Italy

Possessing refreshing acidity, mineral depth and finely integrated tannins, from its time spent in oak botti, the palate is sumptious, elegant and refined. 

{***}
{region}Tuscany{region}
{color}Red{color}
{maturity}drink-now{maturity}
{maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2015{vintage}
{***}

Located in Prosecco’s Conegliano region of the Veneto lie the 60 hectares of Masottina’s vineyards. Owned by the Dal Bianco family since 1946, they switched from being a négociant to vineyard owner in the 1960s. They produce a classic expression of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco. With fine, persistent bubbles, this is pale straw yellow with greenish highlights. The nose is intense, fruity with the rich scent of apple, lemon and grapefruit. It has a pronounced aroma of wisteria in bloom and acacia flowers. The palate has a pleasant acidity and fresh flavour. Full-bodied, and lingering, a soft finish rounds off this crowd-pleasing Prosecco.

{***}{region}Veneto{region}
{color}White{color}                                                               {maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink now{maturity-text}
{vintage}NV{vintage}{***}

Luminous straw-yellow. Tangy aromas of nectarine, pineapple, apple, minty herbs and lime, complicated by a bright mineral undertone. Very precise, vibrant and dense, offering floral, captivating flavors of white stone fruit, pineapple, crushed rock and spice. The compelling fruity acidity frames and carries the extremely lifted and complex flavors through the very long finish, which features lingering notes of lemon verbena, jasmine and minerals. Along with the great 2010, this is the best Trebbiano d’Abruzzo from Valentini since his also outstanding 2008. Drink now till 2033

{***}{region}Abruzzo{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                                {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2014{vintage}
{ratings}         
 []Vinous:: 94/100                                                                                                        
{ratings}{***}

The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino from Podere Scopetone opens to evolved notes of dried cherry, cured meat and grilled herb. This mid-weight wine presents a smooth and silky texture that covers the palate from start to finish. There is some primary fruit still on display that is reinforced by the wine's bright acidity and the tonic freshness it imparts to the palate. This is a perfect pairing partner to grilled veal. - The Wine Advocate

{***}{region}Tuscany{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                                {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2013{vintage}
{ratings}         
[]The Wine Advocate:: 92/100
{ratings}         {***}

The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino from Podere Scopetone delivers a robust and fleshy opening. At its core, the wine shows blackberry and dried cherry with tobacco, barbecue spice and cured meat. It articulates a hearty but evenly balanced interpretation of Sangiovese, especially with regards to the bouquet. Like many wines from this vintage, the mouthfeel is noticeably thinner and more compact in terms of length. - The Wine Advocate

{***}{region}Tuscany{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                                {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2012{vintage}
{ratings}         
[]The Wine Advocate:: 91/100
{ratings}         {***}

The 1998 Brunello di Montalcino, a full ruby/garnet with black highlights, its ample nose delivers aromas of sweet plums and red currant jam, chocolate, tar, and a touch of cinnamon and cloves. Sensuous with solid flavors, long and continuous, this is a dense wine with a lovely freshness on the close as well as a deceptive sense of readiness.  - Robert Parker

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                         

{maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}1999{vintage}

{ratings}

{ratings}

   {***}

Medium-deep red. High-pitched aromas of roasted cherry, mocha, gunmetal, Cuban cigar tobacco, animal fur and oak spice; showed an explosive raspberry scent with aeration. Pure, thick and utterly suave, with very concentrated, delineated flavors of extraordinary sweetness and depth. The lush tannins are currently buried in fruit, but this highly aromatic, multidimensional Brunello has solid underlying structure. 

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                             

{maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}1995{vintage}

{ratings}
{ratings} 

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Castiglion del Bosco, one of the founding members of the ‘Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino’ established in 1967, starting producing wine in 1954. Purchased by Massimo Ferragamo in 2003, Castiglion del Bosco has been revitalised, after major investment in the vineyards and winery, and has now been restored to its position as a leading Brunello estate. The estate is located in the Val d’Orcia National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, to the north west of Montalcino, near Buonconvento. Its isolated location, away from other producers and sources of pollution, makes organic cultivation possible.

