San Polo

The story

Two estates, one transaction

In the autumn of 2007, Wine Spectator reported a transaction that caught the Brunello map off guard: Marilisa Allegrini, whose family's estate in Verona had spent decades building Amarone's reputation, and Leonardo Lo Cascio, who ran the US importer Winebow, had jointly purchased two neighbouring Montalcino properties and folded them into a single estate. Poggio San Polo and Montluc disappeared as separate addresses, and San Polo took their place across 22 combined hectares. The underground winery at Podernovi had already been built and was ready for the 2006 vintage; the acquisition gave it new owners and a combined vineyard to work with. Today the official estate page names Marilisa and her daughters Carlotta and Caterina Mastella Allegrini as the owners, with no mention of the original joint partner. The property that began as a cross-industry collaboration between a Veneto wine dynasty and an American importer has since settled into a single family.

From the atlas

San Polo

At A Glance

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

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.

Soil And Site

San Polo's soils are galestro, a schistous clay that is poor and stony by nature. Poor soils force vine roots deeper to find water and nutrients, limiting the amount of fruit each vine carries. Stony soils drain freely, reducing the risk of waterlogging around the roots after heavy rain. Both conditions push concentration into the grape rather than volume onto the vine.

The estate manages its 16 hectares as individual parcels rather than as a single vineyard block. Each parcel is farmed separately to reflect the slight differences in slope, aspect, and stone content across the property.

Story

The vineyards at San Polo predate the 2007 acquisition. The first vines were planted in 1990 at a density of 4,000 plants per hectare. A decade later, when new sections were added or replanted, the density was raised to 7,000 plants per hectare. Nearly doubling the count per hectare means each vine competes harder for space and water. Root systems push deeper, yields per vine fall, and the fruit that does ripen carries more concentration per berry.

After the 2007 merger, the estate pursued organic farming steadily. Organic protocols went into the vineyard in 2014 and official certification followed in 2017. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides were removed entirely. In their place, the estate uses treatments derived from natural sources: aloe vera, algae, calendula, fungi, and plant compounds are among those named.

By 2013, the winery at Podernovi had received CasaClima Wine certification, a South Tyrolean energy-performance standard applied to buildings. San Polo says it was the first winery in Tuscany and the second worldwide to hold the certificate at that time.

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.

Organic vineyard treatments include aloe vera, algae, calendula, fungi, and plant compounds. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used.

Wines

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.

Rosso di Montalcino DOC is aged in large Slavonian-oak barrels. Large-format wood allows oxygen to reach the wine gradually, softening tannin without imposing oak flavour. It is lighter in body than the Brunello and released earlier, giving access to the appellation's character at a younger age.

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is the estate's main appellation wine, aged for the full period required by the Brunello regulations. Sangiovese Grosso at this level builds firmer tannin and deeper red-fruit character.

Vignavecchia is the cru Brunello, aged in 600-litre French-oak tonneaux rather than the larger Slavonian barrels used for the Rosso. The smaller format produces tighter integration between the wine and the wood, with a denser mid-palate and more grip on the finish. The name translates as "old vine" in Italian.

In The Glass

Rubio opens with fresh Sangiovese fruit: sour cherry, dried cranberry, a light floral note. Acidity is bright and the finish is clean. There is no wood influence to interrupt the fruit's immediacy.

The Rosso di Montalcino carries more weight. On the nose, the fruit darkens toward dried cherry and iron. In the mouth, the tannin is present but not harsh; the large Slavonian oak gives the wine some age in barrel without making it oaky. It finishes with good length and a savoury edge that is characteristic of Sangiovese from this altitude.

The Brunello di Montalcino has more concentration in the mid-palate, firmer tannin, and a longer finish. The southeastern exposure gives the fruit a warmer register than the cooler northern slopes of Montalcino, with riper cherry and some tobacco and leather coming through with bottle age.

Vignavecchia, aged in smaller French tonneaux, shows greater density and a more pronounced wood presence on the nose in its youth. The tannin is tighter. It needs more time in bottle before it opens fully.

A Bottle To Understand It

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.

Anecdote

In the autumn of 2007, Wine Spectator reported a transaction that caught the Brunello map off guard: Marilisa Allegrini, whose family's estate in Verona had spent decades building Amarone's reputation, and Leonardo Lo Cascio, who ran the US importer Winebow, had jointly purchased two neighbouring Montalcino properties and folded them into a single estate. Poggio San Polo and Montluc disappeared as separate addresses, and San Polo took their place across 22 combined hectares. The underground winery at Podernovi had already been built and was ready for the 2006 vintage; the acquisition gave it new owners and a combined vineyard to work with. Today the official estate page names Marilisa and her daughters Carlotta and Caterina Mastella Allegrini as the owners, with no mention of the original joint partner. The property that began as a cross-industry collaboration between a Veneto wine dynasty and an American importer has since settled into a single family.

Final Word

San Polo makes Brunello from a warm, elevated corner of Montalcino on soils too stony and thin to carry much fruit. The vessel architecture, stainless steel for Rubio, large Slavonian oak for the Rosso, French tonneaux for Vignavecchia, is the estate's most legible choice: the same grape, handled differently at each tier, producing four distinct wines from one hillside. Organic certification, an underground winery designed to cool by natural insulation, and a vine density that was deliberately doubled over ten years all point in the same direction: less intervention, more from the ground.

Sources

• https://www.sanpolomontalcino.it/en/estate
• https://www.sanpolomontalcino.it/en/vineyards
• https://www.sanpolomontalcino.it/en/sustainability
• https://www.consorziobrunellodimontalcino.it/en/1553/san-polo
• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/allegrini-and-us-importer-buy-tuscanys-poggio-san-polo-3599
• https://www.sanpolomontalcino.it/en/winery?a11y=true
• https://www.sanpolomontalcino.it/en/wines