Montalcino, April 2025 – Poggio Antico (link) was set to officially present Brunello di Montalcino 2020 and Brunello di Montalcino Vigna i Poggi 2020 at Vinitaly 2025. These two signature wines, born from the winery’s unique terroir, embody the ongoing pursuit of quality and dedication to vineyard work.Poggio Antico is the only winery in Montalcino with its entire vineyard area situated above 550 meters above sea level. In recent years, the estate has embraced a plot-by-plot approach, making soil specificity and respect for each individual Soil Unit the pillars of its production philosophy.
The 2020 Vintage
Described by Monica Larner of Wine Advocate as “the vintage Montalcino needed,” the 2020 growing season was characterized by a winter without significant frosts, a dry spring, and a summer marked by brief and moderate heatwaves. This allowed for slow, even ripening, preserving both varietal aromas and tannic structure.
“At Poggio Antico, 2020 was notable for an anomaly in the early months of the year. Following an early bud break, a cold snap between late March and early April disrupted normal vegetative growth. This led to a temporary halt in shoot development, resulting in a lack of cluster differentiation and, consequently, a natural reduction in yield per hectare. In some areas of the estate, yields were down by 40%, with an overall average decrease of 20% compared to the 2019 vintage,” explains General Manager Pier Giuseppe D’Alessandro. “The rest of the season was stable, without excessive heat or rainfall. Most importantly, ‘the perfect climate’ in September contributed to a final product that was already elegant and balanced at harvest.”
Vigna i Poggi 2020: The Soul of Poggio Antico
The voice of Poggio Antico’s terroir, Vigna i Poggi 2020 (link) represents the second vintage of the winery’s first single-vineyard wine. This wine is crafted exclusively from grapes grown in the “I Poggi” vineyard, identified through extensive soil studies as the estate’s highest-quality plot with the greatest potential for Sangiovese cultivation.
The grapes undergo separate vinification in natural tulip-shaped cement vats, where alcoholic and malolactic fermentations occur simultaneously over approximately 15 days. Produced in about 5,300 bottles, Vigna i Poggi 2020 is aged for 30 months in 25-hectoliter Austrian oak barrels, followed by an additional 6 months in cement before bottling.
Brunello di Montalcino 2020: the Classic Expression
While Vigna i Poggi represents the most intimate expression of Poggio Antico’s identity, the Brunello (link) remains the winery’s flagship wine. Since 1976, Poggio Antico has sought to refine its interpretation of this historic wine, year after year. “Our role is to understand the territory, interpret each vintage, and maintain our style while adapting to unpredictable variables and extreme vintages that are increasingly becoming the norm” says D’Alessandro.
For the Brunello 2020, fermentation occurs in truncated conical stainless steel and cement tanks at low temperatures for 10 days, followed by 15 days of maceration on the skins and 30 months of aging in Slavonian oak barrels. This process enhances the wine’s structure and longevity.
“The year 2025 marks a turning point for Poggio Antico, as we have chosen to leave the Place de Bordeaux and embrace a direct global distribution model that aligns more closely with our identity and relational approach” comments Riccardo Bogi, Sales & Marketing Manager at Poggio Antico. “The 2020 vintage, which precisely expresses the terroir and climatic conditions, is being released in a market context filled with uncertainty. However, early reactions have been enthusiastic. In times like these, we believe it’s essential not just to open bottles, but also to educate and inform. Montalcino is a unique region—often perceived but not always fully understood—and education is key to sharing both what we do and who we are.”
These two wines are not only milestones in Poggio Antico’s winemaking evolution but also a testament to the winery’s deep-rooted connection with its land.
