Searching online for which is the best Italian wine of the year can become dangerous to one's mental health. Stopping at even the first two pages of Google results one is overwhelmed by a deluge of rankings, star ratings, goblets, opinions, judgments, controversies, and awards, which leaves the average reader with a dizzy feeling and a circle in the head; like a tavernello hangover.
Therefore, to answer our curiosity, we came up with the following. the idea of changing perspective and look at the Italian wine market from the perspective of the First foreign importer of our most prestigious labels: the United States.
Wine Spectator is America's bible for wine enthusiasts and each year sends its editors on a trip to the main wine producing countries to compile report cards that enjoy wide international acclaim. Only in Italy As many as three editors have traveled the length and breadth of the peninsula, doing the most beautiful job in the world: visiting wineries and tasting wines.
The best Italian wine of 2015 for Wine Spectator is the Brunello di Montalcino Il poggione vintage 2010.
An undeserved achievement for the winery that figures among the first in the marketing of Brunello di Montalcino, in the early twentieth century, and is one of the founders of the renowned Consortium. The Il Poggione estate is located in Sant'Angelo in Colle (10 km south of Montalcino). The vineyards are located between 150 and 450 meters above sea level, a variability of altitude that also corresponds to a variability of microclimatic conditions, allowing a better harvest planning and the security of obtaining, in every vintage, wines of excellent structure suitable therefore for long aging.
The wine card (from the website: Tenutailpoggione.it)
Grapes: 100% Sangiovese
Alcohol: 15%
Vineyard: Paganelli Vineyard (planted in 1964)
Harvesting: by hand
Planting type: double inverted
Vinification: 20 days "submerged cap" in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts at a controlled temperature of 25/28 °C. Malolactic fermentation in stainless steel
Aging: 48 months in large 30 and 50 hl French oak barrels, followed by a long period of aging in the bottle
Organoleptic analysis: deep ruby red color; elegant on the nose, with aromas of red fruit, leather and spicy notes; persistent, balanced on the palate, with a long, seductive finish
Food pairings: red meat, game, accompanied by mushrooms or truffles, aged cheeses
Sources: Winespectator.com
