it makes sense. Nevertheless, this is a terrific wine that is in a great spot right now. Structurally the wine might continue to soften with age, but aromatically the wine seemed like it is very close to its apogee and I suspect that any development in this department is going to remain pretty limited. Drink or keep.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, definitely the best Chianti I’ve ever had, and clear wine of the year for me. Beautiful nose of raspberry and cherry preserves, fresh cut wood, mushrooms, and dried leaves. Must have sat and just let the aromas wash over me for 10 or 15 minutes. Similar flavor profile, soft and deep, with just enough acidity and tartness to let you know it’s Chianti. Decently lingering finish. Glad I held this - in the perfect drinking window for me and would probably be for several more years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
One hour decant. Deep red in color. Red cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and vanilla on the nose and palate. Medium finish with mild tannins present. This wine is drinking nicely. It has many years remaining.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not very obvious age in the glass, but on the other hand a very delicious, complex, and balanced nose that is actually a little hard to describe. It starts with a walk in the forest with a cup of black tea in one hand and a mix of dark cherries and orange peel in the other. Imagine the tea being slightly replaced by an espresso and the fruit by balsamic vinegar. Poignant tannins and fairly high acidity. Long finish. I really like this wine!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP then drunk over three evenings. Lighter, better balanced and fresher than other Chianti Riserva I had recently, but still this has serious power and density in the mid-palate, with a bitter edge, that was a bit too much for me. Better with food than on its own, I will wait some more years before opening the next bottle. This didn't bulge much till the third day. Only the very last sip showed a hint of oxidation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beatiful and quite dense fruit here, the vintage speaks. Very much alive with cherries galore, and it grows in glass, showing much harmony - a favourite today. 93+. #At SøllerødKro
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I tried this a year ago, and it bit - way too unbalanced and acidic. Perhaps it was the bottle. But a year later, and another bottle, this wine is in a really nice place with firm tannins balanced by good fruit and nice acidity (unlike last year's acidic mess). Yay!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lovely nose with vanilla, amarena cherries and summerday on the heath. On the palate the amarena cherries are let loose together with very well controlled tannins and perfect acidity.
Large, concentrated and tight cc. Impressive package. Great intensity in the mouth and long finish. Too young to drink alone in my opinion. Cherry, leather, cellar...but seems to conseal a lot of the goodies
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A wonderful Chianti, actually one of the best I have ever tasted. The 2006 Monsanto Il Poggio offers deep and profound semi-dark fruit, chocolate and a lovely purity. The palate provides integrated tannins, fruit and acidity, but the different components are clearly visible and expressive. The overall impression is one of powerful elegance. (score is 93-94+) (scored blind without proper food)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This rating is not at all the end of this wine but right know the tightness of the wine is destroying the picture! After 4 hours in the decanter the nose was beginning to open up a little bit with some nice tones of wild red berries and a hint of almost liquorish, the nose had no indication at this point of how tight and hard this wine would be on the palet so it was a bit of a disappointment when tasting the wine after the nose - it was simply so massive and structured and the fruit was so far behind that it was almost not possible to locate. Although the palet was smoothe and round it just did not open up any pleasant fruit-tones at all and this destroyed the total picture! On the finish the spices shoved and a bit of blackberries almost cabernet-like but again the tannins and the tightness of the wine closed it all together and one was left with a mixed feeling! I left a glass in the bottle for a retry on day 2 and this had helped quite a bit and the cherry was more forward know showing its origin but all in all if you want this wine to show its potential you will need to keep it in your cellar for at least 7-10 years!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Gambero Rosso (Metropolitan Pavilion): The 2006 Il Poggio was Tuscany personified as aromas of animal musk, spice, wild berries and forest notes wafted up from the glass. On the palate, this wine showed wild red berries and autumnal notes with a mouth-feel of pure silk. The finish was long in sour berry and spice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
8/10/2023 - jkoenen wrote: 95 Points
After an encounter during a tasting some 7 years ago, I decided to bury my bottles, way back in the cellar.
Today, this is an unusually dark, concentrated and brooding Chianti. Notes of scorched earth, graphite, dark fruit, ink, Aceto Balsamico, dried herbs and Cuban cigars dominate the nose. The palate is extremely well balanced and the finish long and rewarding, while high levels of ripe soft tannines and mellow acidity provide structure.
