NoseIntense, complex nose with notes of dark berries, licorice and tobacco, together with ethereal, smoky sensations blackberryblackcurrantsmoketobacco
FlavorOn the palate it is smooth, with a great structure and balance, full of flavors, especially savory herbs and licorice. Firm tannins and a long powerful finish
Tuscany At a Glance
Region NameTuscany
Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Super Tuscans from Bolgheri are some of the world’s most famous wines and are adored by collectors, and they all hail from the gorgeous region of Tuscany.
Score: 95Vintage 2019James SucklingSome new wood showing now but there’s a focused intensity and richness with cedar, berries and spices. Medium body, refined tannins and a crunchy, chewy finish. A little old-style with lots of power and structure. One for the cellar. Needs time to soften. Best after 2025.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 92Vintage 2019Jeb Dunnuck The 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate displays a deep ruby/red color and boasts polished notes of black cherry, vanilla, cedar, and violets. The palate is angular and zesty upfront, with a full-bodied frame, tight-grained tannins, and a lasting note of oak spice through the finish. For those who enjoy a bit more new oak, I'd recommend enjoying it over the coming 8-10 years, although it's likely to benefit from another couple of years in cellar. Drink 2026-2036.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 88Vintage 2019VinousThe 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate opens with a spiced bouquet as lavender and hints of white smoke give way to blackberries and a dusting of cocoa. It's velvety in texture and weighty in feel with ripe wild berry fruits complemented by hints of mocha and peppery spice. This leaves a wall of edgy wood-grained tannins and inner violet florals, tapering off long yet dry and clenching. There's simply too much oak influence to maintain balance.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2018Wine AdvocatePouring forth from a heavy glass bottle, the La Poderina 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate has aromas of exotic teak wood, perfumed oak, dried fruit, cassis, sun-dried tomato, terracotta, baked clay, ripe plum, church intense, chrysanthemum tea or something very floral. You get a lot on the bouquet, although the mouthfeel is a little shorter and not as articulate. Only 6,500 bottles were created.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 90Vintage 2018Vinous MediaFrom the first tilt of the glass, there’s no denying this is La Poderina, as the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate opens with their textbook display of dried violets, lavender and spiced blackberries. It’s silky-smooth with juicy acidity and crisp wild berry fruits that cascade throughout. This leaves a slightly bitter tinge while finishing long and staining with edgy tannins that tug at the cheeks. The 2018 comes across as a bit dried out through the finale, yet it’s otherwise a pleasurable effort. One day, I will need to figure out why nearly every wine from this estate shows an almost identical bouquet.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2017Wine EnthusiastThe nose recalls your first day of school, carrying sharpened pencils and new notebooks over the just-mowed lawn, with a fruit salad in your bag for lunch. These notes all persist on the warm, complete palate, which blends herbaceousness and sanguinity until a playful, sparkling, vanilla orange finish.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2017James SucklingDense, chewy and chocolaty with aromas of praline, hot chocolate, espresso bean, prunes, blue plums and balsamic. Full-bodied with plenty of toasty chocolate and fruit accompanied by firm, muscular tannins. This doesn’t hold back. Should calm down in a couple of years. Try after 2024.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 90Vintage 2017Wine AdvocateSold in a very heavy glass bottle, the La Poderina 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate (with 6,600 bottles made) is a chunky and dense wine with lots of dry fruit and oak. This Riserva ages barrel for 24 months, followed by another 20 months in stainless steel, so the oak has actually been dialed back a bit. However, hot-vintage flavors contribute to the spice and tobacco notes found here. The tannins are dusty and brittle.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2016Wine AdvocatePackaged in an extremely heavy and bulky glass bottle, the La Poderina 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate is a medium to full-bodied wine that is layered with plenty of dark fruit, spice, tobacco and grilled herb. There is a ripe and powerful creaminess here that is abundantly framed by oak spice and toast. The finish is slightly dry on this wine, which has a limited production of 6,600 bottles.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2016James SucklingStructured and full-bodied Brunello with lots of fruit and chewy tannins. Layered and rather extracted, this is a full-throttle and intense young wine. A little overdone but should soften with time. Try after 2023.