The 2020 Sauvignon is bright, fresh and varietally expressive. Lemon peel, sage, mint and orchard fruit are nicely woven together. Aging in steel keeps the flavors bright, while aging on the lees adds lovely textural depth.

This delicate, midweight wine opens with scents of fresh cherry and dewy rose petal that lead into tangy red berry flavors brightened by a twist of orange zest. Some dark mineral tones emerge with air, but this is a wine to enjoy in the next five years.

The plum and cherry fruit is accented by vanilla and toast notes in this firm, linear red. A compact, burly style, with dense, dusty tannins guarding the finish. Best from 2023 through 2037. 500 cases made, 75 cases imported.  

Tangy and bright with a delicate mid-weight approach on the Dolcetto scale, the Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Gresy 2019 Dolcetto d'Alba Monte Aribaldo takes longer to pronounce than it does to drink with a quick snack of fried mozzarella sticks or rice balls. With this production of 20,000 bottles, this estate strives to make a leaner and more palatable expression of Dolcetto without all the extra fruit weight.

An explosion of flavors on the nose and palate; dark forest fruits, dry hay, strawberries with cream, smoke and spice. Great Complexity and Intensity.

The 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Camp Gros is a powerful, burly wine. There is a good bit of depth to the red-toned fruit, but the tannins are pretty overpowering. I am not used to seeing this level of aggressiveness in the Camp Gros. Hopefully time will help the 2015 find a bit better balance. For now, the 2015 is a wine to bury in a deep corner of the cellar.

The 2020 Langhe Nebbiolo Martinenga is bright and effusive right out of the gate. Freshly cut flowers, mint, crushed red berries, chalk and white pepper give the Langhe Nebbiolo a super-appealing upper register. Because of the pandemic, the Nebbiolo was bottled later than usual, which may explain a feeling of nervousness I don't recall seeing in the past.

The daring nose here beckons you in, captivating with its wide range of dried oregano, rosemary, thyme, dried cranberries, tamarind and lemon drizzle cake. Then it seduces you with its athletic build, casting a steely net of crafty tannins over soft fruit, like chain mail over supple skin. A spattering of acidity rises from the midst, electrifying the whole palate and turning any remnants of dried fruit into raindrops of mineral citrus. Not a hugely powerful wine, but an essay in structure and elegance. Drink from 2024.