The blackcurrants and violets really come through here with hints of sandalwood on the nose. It’s full-bodied with very fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Polished and long. Give it at least three or four years to come around. Try after 2025.

The 2018 Barolo Brunate is a deep, layered wine that is going to need at least a few years to come together. Today, the Brunate is quite primary and backward, but all the ingredients are there. Sage, menthol, licorice, dried flowers and spice build with a bit of coaxing.

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.

Dark and imposing, the 2016 Carmignano Riserva Trefiano smolders up from the glass, with rich plums giving way to crushed violets, stone dust, hints of tobacco and saddle leather. An opulent wave of velvety textures floods the entire palate with ripe red and black fruits, leaving a saturation of minerals and grippy tannins in its wake. This is potent, long and structured; yet the balance is on point, as notes of hard red candies and hints of licorice fade. The 2016 Trefiano is quite a wine. This is a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Caniolo that spends eighteen months refining in medium-toast tonneaux, half new and half second pass.

100% Chardonnay; fruit sourced from the best parcels of the Löwengang estate, at elevations ranging from 750-1080 feet above sea level. Spontaneous fermentation in barriques and large casks. Slightly cloudy, medium-intense yellow; aromas of lemongrass, saffron and orang crocus. Medium-full with excellent concentration, very good acidity, excellent persistence and notable complexity. The finish offers beautiful freshness and notes of orange pekoe tea and lemon peel. This has long been one of Italy’s most distinctive Chardonnays, and the 2018 is first-rate. Enjoy over the next 5-8 years, though I would not be surprised if this was still drinking well in ten years.

The oak-fermented and aged 2019 Chardonnay Löwengang shows citrusy freshness on one hand, with textured spice and vanilla on the other. This wine puts its primary fruit forward with intensity, but it also offers plenty of exciting complexity in a second wave of aromas that underline extreme care and precision in winemaking. Like the other bottles in this portfolio, this is an organic and biodynamic wine. Production is 40,000 bottles, and fruit is selected from the best parts of Löwengang in Magrè with sandy glacier soils at 230 to 330 meters in elevation.

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Fresh floral scents lead into this wine's flavors of honeycrisp apple, yellow pear and white peach. It's wrapped in a satiny mousse and just enough sweetness (10 grams per liter) to amplify those juicy fruit tones. It's an elegant wine, perfect for a high-end by-the-glass program.