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The 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is every bit as spectacular as it has always been. I remember tasting the 2004 with Bruno Giacosa and Dante Scaglione before it was released, and making a note to buy as much of the wine as soon as it hit the market. I have never regretted that decision. Explosive, deep and powerful, the 2004 Asili will reward readers lucky enough to own it for several decades. On this night, it is simply sublime. Not surprisingly, the 2004 is also one of the favorites of the group.Vinous Media | 99 VMThe 2004 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is even more compelling than the Rabaja. It floats on the palate with an ethereal core of sweet fruit that calls to mind a profound Musigny, but with the unmistakable structure of Nebbiolo. The perfumed purity of the fruit carries all the way through to the deeply satisfying, resonating finish. Made in a soft, seductive style, this remarkable wine is decidedly more approachable and easy to appreciate today than the Rabaja. Giacosa fans will have a great time discussing the merits of the Rabaja and the Asili in 2004, but to me they are virtually equally moving; Asili for its feminine gracefulness and Rabaja for its size and power. The Asili should prove more accessible at an earlier age. Bruno Giacosa says his 2004 Asili Riserva will turn out to be just like his 2000 Asili Riserva, the wine he still thinks is the best he’s ever made. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPStrawberry jam, plums, berries, and black truffles. Brimming and super refined with super silky tannins and a long, long finish. Beautiful class and balance. This is drinking incredibly right now but will keep for decades.James Suckling | 97 JSAromas of strawberry and candle wax develop to cherry and light incense. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and lots of fruit. Focused and very well done, but really tight at the moment. Very structured. Needs time. This is the red label. Best after 2014. 1,170 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

This is a Masseto that is its own now with balance and harmony. It shows delicate chocolate and berry character with hints of hazelnut. Medium to full body. Long silky finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSTasted next to the 2002, the 2005 Masseto is perhaps a bit edgier, with an extra kick of tannic intensity that gives the wine its sense of direction and a good kick of energy too. I very much admire the tension in the 2005, a wine built on freshness, aromatic depth and mid-weight structure. Cool, rainy weather towards the end of the season resulted in a late harvest that took place between September 14 and 30.Antonio Galloni | 95 AGFruit was picked later than normal and the Masseto Merlot does indeed show mature aromas of black cherry, ripe blackberry, earthy iron and polished stone. The intensity and purity are amazing and the wine is sophisticated, soft and very rich on the finish. It is already showing beautiful evolution in the glass.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2005 Masseto (Merlot) is simply gorgeous. A wine of extraordinary class and personality, it remains very primary in its dark fruit, licorice, cassis and toasted oak. It offers notable concentration and well-integrated tannins, all of which convey an impression of awesome harmony, finesse and balance. The tricky growing season seems to have been less of an issue for the Merlot, particularly in the old-vine Masseto Centrale vineyard. The 2005 Masseto has been superb every time I have tasted it thus far. As is often the case, the wine requires at least a few years of bottle age before it becomes approachable. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPAn exotic bouquet reveals floral, spice, cherry compote and truffle elements. A Masseto that’s all about elegance, with a silky texture, wild berry fruit, firm tannins and bright acidity. This still has some tannins to give, but is delicious now. Fine length. Merlot.—Non-blind Masseto vertical (October 2017). Drink now through 2033. 2,660 cases made, 550 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Another astounding wine from Allegrini, if you didn’t buy Fiermonte last year here’s a chance to buy something just as good. The most gorgeous nose; full of flowers, chocolate truffles, red fruits and dried berries - fragranced and just so inviting, also so pure. The texture and mouthfeel are just perfect - round, enveloping, the perfect weight to give structure and body with intensity and fleshiness yet nothing is over the top or too much. Delicious crunchy and fleshy fruit, wonderful minty freshness with accents of incense fragrance, wood spice and exotic spices before a lingering chalky finish with an underlying saltiness. Pure, precise, clearly defined, juicy, totally moreish. What more can you ask for? A little less friendly and overtly charming than the 2015 at the same time last year, this carries more muscle, opulence, power and boldness but it has exceptional forward motion and freshness. It delights and enthralls in equal measure from the first sip! Just wow! A blend of 45% Corvina, 45% Corvinone, 5% Rondinella and 5% Oseleta.Decanter | 100 DECThe 2016 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Fieramonte captivates. It opens with a minty