Why it matters
The producer
San Polo farms 16 hectares of Sangiovese on the southeastern face of the Montalcino hill in Tuscany, between 400 and 450 metres above sea level. The estate came together in 2007 when Marilisa Allegrini, of the Veneto family behind Amarone producer Allegrini, and Leonardo Lo Cascio of the US importer Winebow jointly purchased and merged two neighbouring properties, Poggio San Polo and Montluc. Marilisa and her daughters Carlotta and Caterina Mastella Allegrini are the estate's owners today.
The four-wine range moves from a fruit-forward Toscana IGT through Rosso di Montalcino and Brunello di Montalcino to a cru Brunello called Vignavecchia. Every bottle is made from Sangiovese, the only grape the appellation permits. What separates them is vessel: stainless steel for the entry wine, large Slavonian-oak barrels for the Rosso, and smaller 600-litre French-oak tonneaux for the Vignavecchia. That choice of container is the clearest guide to how the range is organised.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Montalcino is a hilltop town in southern Tuscany. Brunello di Montalcino, the appellation that takes its name from the hill, permits only one grape: Sangiovese Grosso, the local clone of Sangiovese known here as Brunello. That single-grape rule shapes every winemaking decision on the estate. There is no blending across varieties, no correction in difficult years through a different grape. The wine is Sangiovese or it is not Brunello.
The southeastern face of Montalcino receives afternoon sun and is generally warmer than the cooler northern and western slopes. At 400 to 450 metres, San Polo's vineyards sit high enough to preserve acidity through the growing season. The elevation slows ripening, which on a south-facing slope gives a longer window for flavour development without losing the freshness that keeps Brunello worth ageing.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The higher vine density at San Polo, reaching 7,000 plants per hectare in the 2000 plantings, drives a lower crop per vine and greater root competition. In practical terms, each plant produces fewer clusters, and those clusters ripen more evenly. The fruit arriving at the cellar is more concentrated and more consistently mature across the block.
The winery at Podernovi is built mostly underground, with natural insulation provided by the surrounding earth. A thermo-hydraulic system regulates temperature and humidity, and the estate says the underground position maintains a stable year-round temperature without heavy reliance on mechanical cooling. Fermentation takes place in concrete tanks. Concrete neither adds flavour nor strips it; it allows steady, gradual temperature exchange, which suits a grape as tannic as Sangiovese Grosso.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range has four tiers, each defined by the vessel used after fermentation.
Rubio is the entry wine, a Toscana IGT made from Sangiovese and fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel. No wood touches it at any stage. It is made for early drinking.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Rosso di Montalcino. It is the wine that shows what the southeastern slopes and galestro soils produce at their most immediate: Sangiovese with dried cherry, firm but not abrasive tannin, and a savoury, mineral finish. The large Slavonian-oak ageing softens the wine without masking the grape or the place. It is accessible young, and it gives a clear picture of what the estate's Sangiovese is built on before committing to the longer wait that Brunello requires.