Home
: 2015 San Polino "Helichrysum" Brunello di Montalcino

2015 San Polino "Helichrysum" Brunello di Montalcino

SKU #1473976 97 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark Ripe boysenberries, tar, chestnuts, orange peel, dried cherries and tobacco. There’s a beautiful interplay between the more subtle, citrus notes and darker red fruit, and nothing’s out of kilt to the ripeness. Lots of powerful tannins take the full-bodied palate by storm, coating the mouth in layers of intense but fragrant red fruit and steamrolling this Brunello to a long, chewy conclusion. This is a contrastive wine, built on the foundation of an intricate, wild tannin backbone, but framed in a vibrant and transparent package. Inner quote mark (10/2019)

95 points Decanter

Outer quote mark Helichrysum is crafted from San Polino's high-altitude vineyard in the southeast. With views towards Monte Amiata, it receives winds from the Sahara. The summer days are hot, giving mature sweet fruit with lots of structure, while the nights cool down substantially, helping to preserve heady perfumes. This is replete with fragrant florals, chamomile, thyme and fennel. It's quite brooding on the palate, the dense fruit framed by terracotta-like tannins. It boasts a long, succulent and saline finish. (MM) Inner quote mark (4/2020)

94 points Vinous

Outer quote mark Full ruby-red. Aromas of cherry nectar, blackberry, licorice and minerals. Juicy and tightly wound but essentially pliant, with an austere quality to the youthfully chewy black and red fruit and licorice flavors complicated by fresh herbs. Partly barrel fermented, this has noteworthy depth but is still a baby today that needs plenty of cellaring. Finishes long. (ID) 94+ Inner quote mark (4/2020)

93 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark Aromas of fragrant purple flower, new leather, underbrush and mature plum form the nose. The concentrated palate doles out blackberry jam, orange rind, licorice and tobacco framed in densely woven, close-grained tannins that leave a firm, drying finish. (KO) Inner quote mark (5/2020)

92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark The San Polino 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Helichrysum shows loads of dark fruit and depth. If the estate's other Brunello from this vintage (both of them 8,000-bottle yields) is all about the red fruit, the Helichrysum embraces black fruit aromas of prune and plum instead, giving the wine a heavier center of gravity, more determination and momentum. This warm vintage would make a fantastic pairing to the classic Tuscan bistecca alla Fiorentina. (ML) Inner quote mark (10/2020)

Jancis Robinson

Outer quote mark Tasted blind. Deep, almost dark ruby. Savoury-sweet, spicy nose with salty, minerally notes. Gorgeous, layered yet compact fruit that is not yet fully open and firm tannins that demand more time. 17.5/20 points. (WS) Inner quote mark (1/2020)

Share |

2015 San Polino "Helichrysum" Brunello di Montalcino

Price: Hidden

Real Time Inventory by location:

The item you have chosen is in stock, and has inventory in at least one of our retail stores. Below is the current quantity on hand information for this product within our database. It is never more than five minutes old. Additionally, our shopping cart looks at real time inventory so when you add an item to you cart we will do an immediate check of available inventory and alert you if there are any issues.

Location	Qty
Hollywood:	7
Redwood City:	6
San Francisco:	12

Product turnaround time varies by location of inventory and your chosen method of shipping/pickup. For a detailed explanation click here.

Related Items

Product Reviews:

By: Greg St. Clair | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/17/2020 | Send Email

I tasted this wine in February at the estate and I must say I was simply blown away; this is the best San Polino Helichrysum to date. The nose of this wine is penetrating, layers of wild cherry, forest strawberries, salted plums with hints of wild herbs. On the palate the wine shows the richness of this vintage a supple sweetness of flavor (I struggle writing that word because the wine has no hint of sweetness) that gives richness without fat, it is just another layer of density. The wine is extraordinarily well balanced is seems just effortlessly floating on your tongue. Yet that would infer some delicate wine and this wine is powerful, really powerful, it just has a depth and a long future. I personally bought six bottles I was sooo impressed by this wine, it’s sensational.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Sangiovese

- The most widely planted grape in Italy is Sangiovese, a high-acid grape with moderate to high tannins, apparent earthiness and subtle fruit. It is thought to have originated in Tuscany and its name, which translates to "blood of Jove," leads historians to believe it may date all the way back to the Etruscan period, though historical mentions only go as far back as the early 1700s. Though planted all over modern Italy, the most significant wines made from Sangiovese still come from Tuscany: Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. Sangiovese must make up 75% of a blend from the Chianti DOCG t be labeled as such, traditionally allowing for Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia for the remainder, though more recently small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot have been allowed. In Brunello di Montalcino the wine must be made entirely of Sangiovese. Prugnolo is Montepulciano's name for Sangiovese, and it is used there for the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines. In the DOC of Carmignano Sangiovese can be blended with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also Super Tuscans, IGT wines that blend Sangiovese with large proportions of Cabernet or Merlot. Elsewhere in Italy it is a workhorse grape, though it does find some success (though not the longevity) in the Montefalco and Torgiano wines of Umbria as well as the foundation of Rosso Piceno and a significant element of Rosso Conero from the Marches. Like Nebbiolo, Sangiovese has struggled to find footing outside of Italy, though in recent years California wineries have been having better fortune with grape plantings in the Sierra Foothills/El Dorado County, as well as Sonoma County and the Central Coast.

Country:

Italy

- Once named Enotria for its abundant vineyards, Italy (thanks to the ancient Greeks and Romans) has had an enormous impact on the wine world. From the shores of Italy, the Romans brought grapes and their winemaking techniques to North Africa, Spain and Portugal, Germany, France, the Danube Valley, the Middle East and even England. Modern Italy, which didn't actually exist as a country until the 1870s, once produced mainly simple, everyday wine. It wasn't until the 1970s that Italy began the change toward quality. The 1980s showed incredible efforts and a lot of experimentation. The 1990s marked the real jump in consistent quality, including excellence in many Region that had been indistinct for ages. The entire Italian peninsula is seeing a winemaking revolution and is now one of the most exciting wine Region in the world.

Sub-Region:

Tuscany

Specific Appellation:

Brunello di Montalcino

- Made from 100% Sangiovese grapes from a specific clone called "Brunello" in the town of Montalcino. Situated in the southwestern part of Tuscany the town of Montalcino sits on a ridge about 400 feet above the Eastern plain. This ridge divides the region into three diverse growing areas. The northeastern part produces wines with brighter fruit, more cherry and high tone notes and somewhat leaner body. The southeastern portion often referred to, as the "Golden Triangle" is the home of Biondi Santi, the family who invented Brunello and championed its production for half a century before anyone else. This region produces wines with rich body, deep ripe cherry to plum fruit with lots of earth and spice. The third portion is the southwesterly facing slope which is the warmest (hence the ripest grapes), consistently producing wines with more breadth and richness. At the turn of this century, there were more than 150 growers who produce the 233,000 cases annually from the 2863 acres inscribed to Brunello.