freshness complicated by hints of tangerine and dill, giving way to mentholated black cherries and a dusting of cocoa. This is cool-toned and sleek, with a measured inner sweetness and racy acidity to balance. Polished red and blue fruits sweep across the palate with ease, leaving a bitter tinge of espresso and mocha that resonates toward the close. Tactile mineral tones ground the experience to the earth just as a web of fine-grained tannins settles in, leaving a classically dry tension. The 2016 finishes with tremendous length and potency. Allegrini continues to take the Fieramonte to new heights, and while many producers in Valpolicella prefer their 2015s over their 2016s, I must say, the balance here is otherworldly. This is not to be missed.Vinous Media | 97 VMThe Allegrini 2016 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Fieramonte is skewed tight and buttoned up in terms of its intensity and its consistency. This balance is quite an achievement, and of course, we have the fabulous 2016 vintage to celebrate here. A year with classic weather patterns and no major challenges, the wine offers black cherry, plum, spice, leather and cured tobacco. The results are modern and contemporary with smooth tannins and a generous, full-weight finish. I love the seamless quality of this cellar-worthy wine. The alcohol is high at 16.5%, and only 5,000 bottles were made (hitting the market in fall 2023).Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2016 is bold on the opening with concentrated blackberry aromas giving way to macerated Bing cherries all coated in allspice, vanilla and hint of savory spices. As the wine develops, drying violets and dark-earth notes waft up. The palate is full in body with concentrated baked plums with cocoa and chalk finishing with firm tannins and lifted acidity. Drink 2028–2050.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEBrings a sense of finesse to an otherwise rich and concentrated, full-bodied red. Offers taut, fine-grained tannins as a firm frame, wrapped with a silky texture and flavors of mulled black cherry, cured tobacco, dried fig, cocoa powder and a zesty touch of cracked pink peppercorn. Long, fragrant finish. Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta. Drink now through 2039. 1,000 cases made, 50 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA cooler year in a recent context. This cuvee (single vineyard) was made from 1965 to 1985, before the vineyard was infected with esca. The vineyard was then rejuvenated and the Fieramonte was revived from 2011. A rich, avuncular, throaty wine after four-years in 225L barriques. The grapes are dried for 130-140 days which is very long, even in the context of the region. Loads of residual sugar at the initial, spontaneous fermentation, before inoculation drags it to a palate-staining dryness. A big wine loaded with extract, dark fruits, menthol and anise. Very impressive. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit is sensational in this young Barolo, offering blackberries, black truffle and iron. Rust too. This is so tannic and powerful with incredible structure. This may be the most structured Barolo from Bruno Giacosa I have ever tasted as a young wine. Speechless. Full-bodied and so intense, yet it remains fresh and agile. Traditional in every sense of the word, but this is clear and clean. A classic in the making. It will be in the market January 2022. Leave this for at least six to eight years. Try in 2027.James Suckling | 100 JSThe Bruno Giacosa 2016 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche sees its fruit sourced from the oldest vines in the Falletto cru. This wine boasts all the signature touches of Serralunga d’Alba with the massive structure, density and the long aging potential that comes with Nebbiolo grown in this village. The wine spreads evenly over the palate, imparting its considerable fruit weight and generally leaving a big impact. This Barolo is really quite lovely and beautiful. The bouquet is fluid and ever-shifting, showing new sides with firm fruit, blackberry, smoke, rusty nail and mineral with every swirl of the glass. I visited this vineyard site shortly before tasting this wine and marveled at the beautiful peacocks that roam free between the rows of vines.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RP

The 2016 Barolo Riserva Rüncot is quite possibly the single greatest wine I have tasted in more than twenty years I have been coming here, with the possible exception of the 1989s and 1990s. Deep and powerful, but not at all heavy, the 2016 dazzles from the very first taste. Dark cherry/plum fruit, menthol, lavender, licorice and mocha saturate the palate in a Barolo of extraordinary richness and intensity. The 2016 spent four years in 100% new oak, and yet there is no trace at all of wood. Magnificent!Vinous Media | 100 VMShows an initial impression of vanilla and spices, especially in the aromas, yet underneath is a solid line of cherry, raspberry, wild scrub and iron flavors. An elegant and intense red, with refined tannins and a lingering, nervy finish. Best from 2026 through 2045. 