The 2017 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione shows all the signatures of this site, all turned up to the maximum. I am not sure I have ever tasted a Vietti Castiglione with this much heft. Super-ripe dark red fruit, rose petal, mocha, dried herbs and menthol all build in an ample, resonant Barolo. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2017 for the next handful of years, perhaps longer. A whole range of floral and savory notes punctuates the explosive finish.

Though not far from Poliziano's Le Caggiole, Asinone offers a more powerful Vino Nobile derived from the denser, clay-rich soils at south and southwest expositions. That dark power is accentuated in the warm 2017 vintage, with plenty of rich black-cherry flavors, layered with notes of licorice and baking spice, a profit that would find a warm welcome in a steakhouse. 

The 2017 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone is ample and creamy, with all of the natural radiance of the year on display. Ripe red cherry, rose petal, cedar, lavender and spice all build as this extroverted Vino Nobile shows off its considerable allure. Even with all of its exotic beauty, the 2017 retains quite a bit of energy and plenty of structure, with a good deal of translucent vibrancy as well. In a word: superb.

The 2018 Sor Ugo is a superb Bolgheri red. Pliant, succulent and so expressive, the 2018 offers plenty of richness, but with terrific energy, too. Black cherry, mocha, spice, licorice and chocolate all build as the 2018 fills out over time. The purity of the flavors is striking.

Made with organic fruit, the 2016 Carmignano Villa di Capezzana is an 80/20 blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is open and accessible, showing a graceful and pure quality of fruit with dark cherry, blackberry, spice, tar and tobacco. The mouthfeel is streamlined and compact, but what this wine lacks in power it makes up for in elegance. This sample from 2016 was sent along with a bottle from 2010 so that I could track its impressive bottle evolution. In fact, I widened my suggested drinking window after tasting that older bottle.

Selecting fruit from the Scarrone vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, Luca Currado ages this wine in a mix of large oak casks, barriques and stainless-steel tanks. It’s bold and concentrated in the warm 2017 vintage, violet-scented and brimming with flavors of juicy raspberry and blackberry—deep, dense and vibrantly alive. For a wine that seems to push the limits on alcohol, acidity and fruit concentration, it’s impressively balanced and elegant.

Wow. Gorgeous aromas of dried strawberries, mushrooms and flowers that open to pure fruit. It’s medium-bodied with beautiful depth and intensity on the palate. The fine, layered tannins are polished and caressing. Lovely finish. Drinkable now, but even better in 2023.

The 2017 Barolo Ravera is a powerhouse. My impression is that the 2017 is going to develop into something truly special. It has all the energy that makes this site so distinctive, but with an extra kick of fruit density and a whole range of exotic aromatics that make for a truly drop-dead gorgeous wine. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, chalk and white pepper build into a finish laced with searing intensity. This is such an impressive wine.