Magnificent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/24/2023 - Achermann Does not like this wine: 91 Points
Still consistent with previous tasting notes - though this time compared to the 2017 vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2022 - David J Cooper wrote: 93 Points
Clear dark red. Very earthy dark fruit, black cherry, warm earth, dries meat, salami and singed thyme nose. Dry powerful warm dark fruit flavours and a tight dry tannic finish.
Powerful stuff. Not as elegant as the del Sorbo that came after it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/10/2022 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Dark and polished with expansive and lavish fruit. The kind of wine that makes you feel spoiled (in the best way). Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/7/2021 - winemaker Likes this wine: 95 Points
Double decanted 2 hours prior to consumption. Soaring aromatics of sappy cherry. Lovely cherry fruit complemented by earth and a tiny hint of road tar. Fairly tart with nice grippy tannins. This should hold for years. A beautiful wine. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/7/2021 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points
A blend of Sangiovese (95%), Canaiolo and Colorino. Fermented and macerated with the skins for 20-22 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged for approximately 18 months in partly new 500-liter demi-muids. 14% alcohol.
Quite deep, dark and only very little translucent blackish-red color with an evolved maroon hue. Somewhat restrained nose with aromas of dusty earth and asphalt, some wizened black cherries, a little bit of dried figs and raisiny fruit, light licorice tones, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of blood. The wine is ripe, silky and juicy on the palate with a full body and moderately evolved flavors of sweet, dark fruits, tobacco, some bitter sour cherry and lingonberry tones, a little bit of wizened cranberries, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and dates, an umami hint of meat stew and a touch of peppery spice. The overall feel is pretty structured, thanks to the high acidity and ample, grippy tannins. The finish is long, quite savory and rather tannic with flavors of peppery spice, sour cherry bitterness, meaty umami, some wizened cranberry tones, a little bit of toasty oak spice, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and figs, a hint of charred game and a touch of dusty, sun-baked earth.
A savory and rather sunny Chianti Classico Riserva that doesn't feel super-ripe, but certainly has a solar quality to it, lending a somewhat roasted feel to the flavors. There's a lot of good stuff here - especially the combination of impressive structure and bold yet not overdone fruit - but the wine is still not a bullseye. Although this wine is very lean, sinewy and well-proportioned in a world of jammy, overripe wines, this nevertheless feels a bit too roasted, sunny and extracted for a Chianti Classico - it might not be that obvious when drunk alone, but in our tasting of 12 Chianti Classicos, this wine felt a bit "too much", if it makes sense. Nevertheless, this is a terrific wine that is in a great spot right now. Structurally the wine might continue to soften with age, but aromatically the wine seemed like it is very close to its apogee and I suspect that any development in this department is going to remain pretty limited. Drink or keep.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2021 - winemaker Likes this wine: 95 Points
Fully mature. Gorgeous! Previous notes apply. Has everything one could want in CCR!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2021 - Achermann Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes but this bottle had more obvious signs of aging. Drink in the next couple of years, making room for the 2016.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2020 - Doug Fir Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow, definitely the best Chianti I’ve ever had, and clear wine of the year for me. Beautiful nose of raspberry and cherry preserves, fresh cut wood, mushrooms, and dried leaves. Must have sat and just let the aromas wash over me for 10 or 15 minutes. Similar flavor profile, soft and deep, with just enough acidity and tartness to let you know it’s Chianti. Decently lingering finish. Glad I held this - in the perfect drinking window for me and would probably be for several more years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/22/2020 - winemaker Likes this wine: 95 Points
Stunning, gorgeous Chianti. Looks young. Deep and complex. Cherry, earth, long finish. I agree with Achermann's previous note. I love this wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2019 - SeaSmoke wrote: 91 Points
One hour decant. Deep red in color. Red cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and vanilla on the nose and palate. Medium finish with mild tannins present. This wine is drinking nicely. It has many years remaining.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/14/2019 - Achermann Likes this wine: 94 Points
Not very obvious age in the glass, but on the other hand a very delicious, complex, and balanced nose that is actually a little hard to describe. It starts with a walk in the forest with a cup of black tea in one hand and a mix of dark cherries and orange peel in the other. Imagine the tea being slightly replaced by an espresso and the fruit by balsamic vinegar. Poignant tannins and fairly high acidity. Long finish. I really like this wine!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/29/2018 - winemaker Likes this wine:
Young. Not as ready to drink as the 2004.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2017 - Iconic hunter wrote: 90 Points
Spicy, meaty, plumy, inky, good medium weight in palate with long finish and the classic austere tannin of Chianti. 90-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/13/2017 - gilrbo wrote:
PnP then drunk over three evenings.
