It’s been a few years since I tasted the 2001 Poggio.  As part of my cellar-moving I decided to open this one up to pair with some seared Strip steaks, a tomato salad with Balsamic infused onion strips.

For a seventeen year old wine it shows off nicely in the glass- full purple, no sign of bricking and quite opaque.  The nose, OMG, what a nose.  This is textbook aged Sangiovese, reminiscent of old Burgundian Pinot Noir.  Leather, cedar box, tobacco, cassis and more, it just keeps coming.  On the palate I am in love with the Old Worldness of this wine.  It gushes with bramble, black berries, the tobacco, leather and cedar along with black tea and olives.  Immense and rather concentrated, this wine is amazing, can you tell I’m liking it?

This is what makes cellaring a wine so worthwhile.  The earthiness is profound, the freshness- still lively.  Fruit, tertiary flavors, integrated tannins and perfect acidity.  What more could you ask for?  It begs for lighter fare to enable the nuances to come out, I almost regret the seasoning I coated the steaks with.  This wine will shine by itself in a spectacular fashion.  The finish is long, with more of the black fruits coming out again. Amazing.  96 points from me for this apparently still young wine.  The major difference I noted between the last time is that the much lighter Cherry notes were now replaced with heavier, more brooding fruits.  I paid $35 for it awhile back, wishing I had bought more than the 2 bottles that I have now drunk.  5 stars for sure.  Drink till 2025.  Salut….

The first thing I noticed was the length of the cork.  It was super long, Magnum size.  Made me wonder…  In the glass this wine is somewhat opaque with a lighter purple hue. On the nose it offers tart cherry, red berries and muted barnyard.  On the palate I get some really refreshing strawberry and cherry notes.  Crisp acidity and gentle tannins are also present.  The wine is young, very young.  Nutmeg and kirsch appear later on, a strange combination but I’m liking it.  The tannins are really kicking in towards the mid to finish leaving me with a very dry sensation on the seemingly long finish.  More classic Sangiovese flavors of tobacco and leather are evident in small amounts but the main thrust is the dominant cherry.  Delicious, but I would love to see evolution, say another 5 years minimum.  92 points from me and for the hefty $80 price tag, 4 stars.  If you are a cellaring type, this one will rock a roasted Cornish Hen some day.  Salut….

I have said it before, Sangiovese reminds me of Pinot Noir. It looks like Pinot, smells like Pinot and in many cases tastes like Pinot.  This particular wine starts off a little different.  It is dark, opaque and and brooding.

On the nose, I am confused.  Tar, dark fruits and a leather component would make me guess Tempranillo, for sure.  The initial tastes confirm what my nose suspected.  This wine acts like it came straight from Rioja.  Earth, gaminess, dark plums and bramble along with the creosote.  It all points to an extraction and aging issue.  This wine has been made in a different style that had me fooled.  It is delicious, no doubt, but atypical.  The mid palate is bursting with blueberry and dark plums along with the earthiness.  The finish is more blue than black fruits.  Tannins are very lithe, acidity is very mellow and the alcohol level is a mild 12.5%.  89 points from me and 5 stars because you can pick it up for $9!  Enjoy alone or with pasta, charcuterie or even veal parmesan.  Drink now till 2020.  Salut….