Deep purple in hue, the 2023 Vecchia Modena Nero opens with a bouquet of crushed blackberries, sage and orange sorbet. It’s savory within yet full of energy as vibrant acidity motivates its tart wild berry fruits and violet inner florals toward the close. This leaves chalky mineral tones to linger through the perfumed finale, tapering off with cheek-puckering tension that begs the taster to take another sip.

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.  

A mixture of caramel, dried fig, orange peel, molasses and roasted walnut flavors permeates this lean, intense Vin Santo. Vibrant and mouthwatering on the long aftertaste. Really stays with you. Trebbiano and Malvasia. Drink now through 2040.

Cherry and eucalyptus flavors lend a tug between the fruit and savory elements in this fresh and complex red. Rose, tar, tobacco and leafy notes add interest as this turns dry on the finish. Best from 2027 through 2043.

On the nose, aromas of daffodils, lime and freshly sliced green apple swirl together to create a sweet, floral crispness, floral crispness, which persists on the palate even in the face of a potent salinity and searing acid.

A round and juicy red with berry, cherry, mushroom and wet-earth character on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with integrated tannins that are soft and luscious. Long, flavorful finish. Drinkable now, but better in two or three years.

Equal parts fruity and balsamic, this red reveals cherry, cranberry and rose hip notes alongside eucalyptus, juniper and cedar flavors. Taut and well-marked by a line of dusty tannins gracing the finish. Classy and long. Best from 2028 through 2045.

The 2023 Valdobbiadene Vigneto Giardino Rive di Colbertaldo Asciutto is delicate yet remarkably pretty, wafting up with a cascade of floral perfumes and hints of sweet spice, peach sorbet and nectarine. It floods the palate with a creamy bead of fine bubbles and ripe orchard fruits, all guided by brilliant acidity as a nuance of candied citrus informs the close. Notes of green apple, melon and a sensation of liquid stone appear as the 2023 finishes with amazing length and complexity. This is fantastic.