650 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2020 Percarlo is a wine of nearly indescribable finesse and nuance. All the elements are so well balanced. In 2020, Percarlo is wonderfully understated, with mind-blowing balance and barely no perception of tannin. I don’t remember ever tasting a Percarlo with this much linear energy, tension and focus. The clean, mineral-drenched finish is unforgettable. The 2020 is, quite simply, spectacular.Vinous Media | 100 VMThe organic San Giusto a Rentennano 2020 Percarlo is born in a vintage of power, concentration and dark fruit flavors. All of these elements are delivered here, and as always, the wine shows impeccable Sangiovese balance with a spotlight on primary fruit, integrated tannins and bright acidity. The alcohol is high at 15%. In fact, the wine tastes young, and that’s not something you can say of most of the other releases from the 2020 vintage. This expression, however, still holds back just a bit and consequently promises an excellent cellar-aging evolution.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RP

Tasted over lunch, the Soldera Case Basse 2020 100% Sangiovese shows a softly textured profile with beautifully polymerized tannins that create a taut sounding board for notes of cassis, small berry fruit, violets and crushed stone. Made with spontaneous fermentation in oversized vats and aged carefully in the family cellars in surrounding quiet and darkness, this soulful wine remains true to the spirit of Sangiovese, defined by clarity and finesse. The 2020 vintage has an accessible, open-knit character that suits it well and clearly distinguishes it from the more austere 2019 and the super precise 2021. In this context, 2020 offers a softer, more delicate interlude between the two.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe most vivid crushed cherry gives way to rose pastille, sweet lavender and nuances of clove and exotic spice as the exuberant 2020 Toscana Sangiovese comes to life in the glass. It displays pure class on the palate. It’s silken and soothingly round with a pretty mix of ripe strawberry and blueberry that swirl throughout, as crisp mineral tones and a contrasting tinge of sour citrus add unparalleled depth. Incredibly complex yet juicy and spry, the 2020 leaves crunchy tannins that firm up the impossibly long finish without slowing its momentum. I don’t recall ever tasting a young Soldera that showed this much energy and verve. It’s already so pleasurable yet has the balance to mature beautifully over the coming decades.Vinous Media | 97 VMTasted from a 65-hectoliter cask, the 2020 Sangiovese is plush and fruity at this stage, although it’s starting to reveal its mineral underpinnings, with dark blackberry notes, graphite, and violets. Medium to full-bodied, it offers a velvety texture, with ripe and refined tannins, a good deal of meaty richness through the mid-palate, and a seamless structure. There’s both purity and refinement across each of the samples tasted. The 2020 showed a good deal of completeness already prior to bottling and I expect it will have a good deal of cellaring potential.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-99 JD

Aromas of ripe and racy red berry fruit with touches of white pepper, hazelnuts and graphite. Very pure and structured. There’s brightness from lovely acidity and verticality from its tannins, giving it a slightly austere edge. Long, tight finish. This will be better in two to three years.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2021 Brunello di Montalcino is dusty and floral, with an inviting bouquet of dried roses, cedar shavings and crushed black cherries. It is deeply textural, silken and round, with depths of ripe wild berry fruits offset by crunchy mineral tones and brisk acidity. The finish is dramatic, with youthful tension, mixing hints of sour citrus with edgy tannins and a chewy resonance of primary concentration.Vinous Media | 94 VM

A muscular single-vineyard Brunello. Intense aromas of dark cherries, spearmint, lilacs and sandalwood. Full-bodied with a tight and compacted palate, chewy tannins and a fresh and tense finish. Needs time to soften and come together. Best after 2028.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri is a total spice box on the nose, with crushed roses, spiced orange peels, incense, raspberry, herbal tea leaves and hints of mint. More lifted and energetic than expected, it displays grace and youthful poise with mineral-inflected wild berry fruits. Vivid sour cherry lingers incredibly long through the finish as fine-grained tannins frame the experience and a bump of residual acidity keeps the mouth watering for more.Vinous Media | 96 VM

Enticing aromas of red cherries, dried strawberries and hints of plums, cedar, sandalwood and balsamic. Medium-bodied with a tight and rich center palate and a chewy and powerful finish. This needs time to come together and soften slightly. Best after 2029.James Suckling | 98 JSAromas of new leather, spiced black plum, violet and camphor unfold on the bold and beautiful 2021 Brunello Pianrosso. Combining power and restraint, the full-bodied palate delivers layers of ripe Morello cherry, raspberry jam, licorice and fine tobacco blend before a spiced orange zest close. Velvety, enveloping tannins provide seamless support. Drink 2029–2041. Abv: 15% Kerin O’Keefe | 97 KO

