The 2020 Conero Riserva Agontano is dark and intense. A cascade of violet flowers and lavender gives way to crushed blackberries complicated by hints of cocoa and camphor. It’s soft and enveloping with polished red and black fruits guided by brisk acidity. Fine tannins slowly mount toward the close. The Agontano leaves chalky mineral tones and a bitter espresso tinge to stick around through the long and structured finale. The 2020 is complex and beautifully balanced, yet also painfully young. Patience will be required.

Grapefruit and thyme with a sweeter note of lemon curd and just a hint of pencil eraser on the nose open up onto a palate of mixed citrus and toasted almonds, with a rich mouthfeel balanced by the salty, acidic finish.

The 2021 Rosato Etna Tefra is remarkably pretty, with sweet smoke and melon complemented by hints of crushed almond and candied citrus. While silky in feel, a burst of brilliant acidity and salty mineral tones add a reverberation of tension, as orchard fruits and inner florals settle in toward the close. There’s a richness that lasts through the finale, seldom found in a Rosato, as the Tefra tapers off with a saline flourish that keeps the mouth watering for more. This is the magic of Nerello Mascalese Rosato.

The 2021 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Scarrone is dense, plush and explosive. A rush of dark red cherry/plum fruit, mocha, licorice, spice, rose petal and a kick of French oak all build in the glass. Potent and quite deep, the Scarrone is another lights-out Barbera from Vietti. In recent years, the Scarrone has come along very well. Then again, these vines were planted in 1989, so they are no longer ‘young', just younger than the Vigna Vecchia, where the oldest vines date to 1918.

A dark, brooding style, this red evokes hibiscus, raspberry, cherry and spice flavors, with an underlying iron note. It's dense, yet focused and vibrant, with ample fruit to stand up to its muscular structure. Balanced and expressive now, yet this needs time. Best from 2027 through 2048.

This bottle-fermented Prosecco has a lightly cloudy appearance and delicate scents of lemon and bread crust. Tart at first, it gains flavors of raw oatmeal, almond and lemon curd. Fully dry yet with a rich texture and deep savory tones, it’s an elegant partner for seafood or light poultry dishes, and an excellent value for a wine at this level of complexity.

The 2017 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Bellovedere is massive with an oak-inspired burst of mocha mixed with mentholated herbs, cedar, black currants and exotic spice forming its bouquet. However, what impresses most here are the textures, supremely elegant and pure, yet also lifted, as the 2017 balances its rich dark fruits with brisk acids and mineral tones that add liveliness, but also depth. The tannins are fine but sweet, and in need of mellowing; this finishes incredibly long through the cocoa and cinnamon-tinged finale. The Bellovedere spends eighteen months in a combination of barriques and tonneaux, yet the integration is spot on. Give this sexy beast a few years in the cellar to soften its contours and integrate some oak.