Poliziano Rosso di Montepulciano 2019 (Tuscany) - Wine Review

After enjoying the lovely 2017 Azienda Poliziano In Violas Merlot at the end of January, tonight's red wine review is another delicious offering from the same producer. This red wine is a new arrival to the LCBO that is coming to LCBO VINTAGES on March 5th and is featured as part of the theme on wines from Tuscany.

Dino Carletti founded Poliziano in 1961 after he purchased his first parcel of 22 hectares near Montepulciano. The name is a tribute to the humanist poet Angelo Ambrogini (1454-1494) who had the nickname "Poliziano". In 1980, his son, Federico Carletti, took over the management of the property and made his mark immediately by focusing on only estate grown fruit, quality viticulture, and innovation, while respecting tradition and the environment. With Francesco and Maria Stella, the 3rd generation joined the family business as essential advisors to Federico. Together, they face both current and future challenges of the estate that has now grown to 170 hectares of vineyards.

Rosso di Montepulciano DOC is essentially the little brother to the more famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG by using declassified grapes from Vino Nobile. The Rosso di Montepulciano DOC is a relatively new DOC as it was only established in 1989, and some of the significant rules governing the DOC include that the wine must be made up of at least 70% Sangiovese (locallly known as Prugnolo Gentile) from grapes grown between 250 metres (820 feet) and 600 metres (1,970 feet) above sea level. Higher yields and more freedom to experiment with other permitted varietals is also allowed.

This particular Rosso di Montepulciano was first crafted in 1989 and is a blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot. The grapes are from a 58 hectare vineyard situated between 280-350 metres above sea level on soils that are silty-clay in nature and with the presence of stones. The grapes were manually harvested and sorted using an optical sorter, followed by fermentation in stainless steel tanks. It was aged for 8 months with 20-40% of the wine aged in wood of various sizes. By many accounts, even with extreme summer heat, the 2019 vintage was a very good year for Tuscany. Let's see how this Rosso di Montepulciano is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

POLIZIANO ROSSO DI MONTEPULCIANO 2019 - DOC, Tuscany, Italy (#22795) (XD) - $20.95
Blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot, the medium-high to highly aromatic nose has a pretty bouquet of sweet red cherries, floral, spices, black cherry, and raspberry with savoury earthy undertones. On the medium-full bodied palate it has red cherry, raspberry, black cherry, and floral flavours wrapped around a savoury, earthy core. There's some warmth on the mid-palate, along with fresh acidity that is juicy and succulent, while the supple tannins have some grip. Savoury, earthy, and even some mineral notes linger on the juicy finish, with very good length. Recommended buy. Score: 90 pts

Other lovely wines from Poliziano are available at the LCBO and through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.