Though firm, there is an elegance to this red, whose flavor profile ranges from strawberry and cherry to tobacco and tea. Taut and linear, with fine balance and a long, red fruit, stone and savory aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2042

There is a light rustic tone in this elegant, medium-framed wine from the north in Verduno. Notes of fresh leather, pomegranate, and sweet herbs are followed by a medium-bodied wine with fine and approachable tannins. It is an elegant, more gentle expression but offers a lot of pleasure. Drink 2023-2040.

Best buy.  Candied cherries, strawberries, wild herbs and dried violets weave in and out of the glass with subtle hints of smoked game. The palate balances the savory quality of the wine with cherries jubilee, cranberry and dried rose finishing with a creamy texture and an elegant sparkle. 

Pretty violet and lavender tones give way to musky blackberries and hints of cracked chalk as the 2019 Rosso Conero Riserva Agontano opens in the glass. This cool-toned beauty shows its minerality up front, as silky textures gain grip through a mix of tart, wild berry fruits and stimulating acidity. The 2019 tapers off with lip-smacking tension and grippy tannins, yet it’s packed full of zesty energy. The Agontano is a 100% Montepulciano that’s refined in second-pass barriques. This is a really beautiful expression of the variety, one that will need a short stay in the cellar to show its best.

The library-release 2012 Carmignano Villa di Capezzana 10 Anni is dark and earthy in character. Crushed fall leaves and undergrowth nuances blow off to reveal mentholated black currants. This is rich and fleshy in feel, with saline-tinged acids motivating its tart wild berry fruits. It finishes with rounded tannins and wonderful length, along with a bitter twang and hints of balsam that linger. The late-release 2012 displays a beautiful evolution that’s taken place in bottle.

Packaged with a green label, the Tenuta Scerscé 2019 Valtellina Superiore Sassella Nebbiolo Incanto shows fine-tuned aromas of forest berry, blue flower, wild rose and candied orange peel. This is a pure and elegant wine with a firm and silky texture. It would pair nicely with an oven-roasted chicken and potatoes.

The 2022 Rosato Etna Tefra is remarkably pretty with a platinum pink color. It offers a perfumed, floral bouquet. This is energetic on the palate, sizzling with brisk acidity and mineral tones as crunchy orchard fruits cascade throughout. It finishes with medium length and is slightly chewy. A young strawberry and salty flourish slowly fades.

I have long awaited the first rendition of the Giovanni Neri Brunello di Montalcino, and the 2018 does not disappoint. Here I’m finding a beguiling mix of lavender, white pepper and crushed stone giving way to dried black cherries and foreign spice. This washes across the palate with a supple wave of ripe red berries carried by vibrant acidity, as nuances of sour citrus and clove resonate throughout. Its tannins are crunchy, almost chiseled in feel, yet coupled with a staining of primary concentration that lingers under an air of violet inner florals, tapering off with tremendous length and structured for a long and balanced maturation. Made from vines that are 50 years old, the Giovanni Neri hails from a vineyard acquired in the southeast of Montalcino. This is a fabulous debut bottling.