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                             

{maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}1995{vintage}

{ratings}
{ratings} 

{***}

The 2012 d'Alceo is a Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. This is a more challenging vintage. There is a heavy layer of ripe fruit with sweet strawberry and dried blackberry that is hard to dig past in order to reach more delicate and complex nuances. The 2012 summer heat and lack of rain makes for less dimension. The wine drinks nicely now, but I would suggest a near to medium-term drinking window.

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color} Red{color}           {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2012{vintage}
{ratings}

 [] The Wine Advocate:: 91/100

{ratings} {***}

Complex, soft and seductive nose, with concentrated aromas of wild strawberry, crushed rose petal and eucalyptus. Very juicy and expansive on the palate, with a beautiful purity of fruit, great energy and precision, elegant tannins and a lingering saline finish. Outstanding.

{***}{region}Piedmont{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                                {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2013{vintage}
{ratings}          
[]Antonio Galloni:: 92/100
{ratings}  {***}

Reflective of its warm 2011 growing year, Prunotto’s cuvée Barolo is an open-knit, velvety beauty. Succulent cherries and berries mingle with fresh-cut herbs, tar, pressed violets, licorice, warm cigar wrapper, and spice in a complex, ever-changing nose. Sprightly acidity and chewy tannins give this Barolo energy and balance, and a lingering, satisfying finish completes the drinking experience. You can enjoy this wine upon release, but it’ll drink beautifully over the medium term. Deriving from fossil-rich, clay-marl vineyards in Monforte, Castiglione Falletto, and Serralunga, grapes ferment for about two weeks in temperature-controlled vats; the wine ages for about eighteen months in casks of various sizes, followed by a year in bottle before release.

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                               {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2011{vintage}

This is the first vintage in which this wine is being released as a Riserva. The 2012 Barolo Riserva Cerretta shows the depth, bounty and power that is almost always associated with Nebbiolo from the Serralunga d'Alba township. The wine reminds us that 2012 was characterized by a hot growing season and scorching summer. You can taste that extra fruit blackness or ripeness as a result. The mouthfeel also shows a good dose of soft succulence that enhances and widens the extremely focused and streamlined Nebbiolo taste profile. - The Wine Advocate

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                             

{maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2012{vintage}

{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 95/100 

{ratings} 

{***}

2006 vintage produced Nebbiolo wines of great breed, intensity and longevity. None more so than the mighty 'Ca d'Morissio', whose forthright, uncompromising character and brilliance mirrors that of Mauro Mascarello, owner and winemaker at this top flight wine cantina. The fruit is sourced from the last plot of smaller bunched Michet clone Nebbiolo along the Monprivato 'bench', that's been macerated and aged for longer to give achingly intense, compact, red berry, seared meat and licorice, with stupendo sapid focus, whose energy is tightly coiled, the palate profoundly tannic and intricately woven as to be impenetrable. Whereas the rest of the Mascarello stable swoon with charm, this wine, their flagship, is defiant and in a league of its own. 

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                             

{maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2006{vintage}

{ratings}
{ratings} 

{***}

Deep ruby. Grilled herbs and coffee complicate ripe, smoky black fruits on the nose and palate. Soft and fleshy in the mouth, showing a high-pH mouth feel. The youthfully chewy, long finish features smoky tannins. One of the more successful Guado al Tassos of recent memory.
Ian D'Agata, vinous.com December 2014

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                         

{maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2015{vintage}

{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 95/100

{ratings}

   {***}

The 2004 Guado al Tasso reveals a layered, nuanced texture filled out by the generous warmth of Bolgheri. Full-bodied and ample on the palate, it offers plenty of sweet dark fruit, licorice, Tuscan herbs and chocolate, with outstanding persistence as well as balance, which is especially evident in a mature use of oak. The 2004 is an opulent and beautifully poised Guado al Tasso that will offer much pleasure over the next decade. 

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                         

{maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}2004{vintage}

{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 92/100

{ratings}

   {***}

Spectacular, the 1999 Guado Al Tasso possesses sweet tannin and accessibility. Its explosive aromatics consist of smoke, licorice, espresso, chocolate, vanillin, and celestial black currants. With sensational concentration, flamboyant flavors, an opulent texture, full body, and brilliant concentration as well as delineation, it comes across as intense, balanced, pure, and rich. - The Wine Advocate

{***}{region}Italy{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                         

{maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}1999{vintage}

{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 94/100

[]Vinous:: 93/100

{ratings}

   {***}