Poggio di Sotto

Poggio di Sotto’s founder, Piero Palmucci (a former shipping executive), is one of those producers who operates most often behind the label—with consultant Giulio Gambelli (the eminent name behind the most desired of Montalcino’s majestic stars—Soldera), meriting all the cover action—despite the fact that his perfectionist streak positions him at the forefront of the production process. Palmucci has always pursued an academic approach to vitic...

This disciplined approach was hardly confined to Palmucci’s early efforts. In 1997, he collaborated with the University of Milan in order to plant new vineyards (constituting seven hectares), instituting an intensive study regime dedicated to identifying the appropriate clones for the site in question, as well as the planting systems and vine density most conducive to the terroir. (In 1999, a three-hectare vineyard was added to the holdings, r...

Adamant about color correctness in Brunello, Palmucci believes that dark Brunellos are disingenuous—wines that cannot possibly be pure-varietal expressions. Thus, a Poggio di Sotto Brunello visually corroborates this stance, exhibiting a medium-red garnet color upon release. It also offers a formidable tannic structure and high level of acidity. While delivering a traditional character, achieved through extended maceration in wooden oak and ag...

For the 2001 vintage, Palmucci released a special bottling—Il Decennale—marking the culminating effort of his first phase as a winemaker. Il Decennale represents, in effect, a viticultural thesis, capturing and celebrating Palmucci’s profound and intimate understanding of the old vines and ancient Sangiovese clones that he utilized to constitute the foundation of vineyards he established in the late 1980s, complementing their character with ca...