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The 2022 Le Difese is plump, juicy and expressive, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. Crushed flowers, succulent red cherry fruit, mint, spice and blood orange all race across the palate. This exuberant yet mid-weight coastal Tuscan red is a total pleasure bomb. The 2022 is an especially fine edition. It benefits from a warm year - which can be a positive for entry-level wines - earlier bottling and selection. Le Difese is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (both estate and non-estate sites) and Sangiovese, all purchased.

The 2021 Guidalberto, San Guido's blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, is soft, succulent and alluring right out of the gate. The supple contours of Merlot lend fleshiness to this mid-weight, racy Maremma blend. Ripe red cherry fruit, spice, leather and tobacco are nicely pushed forward. Best of all, the 2021 will drink well right out of the gate.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is coy in the glass, slowly evolving with vivid black cherries, mentholated herbs and hints of cooling mint. This is silky and sleek, quite feminine in character and shows tremendous depth. It holds its power in reserve as a coating of chalky red and blue-toned fruits slowly saturates. This finishes long and youthfully tense with dusty tannins and minerals that mingle through the finale. The potential here is high, yet patience will be required.

The 2016 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is very pretty in 2016. Medium in body and supple, the Bricco Ambrogio captures all of the personality of the year in a mid-weight style that makes it easy to drink and enjoy young. The balance of fruit, acid and structure is just superb here. Pretty floral and spice overtones add nuance. Bricco Ambrogio is always the most accessible of the Scavino cru Barolos. The 2016 is the finest wine from this site yet.

The 2016 Barolo Vigneto Garretti is bold, racy and super-expressive. Succulent dark cherry, lavender, spice, menthol, red flowers, licorice, and French oak all meld together in this creamy, racy wine from La Spinetta. The Garretti captures all of the richness and pedigree of the year in a forward, succulent style that is sure to find many admirers. This is an especially strong vintage for this wine, though it needs another year in bottle for the big tannins to soften. I won't be surprised if the 2016 turns out to be even better than this note suggests; today it is absolutely delicious.

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a brooding wine, its mid-weight structure notwithstanding. Iron, smoke, tobacco, cedar and dried flowers add a feral, earthy quality that is so appealing. Pora is often one of the more approachable Riservas in this range, but the 2016 is an exception. Readers should be prepared to cellar it for at least a few years.

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Muncagota continues this tasting of frankly awe-inspiring wines. Rich, deep and super-expressive, the 2016 hits all the right notes. Black cherry, plum, spice, leather, licorice emerge, but only with great reluctance. The Muncagota is another wine in this range that clearly needs time.

The 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is a serious, somber wine. Black cherry, plum, lavender, spice and menthol show off the darker side of Nebbiolo to great effect. In most vintages, Rio Sordo is an easygoing wine, but not in 2016. Readers will find a potent, brooding yet mid-weight Barbaresco that screams with character. What a way to start this tasting!

The 2016 Barolo Pajana is ample, powerful and resonant, with terrific body and a real sense of expansiveness that builds with time in the glass. Sweet spice, citrus and floral overtones add brightness to this attractive, mid-weight Barolo. The 2016 is deep and yet also tannic. I would prefer to cellar it for at least a few years.

The 2018 Valpolicella Classico Superiore pulls the taster close to the glass with a darkly alluring blend of dried roses, violets, crushed stone, clove and blood orange. It washes across the palate with silken textures, lifted and finessed in the style of the vintage, as ripe wildberry fruits swirl beneath an air of sweet lavender. The word ethereal comes to mind as the 2018 tapers off with sweet tannins that provide a lovely framework to perfumed inner florals and hints of blackberry that resonate.

The 2016 Barolo Bussia is explosive, vibrant and full of energy. Bright saline notes give the Barolo Bussia great tension and sheer drive. Deceptively medium in body the Bussia is also incredibly distinctive. Its rich, vivid flavors are so finely sculpted. In this range, the Bussia is distinguished by its mid-palate sweetness and that creaminess that is so common in the best Bussia Barolos. I love the vibrancy here.

The 2016 Barolo Campè is superb. Dark, potent and powerful, the 2016 possesses tremendous intensity to match its dark, virile personality. More than anything else, in 2016 the Campè offers a captivating interplay of fruit and structure. The 2016 is not a shy wine; rather it is rich and hedonistic to the core, while maintaining a striking sense of translucence. Black cherry, chocolate, espresso, licorice and clove all build into the huge finish. In a word: Superb. In 2016 Giorgio Rivetti and his team made a Barolo with a sense of classicism I have never seen before to this degree in a La Spinetta wine.

The 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a rich, resonant wine that captures the natural radiance of the Tuscan Coast. Blackberry jam, mocha, plum, chocolate, spice and espresso all build in a mid-weight yet succulent, inviting Bolgheri red. There's terrific richness and resonance here. This is a classic Guado al Tasso. In 2020, the estate did not make its top bottling, the 100% Cabernet Franc Matarocchio, opting to use that fruit for Guado al Tasso. "Late season rains were challenging for the Cabernet Sauvignon, so we chose to use all our best Franc in Guado al Tasso," CEO Renzo Cotarella explained.

The 2019 Guado al Tasso is a model of total refinement. Deeply pitched spice, mocha and leather nuances meld into a core of plush dark fruit as the 2019 reveals its considerable charms. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing, but the 2019 has so much more to offer. I admire the wine’s balance and allure, both of which it has in spades. Like so many 2019s, Guado al Tasso is a wine more of energy and persistence than volume. Clean, bracing mineral notes linger on the sublime finish. The 2019 spent 18 months in barrel, 90% new. (Originally Published in March 2022)