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 89Vintage 2016Wine EnthusiastPackaged in an extremely heavy bottle, this has aromas of violet, mocha and carob. The dense, one-dimensional palate is already approachable, featuring dried black cherry, espresso and tobacco framed in fine-grained tannins and the heat of evident alcohol. Drink through 2026.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 87Vintage 2016Vinous MediaThe 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate wafts up with a dark, dusty mix of black currants, dried flowers, incense and shaved cedar. This fleshes out across the palate in velvety waves of red and black berry fruits, gaining in tension toward the close, as fine-grained tannins penetrate deeply. It leaves the palate achingly dry, with a violet-pastille-like coating of caked sweet spice. Unfortunately, I don’t see the 2016 Riserva ever coming into balance.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2015James SucklingFascinating aromas of crushed berries, lightly sour cherries and cedar follow through to a full body with deep, rich fruit and layers of ripe, polished tannins. It really grows on the palate. Needs two or three years to calm down. Better after 2023.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2015Wine AdvocateThis wine from La Poderina takes a different approach (compared to the classic 2016 Brunello also currently up for release). This wine, the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate, shows more richness, concentration and more heavily applied oak tones. Even the sheer weight of the glass bottle that houses this wine underlines the themes of density and darkness. The oak tannins are on the sour and astringent side, so a few extra years of bottle aging will be required. This is a release of 6,600 bottles that will be available in May 2021.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 90Vintage 2015Wine EnthusiastAromas recalling stewed prune, violet, eucalyptus and a whiff of nail-polish remover follow over to fleshy palate along with roasted coffee bean, French oak and licorice. It's fleshy and approachable, with solid, enveloping tannins that leave a rather drying finish. Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 87Vintage 2015Vinous MediaThe 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Abate Riserva from La Poderina needs some time in the glass to come together, leading off with an intense array of pepper and exotic savory spice. With time, this settles into a display of medicinal cherry, blueberries and dusty dried florals. It’s velvety in texture, casting ripe dark fruits across a core of zesty acids and cooling-minerality, which adds a much-needed lift. Notes of licorice and balsamic-tinged dried berries resonate on the cheek-puckering and structured finale. It’s an interesting wine, but where’s the Sangiovese?Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 87Vintage 2015Vinous MediaThe 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Abate Riserva from La Poderina needs some time in the glass to come together, leading off with an intense array of pepper and exotic savory spice. With time, this settles into a display of medicinal cherry, blueberries and dusty dried florals. It’s velvety in texture, casting ripe dark fruits across a core of zesty acids and cooling-minerality, which adds a much-needed lift. Notes of licorice and balsamic-tinged dried berries resonate on the cheek-puckering and structured finale. It’s an interesting wine, but where’s the Sangiovese?Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 94Vintage 2013Wine AdvocateThe 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio Abate (with only 6,600 heavy glass bottles released) takes an extra minute or two to open in the glass. Give it time to take on air and usher forth its pretty aromas. Ultimately, you will find that this is a powerful and profound expression of Sangiovese with black fruit at its core and savory aromas of leather and cured tobacco at the back. The wine is built like a brick wall thanks to its construction based on many smaller but ultimately stable individual components. The tannins are a bit rough and astringent, so this wine will require a few more years of bottling aging in order to loosen up.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2013James SucklingThere is a swathe of deep and dark fruit here that delivers dark berries and plums with notes of licorice and cassia bark. The palate has attractive, ripe tannins that build nicely into the finish.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2013Wine EnthusiastRose, underbrush, wild-berry, leather and tobacco aromas mingle with whiffs of oak and coffee bean. Reflecting the nose, the dense full-bodied palate offers fleshy plum, licorice, vanilla, espresso and French oak alongside enveloping, close-grained tannins. Drink 2021–2028. KERIN O’KEEFEShelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 91Vintage 2012Wine and SpiritsLa Poderina’s riserva shows depth and concentration, mingling notes of dried cherry and cassis with fresher fruit flavors. The wine aged for 15 months in French oak tonneaux and an equal amount of time in large Slavonian casks, picking up some vanilla and sweet spice accents that complement the rich fruit flavors. It takes a warm and savory turn on the finish, even as the spice notes linger.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
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