Starts with an open feel, displaying cherry, peach, iron, tar and tobacco flavors before firming up. This lively red builds to the long aftertaste of red licorice, tobacco and earth. Best from 2027 through 2045.

From vineyards planted in 2008, the Tenuta Tascante 2020 Etna Rosso Contrada Sciaranuova (with 5,500 bottles created) has a ruby shine that seems more luminous in this vintage. The bouquet is subtle, but there is noteworthy complexity here with ashy mineral, pressed violet and cassis. There is also an interesting note of bitter almond that leans directly into a tight tannic backbone. This contrada based in Randazzo sits at 730 meters in elevation and enjoys both northern and southern exposures. The wine ages in 25-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks for 12 months with a small percentage of 300-liter tonneaux as well.

Equal parts fruity and balsamic, this red reveals cherry, cranberry and rose hip notes alongside eucalyptus, juniper and cedar flavors. Taut and well-marked by a line of dusty tannins gracing the finish. Classy and long. Best from 2028 through 2045.

This graceful and perfumed wine shows aromas of toast, licorice, vanilla, pomegranates, violets and cinnamon. Its restrained character is improved by fruit concentration and weight, a full body, crisp acidity and well-handled, velvety tannins. Drinkable now, but best from spring 2025.

Plum sauce and sage combine with crushed black cherries and balsamic spice to create a darkly seductive bouquet as the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli comes to life in the glass. It's silken in feel with cool-toned acidity and racy wild berry fruits that flow across the palate with ease. Incredibly long and expertly balanced, the 2020 leaves hints of black raspberry and sour cherry pits over a layer of sweet tannins. Patience will be required but also rewarded.

The 2019 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva is a stunner. A blend of 90% Sangiovese with the rest made up of Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo and Colorino, all organically farmed and fermented with wild yeasts, it’s elegant and delicious, with great red berry fruit underpinned by layers of star anise, botanical herb, blood orange, violet and hay sensations. A hint of bitter almond lingers on the finish. Showing great energy and intensity, this promises years of fine sipping. Drink 2025–2034.

You could argue that this is the wine with the fasting growing quality trajectory because this vineyard site is one of those rare places in the appellation that appears to improve despite (or more likely because of) a changing climate. Ravera enjoys an open panorama (at 400 to 440 meters in elevation) that extends to the snow-capped Alps and benefits from cooler air currents, coupled with an amazing quality of light that you notice with the naked eye. The 2021 Barolo Ravera saw its fruit harvested later than the other wines, on October 11th, and continued with a classic Vietti-style fermentation with 20-plus days of skin contact. Simply put, what Ravera offers is complexity (and strength) with hints of bergamot, citrus, herbs, mineral and salt over a tightly concentrated mouthfeel. The quality of the tannins and the freshness of this 2021 are impressive, and that citrusy note continues with tangerine skin and kumquat.  Production is 8,700 bottles.

Uplifting nuances of mint and strawberry are brilliantly countered by a grounding earthiness that reaches mineral depths. This is elegantly weighted with enduring strength, and the tannins exhibit a powerful stoniness yet are gracefully proportioned. Really the epitome of balance – but nowhere near ready. Introduced in 2018, Cerequio (along with Monvigliero) is among the most recent editions to Vietti’s lineup of single-MGA Barolos. The 0.79 hectare plot purchased from Michele Chiarlo falls within the Barolo township just above Sarmassa.