The finest Brunello, full of grace and finesse
Poggio di Sotto is a winery that represents traditional Brunello di Montalcino. They are the top producers of Brunello, having won the Tre Bicchieri, the highest rating, many times at Gambero Rosso, and boasting an impressive history of awards. The unique, transparent and elegant style created through the traditional method of non-interventionist cultivation and brewing and long-term aging in large old-fashioned barrels continues to fascinate wine lovers both domestically and internationally. Masu.
The best Brunello, where the essence of two legendary people lives on.
Poggio di Sotto was established in 1989 and is a representative maker of traditional Brunello di Montalcino. The person who built the current status of the winery was the previous owner, Mr. Piero Palmucci, who loved wine and dedicated his second life to winemaking. Mr. Palmucci collaborated with the University of Milan to cultivate and brew wine from an academic perspective, including selecting the best Sangiovese clones suited to the soil.
The person in charge of brewing was the late Giulio Gambelli, a famous Italian brewer. He is an outstanding person who has also worked on the best Sangiovese such as Soldella and Le Pergole Torte, and is ranked alongside Mr. Henri Jayet of Burgundy and Mr. Giacomo Takis of Italy. Based on his many years of experience and genius tasting ability, he used traditional methods to bring out the pure charm of Sangiovese, and was known as the ``Master of Sangiovese''.
In 2011, management passed from Mr. Palmucci to Colle Massari. Claudio Tipa, owner of Colle Massari, owns four wineries in Tuscany, including Sotto, and was selected as Gambero Rosso's Best Producer of 2014 for Castello di Colle Massari in DOC Montecucco. It is the top of a prestigious wine family.
Mr. Tipa's passion for Poggio di Sotto led him to realize his dream of owning a winery after six years of negotiations. ``The style of Sotto created by Mr. Palmucci and Mr. Giulio Gambelli is perfect, so we won't change anything.'' As he says, he still practices wine making in the style of these two legendary people.
Grape cultivation that achieves low yields in fields with diverse terroirs
Poggio di Sotto is located near the River d'Orcia, which borders Montalcino, and out of a total area of 48 hectares, the vineyard stretches over 20 hectares of steep slopes. The fields are located at an altitude of 200m to 400m. It receives two cooling effects: the cold wind from Mt. Amiata, which is approximately 1,700 meters above sea level, and the cold wind from the sea that crosses the river. This prevents moisture from accumulating, hedges the risk of disease, and provides the ideal temperature difference between day and night for grape growth.
The soil also differs depending on the field, with sandy clay soils at higher elevations and clayey soils mixed with gravel at lower elevations near rivers. The variety of altitudes, soils, and ideal temperature differences between day and night produce grapes that produce wines with a perfect balance of ripeness and acidity.
Regarding cultivation, we only grow Sangiovese Grosso. The age of the vines is between 15 and 45 years, which is higher than other wineries, and we use cordon pruning (short tree pruning). Furthermore, by performing green harvesting of 50% or more, we are able to produce high-quality grapes with a yield of 3 tons per ha, which is lower than the Brunello di Montalcino regulation of 8 tons. Additionally, unripe grapes cut at Green Harvest are returned to the soil to be used as fertilizer, making grape cultivation more environmentally friendly.
