Mentholated herbs mix with exotic spice, tobacco and crushed ashen stones as the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva PS blossoms in the glass. This is sleek and youthfully slender, with tart wild berry fruits and hints of sour citrus that flow across a stream of cooling acidity. It finishes structured and impossibly long, leaving a pleasantly tart cranberry concentration that pinches at the cheeks. There's significantly more energy and verve embodied in the 2019 Riserva than is typical. It should be fascinating to watch it mature over time.

Plum sauce and sage combine with crushed black cherries and balsamic spice to create a darkly seductive bouquet as the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Pelagrilli comes to life in the glass. It's silken in feel with cool-toned acidity and racy wild berry fruits that flow across the palate with ease. Incredibly long and expertly balanced, the 2020 leaves hints of black raspberry and sour cherry pits over a layer of sweet tannins. Patience will be required but also rewarded.

Complex and viscous, this dessert white exudes caramel, brown butter, molasses, dried fig, orange peel and bitter walnut aromas and flavors. Its intense sweetness is cut by balancing acidity, while the flavors ply the seemingly endless aftertaste. Trebbiano and San Colombano. Drink now through 2038. 255 cases made, 50 cases imported.

This graceful and perfumed wine shows aromas of toast, licorice, vanilla, pomegranates, violets and cinnamon. Its restrained character is improved by fruit concentration and weight, a full body, crisp acidity and well-handled, velvety tannins. Drinkable now, but best from spring 2025.

A playful fusion of sweet watermelon candy, tangy pickled rind, and lush raspberries greets the senses.  The palate bursts with juicy raspberries, invigorating the taste buds with each sip. The lively acidity and delicate tannins provide a refreshing backbone, leading to a zippy, energetic finish.

You could argue that this is the wine with the fasting growing quality trajectory because this vineyard site is one of those rare places in the appellation that appears to improve despite (or more likely because of) a changing climate. Ravera enjoys an open panorama (at 400 to 440 meters in elevation) that extends to the snow-capped Alps and benefits from cooler air currents, coupled with an amazing quality of light that you notice with the naked eye. The 2021 Barolo Ravera saw its fruit harvested later than the other wines, on October 11th, and continued with a classic Vietti-style fermentation with 20-plus days of skin contact. Simply put, what Ravera offers is complexity (and strength) with hints of bergamot, citrus, herbs, mineral and salt over a tightly concentrated mouthfeel. The quality of the tannins and the freshness of this 2021 are impressive, and that citrusy note continues with tangerine skin and kumquat.  Production is 8,700 bottles.

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.

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.