Lighter, better balanced and fresher than other Chianti Riserva I had recently, but still this has serious power and density in the mid-palate, with a bitter edge, that was a bit too much for me. Better with food than on its own, I will wait some more years before opening the next bottle. This didn't bulge much till the third day. Only the very last sip showed a hint of oxidation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/9/2017 - beatles wrote: 93 Points
Beatiful and quite dense fruit here, the vintage speaks. Very much alive with cherries galore, and it grows in glass, showing much harmony - a favourite today. 93+. #At SøllerødKro
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/21/2016 - peterk wrote: 89 Points
I tried this a year ago, and it bit - way too unbalanced and acidic. Perhaps it was the bottle. But a year later, and another bottle, this wine is in a really nice place with firm tannins balanced by good fruit and nice acidity (unlike last year's acidic mess). Yay!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/10/2016 - qourtofsommelier wrote: 89 Points
Light body chianti, great with pasta. Low acidity, smooth but long finish, semi dry not complex at all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2015 - peterk Does not like this wine:
Way too much acid for my palate. Even after 2 days. Will try another bottle. If the same, will toss.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/24/2015 - elledeca wrote:
Very classic nose of plum, coffee and bay leaf. Cedar in the mouth, fine tannins...good but will improve
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2014 - moro7691 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Beautiful nose, complex, dried cherries, ample midpalate, great example of the appellation. Tannins slightly drying.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/22/2014 - strawbo Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely nose with vanilla, amarena cherries and summerday on the heath.
On the palate the amarena cherries are let loose together with very well controlled tannins and perfect acidity.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
1/5/2013 - larsrog wrote: 90 Points
Large, concentrated and tight cc.
Impressive package. Great intensity in the mouth and long finish.
Too young to drink alone in my opinion. Cherry, leather, cellar...but seems to conseal a lot of the goodies
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2012 - Christoffer78 wrote: 93 Points
A wonderful Chianti, actually one of the best I have ever tasted. The 2006 Monsanto Il Poggio offers deep and profound semi-dark fruit, chocolate and a lovely purity. The palate provides integrated tannins, fruit and acidity, but the different components are clearly visible and expressive. The overall impression is one of powerful elegance. (score is 93-94+) (scored blind without proper food)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/6/2012 - Poggio Al vento wrote: 90 Points
This rating is not at all the end of this wine but right know the tightness of the wine is destroying the picture! After 4 hours in the decanter the nose was beginning to open up a little bit with some nice tones of wild red berries and a hint of almost liquorish, the nose had no indication at this point of how tight and hard this wine would be on the palet so it was a bit of a disappointment when tasting the wine after the nose - it was simply so massive and structured and the fruit was so far behind that it was almost not possible to locate. Although the palet was smoothe and round it just did not open up any pleasant fruit-tones at all and this destroyed the total picture! On the finish the spices shoved and a bit of blackberries almost cabernet-like but again the tannins and the tightness of the wine closed it all together and one was left with a mixed feeling! I left a glass in the bottle for a retry on day 2 and this had helped quite a bit and the cherry was more forward know showing its origin but all in all if you want this wine to show its potential you will need to keep it in your cellar for at least 7-10 years!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2011 - hubas wrote: 89 Points
Very good traditional chianti
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/18/2011 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 94 Points
Gambero Rosso (Metropolitan Pavilion): The 2006 Il Poggio was Tuscany personified as aromas of animal musk, spice, wild berries and forest notes wafted up from the glass. On the palate, this wine showed wild red berries and autumnal notes with a mouth-feel of pure silk. The finish was long in sour berry and spice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment