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.

Spicy, perfumed and loaded with character, the 2019 Sauvignon lifts up with a mix of crushed green apples, geraniums and savory spice. The textures are silky and refined, with a pure display of ripe orchard fruits and zesty citrus that contrasts between sweet and sour. Pretty inner florals, notes of chamomile, kiwi and peach resonate throughout the wonderful long finale.

Masses of purple-tinged peppery florals, crushed plums and smoky minerals lift up from the 2017 Cabernet Franc. It’s lean and focused in the mouth, coming across as salty and savory with tart wild berries that saturate all that they touch. That said, the 2017 maintains wonderful energy, even through its structured and almost-chewy finish. While this shows a bit of the warm vintage with its intense fruit and gruff tannin, it should still flesh out nicely and drink beautifully over the medium term.

The 2017 Barolo Ravera is a powerhouse. My impression is that the 2017 is going to develop into something truly special. It has all the energy that makes this site so distinctive, but with an extra kick of fruit density and a whole range of exotic aromatics that make for a truly drop-dead gorgeous wine. Bright red/purplish fruit, rose petal, chalk and white pepper build into a finish laced with searing intensity. This is such an impressive wine.

The 2017 Barolo Brunate is a powerful, brooding wine. Huge dark fruit, leather, spice, menthol and dried herbs all build in a potent Barolo that is enshrouded by tannins. The 2017 is going to need quite a bit of time in the cellar. Today, it is very much a brooding powerhouse. Dark wild cherry, licorice, tar, menthol and spice take shape in the glass, but the 2017 is clearly an infant, and an unruly one at that.

Notes of grilled game and tobacco balance this wine’s rich flavors of baked cherry, molten chocolate and licorice. Dark spices offset those flavors, and lively acidity cools the finish.

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.

This is one of my sweetheart wines from Montalcino. The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova offers a long list of aromas on an ever-shifting and fluid bouquet. You get bright cherry, rose potpourri, black truffle, caramel, butterscotch, sandalwood, road pavement and chalky mineral. In fact, each time I come back to this wine, that mineral element seemed to grow in intensity and scope. The wine offers a grounded fruit side that is contrasted nicely against a grounded oak component. The mouthfeel is creamy and long, and the wine shows terrific tannic integration. When you come back hours later, you might find black olive, bresaola and licorice.