This is sleek and well-defined, offering black cherry, blackberry, tar, iron and tobacco flavors shaped by vivid acidity. The tannins are dense, yet overall this is balanced, lingering on the complex, spicy finish. Sangiovese, Colorino, Canaiolo and Merlot. Best from 2021 through 2036. 10,000 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.

A generous, beautiful Vino Nobile with cherry, walnut and chocolate character. Firm, lightly chewy tannins give this wine form and verve. It’s long and lively with beautiful firmness and polish. Drinkable now, but better in 2022.

Alfredo Currado made Vietti’s first-ever single-cru Barolo in 1961 from Rocche di Castiglione, a long tongue of vines that extends from the edge of Castiglione Falletto toward the border of Monforte d’Alba on a southeast facing slope. Currado’s son and Vietti’s current winemaker, Luca, calls Rocche “stronger than the stupid,” meaning it is hard to make a bad wine from the cru. That was never a possibility in 2016, a growing season that Luca considers the best in his 33 harvests, with everything happening just as it should: rain at opportune moments, no significant hail, and a beautiful September with hot days and cold nights. The wine’s red-cherry flavors are vibrant and juicy, picking up notes of orange peel and fresh tobacco with time in the glass. Its tannins are formidable yet cool, adding to its sense of freshness, and the precise red-berry flavors continue to gain energy and vibrancy even five days after the bottle was opened. A portrait in balance and equilibrium, this 2016 is a monumental achievement.

The 2018 Chianti Classico is a very pretty, enticing wine. Crushed flowers, sweet red cherry, pipe tobacco, cedar and mint all grace this exquisite, ethereal Chianti Classico from Coltibuono. All the elements simply fall into place effortlessly. Silky tannins round things out in style. This is such a beguiling Chianti Classico.

A new wine in the range, the 2016 Chianti Rufina Vigneto Erchi is off the charts. The purest essence of Sangiovese emerges from a wine that combines power with translucent finesse. Bright acids and citrus accents perk up the red Sangiovese fruit. Initially a bit austere, the 2016 gains volume with time in the glass. The Erchi emerges from a relatively new parcel for the state planted with cuttings from Bucerchiale. Compared to that wine, the Erchi has a much more red-fruited profile and also appears to handle aging in French oak better. The 2016 is a stellar debut. Don't miss it.  

2021 Award

Vietti’s vines in the Lazzarito cru of Serralunga average 37 years of age, and they’re rooted in the clay-limestone soils of the southwest-facing slope. Their fruit builds muscular tannins that, in this 2016, frame flavors of dark cherry and raspberry tinged with notes of menthol and blood orange. This wine is compelling for its raw power and energy, and it exhibits the verticality and freshness of the 2016 vintage that will allow it to improve over the next decade and beyond as those chiseled tannins soften.

The 2016 Chianti Rufina Vigneto Bucerchiale is a dark, brooding wine. Swaths of tannin make a first impression. Gradually, black cherry, plum, lavender, cloves, leather and menthol start to emerge. This potent, massively tannic Chianti Rufina is going to need a number of years to come around. There is plenty of depth, but the elements are totally put together. The 2016 finishes with tremendous substance and gravitas. I expect the 2016 will always remain a brute.