The drop-dead gorgeous Gianni Brunelli stopped me in my tracks with its stunning fragrance of freshly picked violet, iris, forest berry, leather and eucalyptus. All about extreme elegance, the palate is equally captivating, delivering layers of succulent Morello cherry, wild raspberry, blood orange, dark spice and crushed mint. Taut, ultra-refined tannins provide seamless support while fresh acidity keeps it vibrant and impeccably balanced. While it’s already incredibly tempting, it also promises years of graceful aging. Hats off to Laura Brunelli and her team. Drink 2029–2039. Abv: 14% Kerin O’Keefe | 100 KOA polished and finely detailed expression, the Gianni Brunelli Le Chiuse di Sotto 2021 Brunello di Montalcino showcases tension and subtle sweetness carried across a taut, silky palate with beautifully textured tannins. Dusty mineral notes add definition and lift, while the overall impression remains ethereal and weightless, a hallmark of the estate’s precision with Sangiovese in this classic vintage. The wine balances finesse and structure with remarkable poise. Production totals 15,715 bottles, including 180 magnums and other larger formats.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPDried flowers mix with crushed rocks, grilled herbs and spiced orange peels as the darkly alluring 2021 Brunello di Montalcino smolders up from the glass. The wine is polished in feel, silken and serene with a harmonious mix of tantalizing acidity, minerals and ripe red and black fruits. While tannic, the tannins are round and refined, leaving a classically dry sensation as hints of licorice and cedary spice fade.Vinous Media | 95 VMSlightly earthy, almost tarry nose of deep red and dark fruit and hints of chocolate and spices. The palate shows balance and poise, with a medium to full body, very fine tannins and vivid acidity. Smooth and well integrated, with a lingering, lightly savory finish. Better from 2028.James Suckling | 94 JS

One of the few 2022 Tuscan wines where you can really see that this will benefit from a few years in bottle, right now it is, hovering on the edge of something delicious, vibrating over the tannic architecture, feathered, campfire smoke, fennel, blackberry, liquorice and crushed peonies, and the bitter fennel and slate scrape, dense, contrast of textures and flavours like only truly great wines can do, a reflection of skilful construction. A gorgeous wine, slowly stretching out in the palate, 65% new oak for ageing. Harvest began August 9 for the whites, and the reds began August 25 with Masseto, and then a few days later for Ornellaia, one of the earliest on record, with around 38hl/h yield.Jane Ansen | 99 JAA Mediterranean-style wine. Stunning elegance on the nose, with vibrant dried eucalyptus leaves, flowers, restrained brambleberries and hints of black cherries, dried bananas, milk chocolate, cloves and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with elegant tannins and a touch of dust. It’s savory and well packed, with integrated, brilliant freshness and a ripe, fruity finish with a toasty aftertaste of blond tobacco. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 98 JSTasted a few months after it was bottled, the Ornellaia 2022 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia will be coming to market in March 2025. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine sees 18 months of aging with up to 70% new oak, but the trick, proprietor Lamberto Frescobaldi tells me, is drawing from a large group of coopers with different toast levels and forests. "I don’t want to make a wine of any one tonnellerie," he says. The oak element is crucial to the identity of this wine that reveals dark fruit, blackberry, sweet spice and cinnamon. Most of the vines were planted in the 1980s, and the average age of the plants is over 20 years old. Fruit comes from many parcels, including Bellaria, Bellaria Nuova, Bellaria Alta, Pero, Fosso, Vigna Vecchia and Stallina. Indeed, some 80 wines are made before final blending. The 2022 vintage will be remembered for its full-bodied appeal, concentrated fruit and generous oak renderings. Petit Verdot plays a slightly larger role in this vintage and was one of the surprise hits of 2022. It serves to elongate the wine and adds to its length. The wine’s abundant fruit weight cedes to elegantly integrated tannins. This vintage will appeal to die-hard Ornellaia enthusiasts.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2022 Ornellaia is a terrific wine for the year. Dark red-toned fruit, mocha, new leather, licorice and spice all take shape in a mid-weight, pliant Ornellaia that is quite alluring, even in the early going. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot, unusual for the elevated presence of Petit Verdot, which did better than Franc in 2022. The higher percentage of Petit Verdot comes through in the wine’s dark-leaning personality and also in the quality of tannins. More than anything else, the 2022 is a reminder of how important a tool blending is, especially in challenging years. I can’t wait to see how this ages. The 2022 Ornellaia is clearly among the most successful wines of the vintage.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2022 Ornellaia is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 10% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A deep but bright purple/red color, it has a fantastic nose of blackberries, polished cedar, lavender, sweet herbs, and dark cocoa. Full-bodied, it has a rich structure, with warming concentration but a very balanced feel. The tannins are ripe and frame the underlying mineral notes very nicely, its fruity richness fleshing it out harmoniously. It is not a fruity vintage for this wine, though, and its structure leads here. Drink 2027-2050.