Angelo Gaja and long-time oenologist Guido Rivella produced some of the most monumental wines of their long, storied partnership in 2004. Although I admire Gaja’s wines, especially for their consistency, I rarely find them this emotionally moving and utterly profound. The stable weather and cool, tempering evenings towards the end of the growing season allowed Gaja and Rivella to harvest fairly late in 2004. I remember passing by Gaja’s Barbaresco vineyards in October of that year and seeing fruit still waiting to be picked long after most producers had already brought the fruit in. Gaja’s 2004s from Barbaresco are especially breathtaking for their clarity and precision... "Historically in Piedmont there has been an inverse relationship between quality and quantity. Great vintages like 1961 and 1989 were characterized by low yields," says Gaja. "2004 is one of those rare vintages like 1964 and 1990 where quality is high even though yields were generous as well. I think 2004 is a very elegant vintage. It is much easier to achieve opulence in the wines, but finesse is always much more elusive." The 2004 Barbaresco reveals fresh, perfumed aromatics that lead to layers of crushed flowers, spices and sweet raspberries. This is a wine of rare class, elegance and pure breed. It offers outstanding length and silky, elegant tannins to round out the inviting finish. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2024. Rated 93. ‑ Antonio Galloni, Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s The Wine Advocate Issue 173 October 2007

More muscular than the Conteisa, the dark and brooding 2001 Sperss displays much Serralunga character in its complex nose of tar, licorice, underbrush and new oak. Superbly well-balanced, it offers tremendous length and purity in its sweet dark fruit, plum, prune and cassis flavors, closing with a very long, fresh finish. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2031. Rated 95. ‑ Antonio Galloni, Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s The Wine Advocate Issue 167 October 2006

Medium red. Classic, pure aromas of minerals, white truffle, tobacco and damp earth, lifted by a floral nuance. Offers terrific energy and verve in the mouth, with its sweetness nicely leavened by sappy, harmonious acidity. Finishes very long and juicy, with wonderfully smooth, silky tannins and vibrant notes of fruits and minerals. Rated 92. ‑ Steven Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Issue 117 November/December 2004

This historic property located in Sant’Angelo in Colle traces its roots back to the late 1800s. Today the wines are made by Fabrizio Bindocci, who cut his teeth working alongside Piero Talenti, one of the most famous figures in the world of Montalcino oenology. Although some small concessions are made to modern tastes the wines remain quite classic in their expression of Sangiovese. Il Poggione’s 2001 Brunello di Montalcino opens with a very distinctive nose redolent of scorched earth, tobacco and cherries initially showing a wilder side of Sangiovese in its hints of gaminess. It is full-bodied and structured on the palate, where it offers plenty of fruit, with considerable length as well as big, potent tannins. This backward, hulking Brunello is in need of considerable cellaring and is clearly built for the long haul. It is a wine of great personality and character. A recent bottle of the 1985 was also outstanding. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2023. Rated 93. ‑ Antonio Galloni, Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s The Wine Advocate Issue 168, December 2006

Produce of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Molinara fruit harvested from hillside vineyards facing west and southwest toward Lake Garda and the sunset, whence the name Costasera. Deep crimson red to a tawnier mahogany hue at the edges; deep-pitched and ripe on the nose with aromas suggesting a whole panoply of dried berries, dried Italian blue plum, black cherry, rose petal, cinnamon and vanilla; full, rich and satisfying on the tongue, with robust flavors that go long and warm on the finish.

Created in 1964 with what noted wine writer Hugh Johnson called an ingenious technique, Campofiorin is a wine produced by a reinterpretation of an ancient vinification system used in Verona and technically known as refermentation, yielding a class of wines that stands between the elegant simplicity of Valpolicella and the complex richness of Amarone. Produce of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Molinara grapes grown in deep alluvial terrain on eocenic limestone in the torrential valleys of the Veronese hills, Masi Campofiorin is fermented twice, the second time with a portion of dried grapes, the wine gaining in colour, richness, alcoholic strength, extraction of aroma and soft, elegant tannins and, not least of all, flavor. Alluring aromas suggest rose petals, cool dried fruit, cinnamon and vanilla bean; airy light and velvety on the tongue, with a gentle warmth and delicate flavors of berries and spice that go long on the finish.