Il Poggiolo (Rodolfo Cosimi) 2017 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 750ml

Rodolfo Cosimi's Brunello is, in the estate's own words, "the farm's passport" — the wine whose style his father originally developed and which has evolved gradually over decades through careful improvement in both the vineyard and the cellar. Il Poggiolo sits on a specific southwest-facing slope directly below the estate cellar, southwest of the town of Montalcino itself, on the pale clay, stony marl, and schist-over-limestone soils the locals call Galestro — the same fractured, mineral-rich rock that runs through so much of the appellation's finest ground. The vines are cordon-trained at a relatively high density of roughly 5,000 per hectare, with the youngest plantings dating only to 2003, giving the estate a genuine mix of vine maturity across its holdings.

2017 was, across Tuscany, a genuinely difficult and widely discussed vintage — hot, dry, and demanding, the kind of year that separates careful, patient winemaking from anything less. Il Poggiolo didn't just survive it; James Suckling awarded the wine an exceptional 95 Points, finding "lots of black cherries and dried flowers with stems on the nose," a wine "medium to full body, with firm tannins and a fresh and linear finish," calling it "really bright and pure with lovely length and polish" — a genuine standout in a vintage that tested every Montalcino producer. Kerin O'Keefe found "aromas of dark-skinned fruit, scorched earth, and leather" leading the nose, with "a firm palate" offering "dried black cherry, clove, and tobacco alongside solid tannins," recommending a drinking window from 2023 through 2030. Another contemporary tasting found the wine "showing decent balance for a 2017, with ripe berries and some silky oak influence," medium-bodied, with tannins "quite well integrated" that don't impede the fruit through the finish.

Production at Il Poggiolo remains genuinely hands-on: grapes are entirely hand-picked and carried the short distance from vineyard to cellar in small crates, then destemmed, sorted, crushed, and fermented with selected yeasts in temperature-controlled steel tanks over three weeks, with regular, careful punching down of the cap. This is Brunello made the way a family farm makes it — patiently, deliberately, and with the specific southwest Montalcino terroir doing most of the talking. James Suckling's own advice is worth heeding directly: drinkable now, but this needs another three to four years, best tried after 2025 — a wine built for real cellaring, not immediate consumption, from a family estate that turned one of Tuscany's most challenging recent vintages into one of its most quietly impressive.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Il Poggiolo, the family estate of Rodolfo (Rudi) Cosimi, is located southwest of the town of Montalcino, in Tuscany's Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. The estate's signature Brunello bottling is described by the family itself as "the farm's passport" — a wine whose style was originally developed by Rudi's father and has continued to evolve through gradual, patient improvements in both vineyard management and cellar technique across generations.

The vineyard sits on a specific southwest-facing slope directly below the estate's cellar, on Galestro soils — pale clays layered with stony marl and schist over a limestone base, a soil type widely prized throughout Montalcino for the structure and minerality it lends to Sangiovese. Vines are cordon-trained at a density of approximately 5,000 vines per hectare, with the estate's youngest plantings dating to 2003. Harvest is entirely by hand, with grapes carried a negligible distance to the cellar in small crates to preserve fruit integrity. Once at the winery, the grapes are destemmed and sorted before crushing, then fermented with selected yeasts in temperature-controlled steel tanks over approximately three weeks, with regular punching down of the cap to manage extraction. Following fermentation, the wine undergoes the extended aging Brunello di Montalcino requires by law — a minimum of four years total, including at least two years in barrel — before release, with further bottle aging recommended before the wine reaches its full potential.

Critics Reviews

James Suckling — 95 Points:
"Lots of black cherries and dried flowers with stems on the nose. Medium to full body, with firm tannins and a fresh and linear finish. Really bright and pure with lovely length and polish. Drinkable but this needs another three to four years. Try after 2025."

Kerin O'Keefe (2017 vintage):
"Aromas of dark-skinned fruit, scorched earth and leather lead the nose. The firm palate offers dried black cherry, clove and tobacco alongside solid tannins. Drink 2023–2030."

Walter Speller, JancisRobinson.com:
Reviewed the 2017 vintage as part of a broader survey of the 2017 Brunello vintage, described by the publication as "a vintage that belies its reputation."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Lots of black cherries and dried flowers open the nose, with a distinctive hint of stems adding structural, herbaceous complexity. Dark-skinned fruit leads alongside scorched earth and leather, joined by ripe berries and a subtle silky oak influence woven throughout.

Palate
Medium to full-bodied, with firm tannins carrying real structure and grip. Dried black cherry, clove, and tobacco build through the mid-palate, well integrated enough that the tannins don't impede the fruit's expression. Fresh and linear, with genuine brightness and purity running throughout.

Finish
Lovely length and polish define the close, fresh and clean, with the estate's characteristic minerality and firm tannin carrying through. A finish that rewards patience — James Suckling specifically recommends holding this bottle another three to four years, with the wine reaching its stride after 2025 and continuing to develop through 2030.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Braised beef or wild boar (cinghiale)
• Bistecca alla Fiorentina
• Aged Pecorino Toscano
• Truffle-based dishes
• Roasted game