Made with certified organic fruit, the Col d'Orcia 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento is open-knit and big both in intensity and mouthfeel. This full-bodied Riserva graces us with budding tertiary notes of tobacco and cured leather, but the ripe and fundamentally very rich fruit of this vintage remains firm at its core. You also get cola, licorice and grilled rosemary. This vineyard site sees ancient soils with an important component of well-draining sand, and this helps to concentrate flavors. The wine's fruit weight is large-scale for sure, and it's more than enough to soften the 15% alcohol in this 25,000-bottle release. A food pairing will require a wintery scene, a roaring fireplace and an important cut of beef.

This is Col d'Orcia's top-shelf wine that was skipped over in the difficult 2014 vintage. The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento sets this venerable Riserva program squarely back on track thanks to its balanced intensity and classic lines. Like in the other Sangiovese-based wines from this historic Montalcino estate, this wine is distinguished by those estate-specific savory and sanguine notes that recall rusty nail or iron, all followed by balsam herb, powdered licorice and even a touch of eucalyptus oil. The wine's texture is medium in weight and ultimately this expression is more buoyant in mouthfeel than you might initially expect of a wine that has aged for this long. Some 15,500 bottles will be released in January 2020.

The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento is a monumental wine from this storied appellation in southern Tuscany. From a warm vintage, this is a deeply textured, rich and succulent rendition of Sangiovese. You taste the exuberant flavors of sun-drenched fruit. However, you also taste some evolution (remember, we are talking about a wine released seven years after the harvest) with tarry notes of toasted spice, licorice and Spanish cedar. This wine ages in large oak casks (of various sizes) for four years followed by an additional two years in bottle. We can look forward to more bottle evolution as the wine moves forward in time. Some 20,000 bottles were made.

Released seven years after the harvest, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento is a stunning wine. It soars to the highest altitudes in terms of elegance and power. These opposite forces—muscle versus grace—are what distinguish this classic vintage. Col d'Orcia has effortlessly captured and immortalized both sides of the continuum. The bouquet produces a long succession of aromas including dried cherry fruit, licorice, cola, lavender flower, cured meat and black truffle. The velvety finish is supple and long in persistence. This is a gorgeous creation.

This is settling into a nice rhythm, boasting fading cherry and strawberry fruit, with leather, tobacco and underbrush flavors. Still on the lean, firm side, but the tannins are slowly being absorbed. This could still use a few years of additional aging. Best from 2017 through 2030. 700 cases made, 90 cases imported.??–BS??Region: Italy / Brunello di Montalcino Select to Add