San Polo, Brunello di Montalcino `Podernovi`

The Podernovi vineyard is a three hectare single vineyard site with excellent south-east exposition situated at 450 metres above sea level. Here, the vines planted in 1990, have found their perfect habitat with a soil rich in galestro and minerals, with a good presence of clay, giving grapes that are extremely concentrated.

One of the best vintages in the last twenty years. The entire growing cycle of the vine took place under the best possible conditions. A cold winter with frequent heavy rainfall and low temperatures gave way to a dry spring with temperatures slightly above average, enabling uniform bud burst and perfect flowering. Showers in the summer months were scarce but fortunately heavy, which made it possible to carry out sustainable and environmentally friendly pest and disease management. Hot, sunny days with excellent day-night temperature variations enabled the bunches to achieve ideal ripening by the end of September: the berries were perfectly healthy, and acidity was high, despite elevated sugar concentration. The harvest of Sangiovese, which ended by the end of the month, delivered perfectly healthy grapes with a very thick skin, a prerequisite for long macerations and for wines with great ageing potential.

Harvest was carried out by hand. On arrival at the winery, the grapes were carefully sorted and then softly pressed. Fermentation took place in 25 hectolitre Slavonian oak vats at temperatures of up to 30°C for about 30 days. Malolactic fermentation took place in 20 hectolitre casks. The wine was aged for 30 months in lightly toasted 40 hectolitre casks. Finally, the wine rested in bottle for six months before release.