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDFeaturing a hefty 10% of Petit Verdot this year for an injection of freshness and structure, Ornellaia 2022 is rich, deep and tightly coiled, with some pretty red fruits and floral notes overlaying dark, juicy berries. It’s a dense style which reflects the vintage but looks towards harmony and poise: the woody frame and fine, structural tannins are countered by very good acidity and a bright fruit profile, with some breezy herbs helping to lift the long, fresh finish. Give this some more time in the bottle before enjoying.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECBroad and lush, this red reveals ripe flavors of black currant, black cherry and blackberry shaded with cedar, iron and sweet spices. Balanced, with a few youthful edges that still need polishing. Its fine core of saturated fruit persists on the aftertaste. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2028 through 2043. 2,165 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Plenty of red currant, cedar, iron and terra cotta aromas follow through to a medium to full body with graphite, sandalwood, red currants and fresh Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The tannins are chewy but polished in texture. This is a Sassicaia that needs three or four years of bottle age to come together and soften. A structured wine for the cellar. Try after 2029.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2022 Sassicaia is simply brilliant in this vintage, showing a remarkable level of poise and freshness. It opens with a captivating bouquet of ripe blackberries, plum, florals and subtle herbs, underscored by a touch of spice, tobacco and minerals. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied and well-structured, with velvety tannins and a lively acidity that provides perfect balance. Rich flavors of red/dark fruits, tobacco and spices unfold beautifully, leading to a long, persistent finish that is both refined and elegant. A stunning example of Sassicaia’s pedigree and resilience to thrive year after year.International Wine Report | 98 IWRThe Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia reveals a beautiful fruit profile with fresh blackberry, tart cherry and Mediterranean tones of blue rosemary blooms and lavender sachet. I tasted this wine several times over the course of a few months, and it has already shown a happy evolution coming into slow focus like the faint colors that emerge from a Polaroid photograph. Indeed, the bouquet appeared more closed just a short while ago. The wine’s strongest suit is its elegantly streamlined mouthfeel and its contained 13.5% alcohol content. These qualities add to the silky cleanness of the mouthfeel and the accessible freshness of this vintage. I am confident that this bottle will improve with time. It requires patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe wine is tightly coiled and concentrated. It feels almost cinched at the waist, with a fascinating tension between the weight of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry coulis fruit and the wine’s verticality, as if it’s trying to burst out. Lovely mid-palate sapidity is allied to fresh acidity and fine but dense tannins, making for a dark horse of a Sassicaia that isn’t giving much away today but will greatly reward those who can cellar it for 12 years and more. ‘What is sure is that 2022 will need a lot of time, but will also have a long life,’ said Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta. A hot vintage, 2022 caused the team to work in the newly completed refrigerated warehouses in San Guido, even moving the sorting table inside. Shorter macerations and 23 rather than the more typical 24 or 25 months of ageing in wood helped to maximise the freshness.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECOpening with aromas of menthol, dark spice, blue flower and dark-skinned berry, the 2022 Sassicaia is impressive and defied my expectations. Hailing from what was a notoriously hot, dry year, the estate’s location, including its hillside vineyards, vicinity to the woods plus much-needed rain in August preserved freshness and aromas as did harvesting somewhat earlier than usual, shorter skin maceration and slightly less time in oak. Showing elegant restraint, it’s balanced and tense, delivering flavors of ripe blackberry, wild cherry, licorice and mint. It’s still quite tight and youthfully austere, with a backbone of firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity. Give it time to fully unwind. Drink 2030–2042. Abv: 13.5% Kerin O’Keefe | 97 KOThe 2022 Sassicaia is a very pretty, expressive wine. There’s a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon (and less Franc) in this year’s blend, and that really comes through in the wine’s flavor profile and slightly bruising tannins. Dark cherry, plum, leather, licorice, graphite and incense give the 2022 striking aromatic presence to match its rather brooding personality. There’s a bit of tension in the tannins that needs time to resolve. Yields were down about 20% because of intensely cold weather in spring, variable conditions during flowering and set, and then searing heat and drought throughout the summer.Vinous Media | 94+ VM