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.

With fruit from Novello, the Vietti 2017 Barolo Ravera is immediately expressive and articulate. The message it communicates is one of elegance and finesse, and the mouthfeel is especially important to this bottle. A silky, almost glossy sheen sets up aromas of cassis, blueberry, wild cherry and crushed stone. These various elements literally glide or skate together in seamless harmony. This was a release of 7,560 bottles.

The 2020 Rosato Susumaniello Askos slowly evolves in the glass, at first just dusty and floral, then developing a vivid display of melon and sweet spice over time. It’s soft, almost creamy in feel, soothing further with ripe citrus-tinged fruits, as a wave of juicy acidity lifts the experience nicely. This concluded perfumed and spicy to notes of ginger and kiwi. Very nice.

The 2017 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone is ample and creamy, with all of the natural radiance of the year on display. Ripe red cherry, rose petal, cedar, lavender and spice all build as this extroverted Vino Nobile shows off its considerable allure. Even with all of its exotic beauty, the 2017 retains quite a bit of energy and plenty of structure, with a good deal of translucent vibrancy as well. In a word: superb.

Aged on the lees for 140 months (said to be the longest lees-aged sparkling wine in Italy), the Enrico Serafino 2008 Alta Langa Metodo Classico Pas Dosé Riserva Zero 140 is a sparkling blend of 85% Pinot Nero and 15% Chardonnay. Fruit is from the cool, high-altitude growing sites and sedimentary marine soils of northern Piedmont. The front of this bottle has a little metal seashell embossed into the glass. This wine is round and soft, yet it also shows exceptional depth and elegance. The primary fruit is so intact and bright that the wine definitely appears younger than its real years. Layers of preserved lemon and sweet peach play off each other, adding freshness and fiber to these beautiful results. At the very end, you get a silky note of pure honey. This is a tiny production of just 950 precious bottles.

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.

The 2019 Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore Rive di Colbertaldo Asciutto Vigneto Giardino displays musky peaches and pears backed by dusty dried florals and lemon zests. It’s a round, pliant and jovial expression, balancing ripe orchard fruits and sweet spice against vibrant acids. Hints of candied ginger linger through the mouthwatering finale. With just a touch of residual sugar, the Vigneto Giardino comes across as wonderfully balanced and fully satisfying. This was bottled in September of 2020.

Vietti's 2017 Barolo Lazzarito is absolutely gorgeous. Whatever the challenges of the growing season, they appear to have been no problem here. More than anything else, the Lazzarito impresses with its magnificent depth and stature. Super-ripe red fruit, white pepper, mint, tobacco, cured meat, spice and rose petal open gradually with time in the glass. I would not be in a rush to open bottles anytime soon. The Lazzarito has been one of the most improved wines at Vietti for a number of years. The 2017 is so captivating.