Poggerino

Why Poggerino is Essential

The wine industry loves to impose hierarchies of quality on landscapes, praising one parcel of land over all others as if it possesses magical powers. In Chianti Classico, that kind of talk has often focused on Radda, a ridge-top village smack in the center of the appellation with superb terroir and, because of this, a bevy of Sangiovese superstars.

One of them is Piero Lanza of Poggerino, but when you meet this soft-spoken and methodical man at his tucked-away, overflowing-with-life farm beneath town, you don't get any of those megawatt vibes. He is focused but amiable, supremely intelligent but naturally forthcoming.

Most importantly, his wines are masterful. At a recent tasting with him at Poggerino, I quietly assigned top marks to seven of the eight wines he poured. I say "quietly" because I was trying to stay professional and not gush too much. One of those wines was his opening salvo, a traditional-method sparkling wine made from 100% Sangiovese that was more complex and delicious than any other sparkler I'd tasted in years (Champagne included). Lanza is best known for red wines, yet given the technical demands of making excellent sparkling wine, this was akin to a celebrated oil painter suddenly revealing a perfectly etched marble statue as if it were no sweat.

The consistency of Lanza's work — the elegance, balance, precise tannins and forward-reaching momentum of his wines — is best displayed by "Bugialla," his Chianti Classico Riserva, which has shown tremendous consistency in easy vintages and challenging ones. Built for aging, it hits its stride around the 15-year mark, and proves that Chianti Classico — when done right — firmly belongs in the upper echelon of the world's greatest wines.

Wines to Seek Out

Poggerino "Millesimo" Vino Spumante Rosé Pas Dosé

Best known for Chianti Classico, Poggerino's rarest wine is stylistically the opposite: a zero-dosage, traditional-method sparkling wine. Yet, there is something familiar about this complex, rich and layered wine, that makes it jive perfectly with its origins. It is made from 100% Sangiovese and, more importantly, it still has Sangiovese's soul — an attribute that winemaker Piero Lanza takes very seriously. Cherry, citrus and savory tones all shine, as does a sweet almond note. The wine spends seven years on the lees, which — combined with Lanza's acumen in the cellar — leads to near perfection.

Poggerino "Aurora" Rosato

As with the "Millesimo" Vino Spumante Rosé, "Aurora" says more about Sangiovese than most red wines of Sangiovese ever could. This carnation orange colored rosé fills every corner of the mouth with its silky presence, and offers surprising endurance on the aftertaste. Recollections of apricots, yellow flowers and citrus come to the fore on the nose. If you are visiting Tuscany in the heat of summer, this is the wine that calls to you.

Poggerino Chianti Classico

Accounting for more than 60% of production, Poggerino's Chianti Classico is the wine you are most likely to find, with roughly 45,000 bottles produced annually. Lanza refers to the wine as his business card: an introduction to his style of winemaking. But with its inviting nose and silky, balanced texture, this Chianti Classico is not a mere "entry-level" wine. It is quite simply superb.

Poggerino "Nuovo" Chianti Classico

Chianti Classico's laws do not mandate a term for aging the wine in wood. Rather, the mandate is for time in bottle. This wrinkle allows for a wide array of styles and ranges within the DOCG, and Lanza has made use of it by offering a separate Chianti Classico annata wine that comes from an older selection of vines and is aged for one year in a 6.5hL concrete egg. The ovoid shape of this container keeps the wine from settling completely, and this persistent motion allows for a different maturation. The resulting wine is elegant and lifted on the nose, with the cotton-like tannins coming purely from the grapes.

Poggerino "Bugialla" Chianti Classico Riserva

Poggerino's single-vineyard Riserva is a mainstay of Chianti Classico, and can often be pointed out as one of the best examples of wine from Radda. The wine is given a long, steady fermentation in concrete tanks for a period of 55 days, before it is transferred to 25hL Slavonian oak casks for 18 months. Another year of bottle aging gives the wine time to integrate before release, and while new releases are exciting and delicious to taste, this is a wine built for aging, as a recent tasting of the 2018, 2014, 2013 and 2006 demonstrated. As "Bugialla" approaches the 10-year mark, clear notes of tobacco and eucalyptus emerge, and by the 15-year mark, all the wonderful recollections of Poggerino's Sangiovese — the red fruits, the citrus, the roasted meat, the tobacco — harmonize into one. If there is one vintage to pinpoint as Lanza's masterpiece with "Bugialla," it is the 2014, which is easily one of the greatest Chianti Classico wines I've ever tasted.