Poggiarellino
Old-school Brunello from a tiny estate on the northern slope near Altesino — wild cherry, earth and game, made by a couple who came to winemaking late and never looked back.
Poggiarellino sits below the plateau in the north of Montalcino, near Altesino, on a high, south-west-facing slope. Ludovico Ginotti and his wife Anna inherited the property and took up winemaking in retirement — he had sold insurance in Siena, she had taught school — making about fifty cases as a trial in 1997. The grapes had always gone to neighbours; today the estate bottles around 500 cases a year.
The wine has taken on an almost legendary status with our customers. It is traditional to the core: wild cherry, earth and game, firm tannins, no concession to fashion, and a Riserva in the great years that is a throwback to a style of Brunello becoming harder and harder to find. The Rosso di Montalcino is the same site in a crunchier, younger form.