This is the first Riserva from this site. Floral, rose petal, strawberry cherry, supple texture, lighter in weight but full throttle flavors. Very long, with focused acidity to cut heavy sauces or fatty meats.

Deep and focused, with ripe plums, cherries, crushed walnuts and a touch of sandalwood. The palate is firm and compact, with a full body and a tight structure. Balanced and persistent, with a long, walnutty finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

Top notes of rose, strawberry and cherry are underscored by earth, menthol, iron and tobacco flavors in this elegant yet intense red. Fluid, with a texture that borders on viscous and excellent definition on the long, complex finish. Best from 2027 through 2045.

This plot was purchased in 2019, and this is therefore the second vintage made. The Vietti 2020 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is spicy, juicy and accessible with some sweetness on the tannins. The wine sports Mediterranean warmth from within with black cherry, spice and grilled rosemary. There is a saline-mineral touch as well that adds elegance, but all said in done, this wine is more immediate in delivery. The 2020 vintage is bookended by two superior vintages, the 2019 and 2021. Only 2,152 bottles were made.

Limpid and transparent, the 2021 allies vivacity with rigour. Hints of pepper lift red currant blossom and raspberry aromas. Sapid minerals tantalise the palate, which is awash with tangy sumac and succulent blood orange. The cool alpine air is palpable in the racy acidity and linear, chiselled tannins. Structure is still very much in control here but gracious enough to disclose future rewards. Vineyards in Ravera were purchased in 1995, when it was still considered too cold to reliably ripen Nebbiolo, but now this is consistently one of Vietti’s top bottlings.

Wild and exotic, the 2021 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Docheio impresses with a vividly fresh blend of wilted violets and dusty rose, incense, lavender pastille and citrus-tinged blackberries. This is cool-toned and racy in style, with soft and enveloping textures and a sensation of liquid stone that paves the way for ripe red and blue fruits. Saline minerality adds a tactile edginess as the 2021 saturates the palate with licorice and spice, tapering off juicy in feel and lightly tannic. Wow, what a wine. The Docheio is a new wine from La Valentina; it's refined entirely in amphora with half of the bunches left intact and the other half destemmed.

A graceful and enticing wine with complex, assertive cinnamon, melon, watermelon, earth, strawberries and peonies on the nose. This is a wine that breathes, with a full body, great fruit concentration, restrained blood orange flavors, lavish, elegant tannins and long, lifted acidity. Slightly stern in the finish, as expected from a young Barolo. Best after 2028.

BEST BUY.  The nose is simultaneously weighty, fresh and elegant, with aromas of black cherry, blackberry and dark chocolate, along with undertones of orange peel and stone. All of those notes reappear on a palate which is bitter, but friendly, as acid soars overhead.