This is the 10 Anni Library re-release of this vintage. This is maturing nicely, with ripe, sweet black currant, blackberry and black cherry core flavors accented by spice, leather, mineral and woodsy flavors. Complex, balanced and long, with an aftertaste echoing the fruit and savory elements. Drink now through 2037. From Italy.

Cherry-vanilla notes eventually give way to soil and crushed rocks with herbs poking through on the nose, with the chalky, metallic elements of soil remaining present on the palate to push back against ripe fruit in tandem with tannins that cling to the mouth.

This is one of my sweetheart wines from Castiglione Falletto. The Vietti 2018 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is beautifully etched and sharp with an especially delineated quality that is uncommon in this vintage. Fruit comes from a small 8,000-square-meter parcel, and like the other wines in this cru series from Vietti, it ages in oak casks for two years. The wine's texture is beautifully smooth and polished thanks to the carefully integrated tannins. Only 3,693 bottles were made.

More lift is on display in the aromas of the 2019 Barolo Rocche Di Castiglione, with medicinal herbs, menthol, red raspberry, and a more cooling effect. The tannin structure is finer as well, with more drying sensation, fresh acidity, and more. From a southeast exposition that has more ventilation, I personally prefer this wine to the others from Vietti. It is not lacking in complexity. Drink 2025-2045 and beyond.

Wow. Incredible purity and transparency with cherries, bark, mushroom, flower and slate/stone on the nose. Full-bodied yet agile and fresh with a fine tannin structure that runs the length of the wine and goes on forever. The polish, elegance and grace is breathtaking. Power with agility. A revelation for the 2016 vintage in Brunello. Drink in 2024 and onwards but wonderful to taste now.

Notes of candied dark berries, chocolate, toasted spices and burnt orange peel. Full-bodied and intense with a toasty, chocolaty character. The succulent fruit is carried on a bed of broad but soft tannins. Lingering finish. Drink or hold.

Pretty aromas of lilac, white peach, wild herbs and lime zest interplay in the glass, creating a stunning mosaic of aromas. Lemon and lime zest with passion fruit and crushed chalk give the palate a balance between fruit and minerality. The wine finishes with bright and fresh acidity. 

The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino Giovanni Neri reaches Brunello-esque intensity and complexity. This vintage produced concentrated fruit, and you definitely feel the extra fruit weight on the palate. (I can't wait to taste the 2019 Brunellos, by the way.) The wine is very generous at this moment in time with rich, dark fruit, soft tannins and lingering mineral notes.