2013 Castello ColleMassari Poggio Lombrone Sangiovese Riserva Montecucco DOCG 750 ml

Sangiovese from Gambero Rosso Winery of the Year

The 2013 ColleMassari Poggio Lombrone Sangiovese Riserva Montecucco will ring a bell with Wine Access clients, many of whom have stocked their cellars with the producer’s pure and powerful Sangioveses in the past. ColleMassari, which took home Italian magazine Gambero Rosso’s prestigious Winery of the Year Award in 2014, belongs to the same wine family as top-level Brunello producer Poggio di Sotto, and borders almost the entire western and southern edge of the Montalcino DOCG. No expense gets spared in the name of quality at ColleMassari, and the wines are gaining fame for consistently performing stride for stride with Brunello, without nearing its famous neighbor’s price point. We are first to market with what Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called “a beautiful creation with an impressive sense of cherry brightness and purity of fruit,” an organic gem earning 92 points from both The Wine Advocate and James Suckling. At $35 per bottle, this is the definition of an over-delivering wine from an undersung region.

The Sangiovese at the 3,000-acre estate in the foothills of Mt. Amiata ripens in tuffaceous clay and calcareous marl soils, that remain impeccably drained thanks to a slight incline of the estate. The Tipa family — who own Bolgheri’s Grattamacco and lauded Brunello estate Poggio di Sotto and have never been known to skimp in the name of cost-cutting or convenience — patiently age their Sangiovese Riserva Montecucco in oak casks for 24 months, another six in bottle before release.

The wines of Montecucco, like this ColleMassari 2013 Poggio Lombrone Sangiovese Riserva, are released much earlier, and can display a fresher and livelier fruit profile than their Brunello counterparts. I love that both styles exist, and the stylistic differences are more apparent for me in their youth. The result has many Brunello drinkers turning to Montecucco with great interest: a powerful, oak-aged Sangiovese built on tons of fresh, linear fruit. This is the kind of wine that can elevate an estate to Gambero Rosso’s Winery of the Year. And the kind of wine we are thrilled to secure, and be the first in the nation to share with our clients.

Sur Lucero MS
Master Sommelier