The single vineyard bottling of Campo del Drago from Castiglion del Bosco comes from a high elevation parcel of their Brunello vineyards. It was first bottled on its own in the 1999 vintage. Because of the higher elevation, this wine comes in just a touch lower in octane than the 2020 117 Normale, tipping the scales at fourteen percent octane. It is handled identically in the cellars to the regular bottling, with fermentation done with indigenous yeasts and aging done in twenty percent new oak. The 2020 Campo del Drago delivers a superb aromatic constellation of red and black cherries, plums, brown spices, Cuban cigars, a mineral-infused base of soil, incipient notes of nutskin and a delicate framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a stunning core of fruit, great mineral undertow, fine-grained tannins and impeccable balance on the long, seamless, complex and beautifully vibrant finish. Simply outstanding juice in the making and one of the best young Brunellos I have tasted in quite some time! 2037-2075+. 

Castiglion del Bosco’s 2020 Brunello di Montalcino normale is an outstanding young wine. The wine comes in at 14.5 percent octane in this vintage and was raised in its customary twenty percent new oak. It offers up a deep and beautifully sappy bouquet of plums, black cherries, cigar wrapper, a lovely foundation of soil tones, gentle Tuscan herb tones, woodsmoke and a deft framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core of fruit, excellent soil signature and grip, ripe, buried tannins and excellent balance on the long and complex finish. This is excellent young Brunello! 2035-2075+.

The 2018 vintage of Gran Selezione from Querciabella is a touch lower in octane than the 2019 version, as this wine comes in at an even fourteen percent alcohol. It was handled identically to the 2019 in the cellars, with its malo in barrels and its aging done in large oak botti. The 2018 Gran Selezione delivers a superb bouquet of red and black cherries, spit-roasted gamebird, coffee bean, campfire, a very complex foundation of galestro minerality, fresh oregano, incipient notes of hazelnut and a very discreet framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, precise and very pure, with outstanding depth of fruit at the core, great mineral undertow, ripe, seamless tannins and a long, bouncy and very complex, impeccably balanced finish. This too needs a good decade in the cellar to really start to hit its stride, but it is going to be another brilliant wine. 2034-2075.

When I wrote my feature on legendary Chianti producer Querciabella a few years back, I mentioned that I felt their Mongrana Rosso bottling, made from relatively new vineyards in the coastal region of Maremma, may well be the finest value in Tuscan red wine for the cellar to be found anywhere in Italy. Their beautifully refined 2022 version has done nothing to dissuade me of this notion! The wine comes in at 13.5 percent octane in this vintage and is composed from its now traditional cépages of fifty percent sangiovese and twenty-five percent each of merlot and cabernet sauvignon. The wine’s refined aromatic constellation wafts from the glass in a mix of sweet dark berries, cassis, cigar wrapper, dark soil tones, fresh oregano and a topnote of distant bonfire. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and still quite tightly-knit, with a good core of fruit, fine soil transparency and grip, firm tannins and lovely balance on the long and promising finish. This is a structured vintage of Mongrana and will need plenty of cellaring to soften up its undercarriage of tannin, but in due course, it will be a lovely wine. 2035-2065. 

The Chablis “Grand Régnard” bottling from Maison Régnard is a blended bottling that includes fruit from several premier crus and grand crus in the cuvée. The 2021 version is excellent, offering up a bright and complex aromatic constellation of green apple, pear, a touch of lemon peel, oyster shell, chalky minerality, a wisp of anise and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, precise and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, a fine foundation of minerality, lovely balance and a long, complex and quite classy finish. This is lovely juice. 2025- 2050.