2003 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio

Community Tasting Notes (23) Avg Score: 91.4 points

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  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.
  
  Very dark and deep maroon color that permits relatively little color through. Big, rich and somewhat wizened nose with sweetly-fruited aromas of raisins and wizened black cherries, some prune juice, a little bit of dried dates, light thinner notes of alcohol, a hint of pipe tobacco and a touch of balsamic richness. The wine feels full-bodied, concentrated and quite structured on the palate with obvious sense of ripeness, yet the wine doesn't feel one bit overripe, unlike so many other Tuscan 2003 wines. Dry flavors of wizened black cherries, some old leather notes, a little bit of peppery spice, light lifted notes of balsamico, sweeter dried-fruit hints of raisins and dates and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. The overall feel is very structured and quite tightly-knit with the high acidity and quite tough, assertive tannins. The finish is ripe, juicy and slightly sweet with firm, grippy tannins and rather long flavors of wizened black cherries, some pruney tones, a little bit of balsamic richness, light raisiny fruit, a hint of pipe tobacco and a touch of old leather.
  
  I was expecting an overripe, boozy mess of a wine from this 2003 vintage, but unlike many of its peers, this Il Poggio 2003 doesn't really show any signs of the exceptionally hot vintage. Instead it is remarkably dry, fresh and balanced in style, just like a great Chianti Classico should be - only perhaps a bit bigger and more muscular than Il Poggio normally is. It's hard to say whether the dried-fruit notes are the result of the vintage, bottle age or both, but fortunately they never manage to dominate. There's still a lot of stuffing here and most likely the wine will continue to improve for a good number of years. One of the best 2003 Italian wines I've tasted. Terrific stuff, highly recommended.

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  8/17/2018 - RichardP wrote: 92 Points

  Another excellent bottle, right at its peak, with lush Sangiovese cherry and earth. This will hold for a few years, but it won't get better. The Cellartracker drinking window looks about right.

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  8/5/2018 - RichardP wrote: 92 Points

  Cherry and strawberry with savory, earthy notes on the medium to long finish, with no noticeable tannins and strong acidity. This is excellent, but it's probably nearing the end of its life; the Cellartracker drinking window looks right in this case. I will plan to drink my last few bottles over the next year.

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  1/1/2018 - GregB57 Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Drinking really nicely now. Great balance. Still has some tannins but I’ll be drinking my last one in the next year. Excellent with mule deer and shitake mushroom sauce. The earthiness of the wine matched well with the venison and shrooms.

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  3/15/2017 - Philippe_C wrote: 90 Points

  Classic nose of iodine, fresh acidity, red strawberries, spicy with hints of bacon... taste is super high acidity typical to Chianti, red cranberries, very traditional well made Chianti... needs food!!!

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