Removed from Original Wooden case; Base of neck; scuffed labels

It was Il Poggio vineyard, way back in 1962, that heralded the start of Castello di Monsanto’s journey in wine production, with the first harvest overseen by founder Fabrizio Bianchi. Still to this day, the company’s most iconic bottle, Il Poggio, is the first Chianti Classico to feature the name of the specific vineyard from which it comes. White grapes were removed from the recipe in 1968. Il Poggio is the source – thanks to massal selection – of all the Sangiovese, Colorino and Canaiolo vines in the winery’s other vineyards.

• 90% Sangiovese; 10% Canaiolo and Colorino
• In temperature-controlled truncated conical steel vats with emptying system (Délestage) and pumping over for about 20/22 days
• 50% in 5000 litre Slavonian oak casks and 50% in French oak barriques for 18 months
• Two years of bottle aging

This was certainly one of the historic vintages at Castello di Monsanto, along with 1962, 1971, 1975 and 1985 as well as the more recent 1997 and 1999. Throughout the year, conditions were extremely routine. Rainfall in August aided ripening, while the weather was extremely stable in September and October.

93 CellarTracker

Cork in good condition. Decanted about an hour prior to serving based on previous experience with this single vineyard Chianti. Nice ripe aromas combining cherry fruit with tertiary notes: spices, leather, nicely balanced palate. still plenty of tannins, good texture and length. No hurry to drink. Improved in the decanter overnight. Great complexity and textured. This is an under-rated producer. 10/13/2025

92 Vinous

The 1990 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Poggio is a gorgeous, fully mature Poggio redolent of dried herbs, leather, incense, tobacco, game and dried cherry fruit. Medium in body, with lovely inner perfume and the vestiges of what was considered a very warm year back then, the 1990 is a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years, before the fruit fades. This was the first vintage aged in a combinaton of equal parts Slavonian oak casks and smaller French oak barriques. (AG) 04/2023