This riserva shows dense aromas and flavors of brandy-soaked black cherries, clove, cinnamon and tobacco. It’s firm in feel, with smooth, polished tannins and tense acidity to lend a solid structure for the rich berry and heady spice flavors to spread out. 

Moving into more classically styled Barolo, the 2019 Barolo Castiglione has benchmark pure aromas and character of blood orange, raspberry licorice, fresh herbs, and fresh red flowers. It is taut with good intensity and is gripping with ripe tannins, driving but not harsh acidity, and a rocky mineral texture. Pure and clean, with red berries, turned earth, and bergamot, this is another outstanding entry to the range of Barolo from Vietti that will be deserving of time in cellar and drink well 2025-2040.

The 2015 Barolo Riserva is a new wine from Vietti conceived as a blend that changes every year, a sort of Riserva of the Castiglione, in that it is a Barolo made from the many lots Vietti has at their disposal. Exotic red fruit, blood orange, spice, leather and cedar are some of the aromas and flavors that emerge from the glass. The 2015 shows the aromatic complexity of a wine that has been in bottle for a few years, naturally it does not offer the singularity of the vineyard designates. I won't be surprised if this bottling improves in future vintages as the direction becomes even more clearly defined.

The Tenuta Scerscé 2019 Valtellina Superiore Inferno Nebbiolo Flammante is an elegantly slim and lithe expression, with a very fine filigree of aromas that rise delicately from the bouquet. There is redcurrant and wild plum, but perhaps the aromas that leave the longest impression are the floral tones of rose and lilac. With time, a lactic aroma of spicy Pecorino cheese also comes forward.

2022 James Suckling Top 100 Italian Wines  #74.  Lovely ripe fruit on the nose, with cranberries, plums, morello cherries, white truffles, red tea and white pepper. The tannins are very fine, creamy and expansive. Coating and generous, yet fresh. Wonderful length and depth. From a 7-hectare parcel of 50-year old vines. Try this from 2025.

Wow. Incredible purity and transparency with cherries, bark, mushroom, flower and slate/stone on the nose. Full-bodied yet agile and fresh with a fine tannin structure that runs the length of the wine and goes on forever. The polish, elegance and grace is breathtaking. Power with agility. A revelation for the 2016 vintage in Brunello. Drink in 2024 and onwards but wonderful to taste now.

Another brilliant expression, reflecting a culture of kaleidoscopic blending to attain a greater whole: tank and oak (no new) ferments, partly induced and spontaneous, all at once. Rapier-like precision, depth and weight, without any excess or obvious winemaking artefact perceivable. Mid-weighted, yet intense, reeling off notes of smoked almond, stone fruit allusions, pickled mango and kumquat. The finish is impressively pliant and majestically long.