Two years on from the departure of former owners Luca Currado and Elena Penna, Vietti’s wines continue to honour their legacy. The only patent change is the removal of ‘Castiglione’ from the label of the estate’s classic Barolo. The construct remains the same, however: a multi-MGA, vintage-specific blend demonstrating the purity and precision found across the range. Gorgeously perfumed with rose, violet, black raspberry, liquorice and forest undergrowth among its many nuances, it boasts just the right amount of tightness, well measured density and a sophisticated chalky grip.

The 2018 Barbaresco Riserva Martinenga Camp Gros is a very pretty wine, and also a Camp Gros that will drink well upon release. It shows good freshness, but also the smaller scaled style of the year. Dark red fruit, rose petal, mint, blood orange, cedar and spice. This is a very pretty wine, but it does not have the body or dark balsamic profile that are the signatures of Camp Gros in its strongest years.

Made with equal amounts of nine organically farmed native grape varieties (Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo, Foglia Tonda, Malvasia Nera, Pugnitello, Mammolo, Sanforte, Colorino and Sangiovese), the delicious 2019 Montebello delivers great fruit flavors of ripe plum and black cherry accented with notes of dark spice, grilled rosemary, camphor, juniper and a dollop of vanilla. Each grape is fermented and aged separately for two years in barriques before the assembled wine is aged for six months in large casks, resulting in a full-bodied, savory wine with taut, fine-grained tannins. Drink 2025–2034.

The NV Brut Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Bosco di Gica entices with a bouquet that’s more savory than sweet. A note of green apple mixes with mint leaf and wet stone hints. It impresses further with its mix of tension and elegance. Brisk acidity and tart orchard fruits contrast its creamy wave of fine bubbles. A saline tinge lingers on along with a Granny Smith resonance that keeps the senses salivating as this finishes with excellent length and freshness. This is a fantastic value.

Intense, overt and fruit-focused Brunello with fresh violets soaked into bright, crushed raspberries, as well as ash and balsamic depth. Full-bodied yet framed and polished, with a deep tannin structure. It’s very tightly wound in the center-palate, meaning it needs time.  to open and gain full expression. Allow at least three years for it to come around. Best after 2028.

Complex aromas of cinnamon, spices, earth and strawberries with a leesy character. The attack is supple, with firm, ripe, velvety tannins. It’s slightly austere and dusty on the mid-palate. Full-bodied and powerful but refreshing, with a long, minty aftertaste. Best after two to three years.

Showing an especially bold bouquet and rich concentration, the Siro Pacenti 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli is a big expression of Sangiovese by all means, but the wine is also balanced. The intensity is played up with aromas of baked fruit, toasted spice, sweet herb and grilled rosemary, and there is a hint of redwood and cedar or barbecue smoke. To the palate, the wine is very round and fleshed out. It covers all corners of the mouth. This is a big-boned wine with powdery young tannins and a velvety finish. Aging takes place in French barrique, which has always been the stylistic choice favored by this estate. Production is 26,000 bottles.  

From a celebrated vineyard site in Castiglione di Sicilia, the Tenuta Tascante 2020 Etna Rosso Contrada Rampante has a specific quality that starts off with wild cherry and then peels back to embrace crushed stone and fragrant rose. This wine offers firm depth and good length delivered with extra sharpness. This release of 5,500 bottles matures in large oak casks for 12 months. The vines in Contrada Rampante date back to 2000 and are perched at a cool and breezy 740 meters in elevation. The vineyards of Etna are all distinguished by different soil types that vary according to the date of the volcanic eruption (or layered eruptions) that created them. This site is located on a lava flow created 15,000 to 4,000 years ago. You can expect a certain amount of erosion and sand as a result of that long time frame. These soils contribute to the wine's focus, complexity and those salty flavors.

Two years on from the departure of former owners Luca Currado and Elena Penna, Vietti’s wines continue to honour their legacy. The only patent change is the removal of ‘Castiglione’ from the label of the estate’s classic Barolo. The construct remains the same, however: a multi-MGA, vintage-specific blend demonstrating the purity and precision found across the range. Gorgeously perfumed with rose, violet, black raspberry, liquorice and forest undergrowth among its many nuances, it boasts just the right amount of tightness, well measured density and a sophisticated chalky grip.

The 2018 Barbaresco Riserva Martinenga Camp Gros is a very pretty wine, and also a Camp Gros that will drink well upon release. It shows good freshness, but also the smaller scaled style of the year. Dark red fruit, rose petal, mint, blood orange, cedar and spice. This is a very pretty wine, but it does not have the body or dark balsamic profile that are the signatures of Camp Gros in its strongest years.

Made with equal amounts of nine organically farmed native grape varieties (Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo, Foglia Tonda, Malvasia Nera, Pugnitello, Mammolo, Sanforte, Colorino and Sangiovese), the delicious 2019 Montebello delivers great fruit flavors of ripe plum and black cherry accented with notes of dark spice, grilled rosemary, camphor, juniper and a dollop of vanilla. Each grape is fermented and aged separately for two years in barriques before the assembled wine is aged for six months in large casks, resulting in a full-bodied, savory wine with taut, fine-grained tannins. Drink 2025–2034.