Medium ruby with Sangiovese's typical translucence. The nose shows Morello cherry, plum, violet and rose, lifted by rosemary, lavender and Maremma scrub, with tobacco and crushed stone underneath. The palate is full and layered, with fresh acidity and silky, open-grained tannins that carry the 14.5% alcohol easily. The finish is long, herbal and tobacco-tinged.
Christian Le Sommer, formerly winemaker at Château Latour, has run the cellar at Le Pupille since 2000. His hand shows in the wine's precision and freshness. Poggio Valente comes from a single 14-hectare hillside at Pereta, 280 to 350 meters up, where sea breezes cool one of Tuscany's warmest zones. For 2022 the team moved a quarter of the wine into large 2,500-liter casks, a shift Wine Advocate credits for its clarity of fruit. The critic scores are 95+ from Wine Advocate and 95 from James Suckling. That puts it in Super Tuscan company at a fraction of the price. Decant it for an hour.
