Poggio Valente 2019
This is a wine I offered back in 2023. I’ve had a number of you raving to me about the quality of the wine, especially for the money - and asking if any more was available.
After looking around for a bit, to my surprise, I was able to snag a few remaining cases in Europe. The nice part is, I am able to offer at that same incredible price. To illustrate how good this price is, I received a call from the importer complaining that my price was better than a number of distributors wholesale price across the country. I said welcome to my world - I deal with that problem just about every day! The racket of multiple middlemen in the wine business, adding little to no value is a whole other conversation. Another day, another time.
If you missed this one the first time around, do yourself a favor and grab some! The 2019 is an incredible vintage in Tuscany, in fact, some are saying it’s the best in the last decade! Don’t take my word for it, take a look at the huge reviews from all the critics. This is a Home Run!
( Compared Elsewhere $39+ )
STORY
Fattoria Il Pupille calls itself “a modern and entrepreneurial viticultural reality,” “a heterogenous reality,” and a “mosaic property,” resembling the varied hues of Tuscan vineyards in autumn.
While we’re all contemplating what “heterogenous reality” means, we can speak to one of the pieces in the “mosaic property” of winegrower Elisabetta Geppetti, which is Poggio Valenti; a single vineyard of about 35 acres, gently sloping near the Maremma coast at 900’ in altitude, close to the village of Pereta.
Elisabetta and her daughter orchestrate aesthetics and quality in a grand Tuscan style, but with no adversity to modern technology. For example, they have embraced optical selection, which is an advanced optical sorting machine with cameras picking grapes based on programmed properties like size, color, ripeness, etc. Nothing but perfect grapes are allowed!
Poggio Valenti’s soils appear totally sandy, but a subterranean mix of sandstone with clay help conserve moisture for those arid summers.
“With Poggio Valenti we started a kind of revolution starting with the 2012 vintage,” Elisabetta says. This meant eliminating the Super Tuscan Merlot in the blend, although the wine remains an IGT Toscana. “We decided to change completely the style of this wine, making the decision to focus on 100% Sangiovese while also experimenting with the wine’s maturation in wood, adjusting the size of the casks.” They used mostly French oak, settling on “big tonneaux” of 500 and 600 litres, about 50% new.
Elisabetta thinks of verticality, elegance, and freshness when making her wine, carefully monitoring the maceration of about a month’s length, all in stainless steel.
Considering its painstaking production, this wine represents an amazing value.
REVIEWS
"[$50 list] This wine always stands out in my mind, and it's worth dedicating a few words as to why. Poggio Valente offers us a rare opportunity to taste Sangiovese made according to the highest standards but from a territory—on the Tuscan Coast—that does not share a big legacy with monovarietal Sangiovese reds. The Fattoria le Pupille 2019 Poggio Valente was born in a happy vintage with a cool spring and a growing season that had plenty of underground water reserves to keep the vines hydrated well until the end of August. This is a full and generous wine with dark cherry and wild plum aromas that segue to tar, licorice and crushed slate. My sample (tasted a few weeks after bottling) was a little shy initially, but it quickly blossomed in the glass. Drink: 2021-2035. (Oct 2021)".
- Monica Larner (Wine Advocate), 95 pts
"This is very dense and structured with stone and blackberry character. Full-bodied and intense with chewy tannins that frame the wine. Flavorful finish. Smoky and lightly bitter, in a good way. Pure sangiovese. This needs time to soften. Better after 2024. (10/1/21)"
- James Suckling, 95 pts
"Rich ruby-purple. Rich and appealing nose, full of plums. Has a lot of fine spice on the palate of dried herbs, sage and curry herb, rounded palate, already amazingly polished tannins, a lot of plums again on the finish. (9/9/22)"
- Falstaff Guide, 94 pts
"The 2019 Poggio Valente is gorgeous. Bright and vibrant in the glass with terrific energy, the Poggio Valente is a fine example of the style favored here these days. Dark red/purplish fruit, rose petal, spice and orange zest complement a core of Sangiovese fruit. I especially like the vibrancy here. The 2019 is absolutely delicious. That's all there is to it. Drink: 2023-2034. (Jul 2022)"
- Antonio Galloni (Vinous), 93 points
"[$50 list] A red with intensity on a weightless frame, leaving plenty of room for cherry, blackberry, chocolate, nutmeg and white pepper flavors to shine. The tannins are present, yet uplifting rather than obtrusive. Sangiovese. Best from 2023 through 2032. 400 cases imported. (5/11/22)"
- Wine Spectator, 93 points
