The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli emerges from the glass with masses of scorched earth, leather, tar, licorice, menthol and dark fruit. The Riserva shows a touch more inner sweetness, richness and depth in its fruit than the regular bottling, plus a bit more French oak as well. For now, the Riserva is quite reticent and requires air, but with time its awesome richness and power come through in spades. This dark, brooding and authoritative Riserva from Il Poggione is simply gorgeous. Readers who don’t want to pay the premium for the Riserva in 2004 need not worry; I tasted the 2004 regular bottling (twice!) while preparing this article and it is every bit as promising as my review last year suggested. In 2004 the Paganelli vineyard was harvested on the 13th of October, quite late for this estate. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039. Father and son team Fabrizio and Alessandro Bindocci are on a roll. Il Poggione remains a benchmark property for fine, traditionally made Brunellos capable of ageing exquisitely. I can’t think of too many properties in the world producing wines of this level at these prices with an established track record going back 40+ years. I tasted an extraordinary range of wines at the estate in January 2010, including all of the Brunellos and Riservas in cask from vintages 2005-2009. Fans of this venerable estate have a lot to look forward to in coming years. As of this writing the most promising vintage in barrel appears to be 2006. The Brunellos are fermented with the submerged cap method, a traditional style of vinification that is common in Piedmont, but not in Montalcino. The wines are subsequently aged in French oak casks, with the Riserva seeing a higher percentage of newer oak. Unfortunately, the 2008 Rosso had not been bottled as we went to press, but I look forward to tasting that wine in the near future. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900