Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Poggio alle Mura 2011 1.5 L

This wine is on an impressive upward swing in recent years. The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura is a dense, full and generous Brunello. It presents classic aromas of blackberry, dried cherry, pressed rose, cola, tobacco and grilled herb. In fact, it really doesn't leave anything out. The vintage heat has been well-managed thanks to careful fruit selection and custom farming studied for this special vineyard plot. Castello Banfi rarely gets anything wrong. If you are looking for a popular Brunello that delivers the goods in this vintage, this wine makes a great choice. It doesn't offer the off-beat idiosyncrasies and eclectic eccentricities of Montalcino's smaller boutique estates, but it does offer rock solid consistency.

Montalcino suffered an important loss this year with the passing of Harry Mariani in early January. The 78-year-old founded Castello Banfi with his brother John Mariani in 1978. That investment by the Mariani brothers would forever change the Montalcino winescape, and would contribute significantly to the explosive growth and overall success of one of the most iconic wine appellations on the planet. This important estate has created two beautiful wines in 2010. The spectacular Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio alle Mura sees fruit sourced from various sites around the perimeter of the castle. This wine is my favorite. The Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio All'Oro comes from a single vineyard located to the north of the castle. This vineyard includes 24 hectares of vines and sees the most extreme fruit selection and the vines are some of the oldest in Castello Banfi's collection. In all, the estate has a total of 2,800 hectares of land between forests and vineyards. With Managing Director Enrico Viglierchio I tasted through barrel samples of Sangiovese from the 2015 representing 14 vineyard sites. No other estate can offer such a wide taste of the Montalcino territory.

Aromas of spearmint, plum, currant and berry. Full body, firm tannins and a walnut, berry and shaved-chocolate finish. Fresh mushroom and meat. Drink or hold.