Sondraia, Tenuta Poggio al Tesoro 2016

This is a beauty with notes of dried meat, dried plums, vanilla and eucalyptus. Full-bodied and very structured on the palate, thanks to muscular tannins. But it’s the acidity that really drives this and keeps you coming back for more and more. A long yet polished finish. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Drink in 2023.

Black currant, black cherry, raspberry, iron and toasty vanilla aromas and flavors mark this elegant, firmly structured red. Balanced and long, with ripe fruit offsetting the dense tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2020 through 2032. 300 cases imported

The winemaking team at Poggio al Tesoro has created a beautiful 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Sondraia, fully aware of the potential and profound elegance of this classic vintage. They have been able to harness that quality and express it in terms of the broad and far-reaching intensity of the bouquet. The wine peels back to reveal layer after layer of dark fruit, oak spice, chocolate and sweet tobacco. The wine shows a big personality today, but it is only a teenager. It should be fascinating to watch its future evolution over the next ten years. Some 44,000 bottles were produced. 2020-2038

Sondraia comes from one of the best plots of the appellation, close to the border with Bibbona, where a lot of the area's top producers have vines, and it's one of best buys from Bolgheri. Here, the reddish soil is iron-rich, mostly clay and sand with good drainage. Powerful in 2015, the 2016 vintage is youthful and still with assertive clove notes from the fine-grained new French oak. It's a bit warming yet velvety, a full-bodied wine with an amazing mid-palate weight and a great refreshing finish full of cedar notes.
Drinking Window 2019 - 2040