Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino (2016)
SommeliAI Insights
A full-bodied Brunello with rich flavors of dark fruits, spices, and a long, elegant finish.
About this wine
The 2016 Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino from Castello Banfi offers a deep ruby red color with garnet reflections. On the nose, it presents aromas of violets, sweet ripe red fruits, and berries, complemented by hints of cigar box and spices. The palate reveals flavors of plums, cherries, blackberry jam, and raspberries, with a subtle touch of wood. This well-structured wine boasts an extraordinary concentration of fruit, supple tannins, and a long finish. Notably, this Brunello is produced as a single vineyard wine, with select clones nurtured on the slopes surrounding the historic 12th-century fortress, Castello Banfi, highlighting the estate's dedication to quality and tradition.
About the grape
Sangiovese, whose name means "blood of Jove," is a red grape variety that has been cultivated in Italy for centuries. In the mid-19th century, Clemente Santi of Montalcino identified a particular clone of Sangiovese, known as Sangiovese Grosso or Brunello, which produced wines with deeper color and greater aging potential. This clone became the foundation for Brunello di Montalcino wines, which are made exclusively from Sangiovese Grosso grapes. The unique combination of Montalcino's climate and soil allows these grapes to ripen fully, resulting in wines renowned for their complexity and longevity.
Quick facts
- 🏰 The name 'Poggio alle Mura' translates to 'Hill of the Walls,' referring to the 12th-century fortress that crowns the Banfi vineyard estate.
- 🍷 The 2016 vintage of this Brunello di Montalcino received high praise, including a 96-point rating from James Suckling, highlighting its cool, perfumed character with notes of black cherries, flowers, and crushed stones.
- 🔬 Castello Banfi conducted extensive clonal research on Sangiovese, studying over 650 clones to isolate the three optimal ones used in this wine, resulting in a rich and superior Brunello.
- 🛢️ The wine undergoes a unique aging process, spending two years in a combination of French oak barriques and Slavonian oak casks, followed by two years of bottle aging, enhancing its complexity and depth.
- 🍇 The vineyards are situated on stony, sandy topsoil with calcareous subsoil, contributing to the wine's well-structured profile and extraordinary concentration of fruit flavors.
Palate profile
Producer
Castello Banfi, located in Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy, was founded in 1978 by Italian-American brothers John and Harry Mariani. They transformed the historic Poggio alle Mura castle into a state-of-the-art winery, pioneering research on Sangiovese clones to enhance Brunello di Montalcino production. The estate spans approximately 2,830 hectares, with about one-third dedicated to vineyards, and the remainder comprising olive groves, fruit trees, and forests. Notably, in 2007, the fossilized remains of a Pliocene-era whale, estimated to be around 4 million years old, were discovered on the property, highlighting the region's rich geological history.
