Bright red. Pure, refined red cherry and wild strawberry aromas and flavors complicated by sweet spices and aromatic herbs. Deep and multilayered, the wine boasts polished tannins and a harmonious acid spine that lifts and extends the red fruit on the long, suave finish. An essence of Sant’Angelo in Colle with bigger body and palate weight than, for example, the Brunellos of Montosoli, but still sleek and refined as the best wines of Sant’Angelo in Colle can be. The cool-climate-styled 2013 vintage is precisely the type of year in which Il Poggione excels: this lovely, focused wine is the best classico Brunello from Il Poggione in years. Superb. Drink: 2022-2035. Rated 95. - Ian D'Agata, vinous.com April, 2018

Good full red. Medicinal red cherry, raspberry, sweet spices and mint on the fresh, precise nose. Bright and sweet, with a penetrating, austere quality to its flavors of red fruits, minerals and medicinal herbs. Harmonious acidity nicely frames the pure, long, youthfully tight finish. Lovely young Brunello that will repay cellaring. Drink: 2025-2038. Rated 93+. - Ian D'Agata, vinous.com, March, 2017

Il Poggione is a Brunello superstar and a vintage like this reveals every reason why that affirmation is true. From the second the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino pours into the glass, you know you are in for something special. The wine is darkly saturated and rich in appearance. Absent are those slightly amber or browning hues you often get with Sangiovese in a hot vintage. Nor does the wine show flat or tired characteristics. Instead, the quality of fruit is vibrant and rich. This is a healthy, generous and exuberant Brunello with dark density and succulent fruit flavors that are followed by integrated spice and tobacco. The balance is impressive and one thing you get here is fresh acidity. This is not to be underestimated, because the acidity quota in the 2012 vintage across the appellation is not as high or evident as usual. This is one of the year's best Brunellos. Drink: 2017-2030. Rated 95+. - Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate Issue 229, February, 2017

Costanti's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is stunning. Dark, powerful and mysterious in the glass, the 2010 captivates all the senses with its breathtaking beauty and layered, multi-dimensional personality. Lavender, violets, savory herbs, smoke, plums and graphite flow through to the rich, explosive finish. There is a prism-like sense of transparency allied to pure power in the 2010 that is impossible miss. Readers who can find the 2010 should not hesitate; it is a must-have. While many 2010s are approachable today, the Costanti's 2010 is not; it is a wine for the cellar. Drink 2018-2035. Rated 97. - Antonio Galloni, vinous.com February, 2015

Gaja's 2014 Barbaresco is rich, super-dense, and inviting, with serious underpinnings of structure and the same classicism that made the 2013 so compelling. Dense and powerful in the glass, with explosive energy and tons of tannin, the 2014 is built for extended cellaring. Expressive floral and savory notes hover out of the glass in this super-expressive Barbaresco. This is one of the most tightly wound, intense versions of Gaja's Barbaresco I can remember tasting. Don't miss it. Drink 2024-2044. Rated 96. - Antonio Galloni, vinous.com October, 2017

"Dogliani" is a new(ish) DOCG which denotes highest quality wines produced from Dolcetto grapes in this cooler, higher elevation growing area in this southern part of Piemonte. Vigna Tecc «pronounced tetch» is produced from 100% Dolcetto fruit from vines planted to the marl/calcareous and clay soils from 2 hectares of favored south facing old hillside vineyards on the estate near the village of Dogliani. If a bit more firm and typical than the 2015, the 2016 is perhaps a more classic example of Dolcetto from this area: deep ruby in color with fermentive aromas of grape pomace and pencil shavings, bitter almond and a waft of liquirizia; at once, ample grapey and firm on the palate, with an almost crunchy fruit character and that telltale hint of bitter almond on the mouthwatering finish.

A lovely if modestly modern claret-inspired Tuscan red wine from La California, as it is called there on the Tuscan coast near Bolgheri and Magliano. Produce of 60% Merlot along with an admixture of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the wine undergoes a temperature-controlled fermentation, manual punch-downs and pump-overs. It is aged one year in barrique and a minimum of six months in bottle before release. Lovely ruby red in color with typical claret aromas suggesting ripe cherries, wild berries, a hint of spice, a scent of vanilla from barrel aging, but with a telltale and toothsome seaside saline quality; medium-bodied on the palate with a gentle richness and structure and long, smooth finish. Superb value, too!

"Unquestionably the number one small estate of Orvieto" according to Stephen Tanzer, Palazzone produces delicious white wines from indigenous grape varietals of Umbria, balancing irresistable fruit aromas and flavors with an oh-so stony backdrop and nerve; 50% Procanico, 30% Grechetto and 20% of Verdello, Drupeggio and Malvasia, vinified in stainless steel to keep things fresh; medium-bodied, supremely-balanced white wine with aromas that speak clearly of cool of the morning harvest fresh grapes and notions of floral honey, beeswax and something like hazelnut and elderflower and, yet again, stone; at once, just ample and round, crisp and dusty, citrusy dry and alive with fresh grapey flavor; our Italian wine-loving pal Jerry Reid sez "slap and tickle." C'mon downtown 'n get yourself some of this delicious wine!