2019 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio

The 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna il Poggio is a powerful, tightly coiled wine that is going to need a number of years to be at its best. I would not dream of touching a bottle anytime soon. Crushed flowers, herbs, mint, orange peel and spice are suggestive of a savory, vibrant Il Poggio built for the cellar. Today, the 2019 is deceptive, but there is a lot of wine here. It’s a super-classic expression.

Saturated red with a tinge of orange, the 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Il Poggio is stunning. Layered and complex, it unfolds to notes of high-quality leather, kirsch, fresh sage, rosewater, and sweet cedar. Medium to full-bodied, it’s highly refined in its texture, with supple, velvety tannins, seamless, fresh acidity, and a such a graceful finish that’s hard to decipher an ending as it slowly floats away. A stunning wine that reveals its more noble structure underneath, this wine is going to continue to improve if appropriately cellared over the coming 20 years or more. Drink 2026-2050. Aldo Bianchi purchased this historic estate in 1961, and in 1986 they began excavation to build the incredible 300-meter tunnel that today is home to their historic cellar, with bottles dating back to 1962. (That vintage was the estate’s first as well as that of the denomination.) Il Poggio was the first wine in the region to be labelled as a single vineyard. The third generation is now in charge, with Laura Bianchi having taken over from her father Fabrizio. In the cellar, they work with Slavonian oak for the aging of the wines, which display exceptional refinement with a Burgundian slanting aesthetic.