The 2018 Cannonau di Sardegna Sincaru wafts up with a smoky display of blackberries, crushed stone and dried roses. Its textures are silky, casting wild berry fruits across a core of zesty acids, as salty minerals come forward toward the close. While a bit tart through the finale, energy remains high, leaving a juicy and wonderfully fresh impression.

Loaded with personality, this opens with aromas of forest floor, new leather, camphor and ripe black-skinned fruit. The palate boasts an earthy elegance reminiscent of top Burgundies, showcasing ripe black cherry, crushed raspberry, truffle, star anise and a hint of salted game. Firm, fine-grained tannins provide support while fresh acidity keeps it balanced. Drink 2022–2036.

The 2019 Cannonau di Sardegna Naracu is incredibly pretty and perfumed, aromas of crushed stone giving way to violet pastille, blueberries and a dusting of confectioner’s spice. It’s silky and round, leading off with depths of ripe blackberry fruit, yet gaining in tension as a coating of minerals and fine tannin collects toward the close. This tapers off youthfully structured with echoes of licorice and lavender lingering long. The Naracu is so pretty and an excellent value as well.

All charm, the 2018 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is an attractive wine to drink now and over the next handful of years. Dark cherry fruit, licorice, menthol, pine, tobacco and cedar add pretty aromatic nuances. This easygoing, mid-weight Vino Nobile has plenty to offer.

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 2016 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Bellovedere is dark yet elegant, with an inviting bouquet of blackberries, crushed violets, exotic spice and hints of camphor. This is silky in texture with a savory, almost-salty display of wild berries and minerals, all balanced by brisk acids. You can hardly feel its fine-grained tannins settling in until the very end, as the palate aches under the Bellovedere’s youthful structure, with echoes of licorice and black fruits lingering long. That said, the balance here is on point, and all the 2016 needs is a few more years of cellaring to really shine.

Best Buy! Roberto Stucchi Prinetti makes this wine with fruit from the estate's vineyards in Gaiole and Castenuova Berardenga, fermenting on naive yeast and aging the wine in a mix of French and Austrian oak casks. It opens with fresh scents of roses and violets evocative of the moderators 2018 growing season. Those appealing aromas lead into flavors of juicy red cherry and raspberry brightened by notes of orange zest. It's an excellent value and a mouthwatering wine for the dinner table. 

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.