Made with organic fruit, the 2016 Carmignano Villa di Capezzana is an 80/20 blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is open and accessible, showing a graceful and pure quality of fruit with dark cherry, blackberry, spice, tar and tobacco. The mouthfeel is streamlined and compact, but what this wine lacks in power it makes up for in elegance. This sample from 2016 was sent along with a bottle from 2010 so that I could track its impressive bottle evolution. In fact, I widened my suggested drinking window after tasting that older bottle.

Forget baby Nebbiolo! This assertive wine from Vietti is a stylish Langhe with a sleek nose and bracing palate. Bright ruby in the glass, it has telltale Nebbiolo aromas of rosehip and orange peel. Strawberry fruit is accompanied by firm, polished tannins, crisp acidity, and an amazing rhubarb savouriness that carries the finish. It comes from a selection of grapes grown in both Barolo and Barbaresco, mostly on the classic combination of limestone and clay. The wine is than aged for two years in Slavonian oak casks.

The 2019 Rosso is very easy to like with its vibrant display of citrus-tinged sweet wild berries and violets. It’s soft in feel with juicy acids that usher in a balancing mix of tart red and black fruits. Energy remains high as this tapers off spicy with a hint of lime and green apple, which may seem out of place in a Rosso yet works well here. This is a blend of 60% Carignano, 30% Cannonau and 10% Muristellu (Bovale Sardo).

This is really something, showing all the depth and intensity of a top nebbiolo with strawberry, light cherry, stone and floral aromas. Some spice and dried fruit, too. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Some chocolate and dark fruit. Burnt-orange undertone. Shows intensity and depth. Drink after 2023.

The 2019 Vermentino di Gallura Superiore Sciala is very pretty and perfumed, with yellow flowers giving way to ripe apples and sweet spice. This is silky in feel yet full of nervous energy, as a mix of saline minerals and acids creates inner tension. A mix of ginger and lime lingers long, making for a clean and precise finale.

Aromas of ripe black-skinned fruit, menthol and French oak form the alluring nose. On the firm, full-bodied palate, tightly knit, close-grained tannins accompany ripe Marasca cherry, orange zest, roasted coffee bean and star anise. It's densely structured but also has a weightless vibrancy. Drink 2023–2029.

What a beauty. The Tenuta di Capezzana 2012 Vin Santo di Carmignano Riserva (packaged in a 375-milliliter bottle) inches forth from the tiny bottle slowly and ultimately reveals a spectacular color that is orange, copper and almost green at the same time. I tasted bottle number 962 of a precious 4,968 produced. This Vin Santo puts on a real show thanks to its rich viscosity that slides, shifts and glistens in the glass. There are many aromas to describe, and it is hard to do this wine justice given how quickly they shift and change. There is honey, brown sugar, dried herb, forest mushroom, caramel and tilled earth. I even got a hint of rubber boot. This is a work of art and a clear passion project. Assigning a numerical score to an aspirational wine like this somehow misses the point, but here goes nothing.

A release of 8,760 bottles, the Vietti 2017 Barolo Lazzarito draws its fruit from Serralunga d'Alba and reveals a luminous garnet color. Compared to some of the others in this portfolio, the wine takes a little longer to open and express itself. It does, however, unfold to dark cherry, redcurrant, grilled herb, iron ore and candied orange peel. You need to give your glass a few extra vigorous swirls. Those rusty mineral notes build in intensity and drive the wine's medium-long finish.