It was Il Poggio vineyard, way back in 1962, that heralded the start of Castello di Monsanto’s journey in wine production, with the first harvest overseen by founder Fabrizio Bianchi. Still to this day, the company’s most iconic bottle, Il Poggio, is the first Chianti Classico to feature the name of the specific vineyard from which it comes. White grapes were removed from the recipe in 1968. Il Poggio is the source – thanks to massal selection – of all the Sangiovese, Colorino and Canaiolo vines in the winery’s other vineyards. Over 100,00 bottles have been produced and all of them spend time aging in the castle’s historic cellar, showcasing the wine’s stunning capacity for aging.
Designation
Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. Gran Selezione
First year of production
1962
Grape varieties
95% Sangiovese - 5% Colorino and Canaiolo
Training system
Guyot and spurred cordon
Vinification
In temperature-controlled truncated conical steel vats with emptying system (Délestage) and pumping over for about 20/22 days
96 pt
Wine Spectator
94 pt
Robert Parker
95 pt
JEB DUNNUCK
96 pt
Revenue de France
4 VITI
Guida Vitae
5 GRAPPOLI
Guida Bibenda
98 pt
Doctor Wine
TRE BICCHIERI
Gambero Rosso
96 pt
James Suckling
100 pt
The WineKiller
Climate trend
2018 started with early budding due to above average temperatures in March and April, followed by a fairly rainy May. From June 10th onwards, temperatures started rising again and we had a good summer at Castello di Monsanto with little rain in the month of August.
Veraison began in late July and continued quite slowly in the month of August. Summer temperatures were within the norm. In September, particularly, we had a succession of sunny days with considerable day-night temperature variation, allowing the grapes in our area to achieve the expected level of phenolic and aromatic ripeness. The red grape harvest began in mid-September and finished in mid-October. All the wines from the 2018 vintage are showing a great fruitiness and a remarkably well-integrated acidity with an important tannin structure.