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A beautiful, pure syrah with dark-cherry and lavender aromas that follow through to a full body with round, polished tannins that are tight and compact. Flavorful and racy finish. Black-licorice and tar flavors. Slightly chewy at the end. Drink after 2023.James Suckling | 94 JSRich dark fruits, spiced cookie, smoky plums and black cherries define the 2018 Syrah Bramasole. This is cool-toned, pliant and pleasantly sweet, with a fresh display of inner violets, minerals and bright acids that keep the mouth watering. Nuanced tannins and sweet spice linger as this high-energy Cortona Syrah tapers off with blue and purple-toned florals. The 2018 Bramasole is stunning and so easy to like.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2018 Barolo Sperss is a gorgeous, gorgeous wine. The aromatics alone are beguiling. Then again, that’s one of the things that makes Barolo such a totally seductive wine. Sweet black cherry, lavender, spice and leather give this unusually translucent Barolo striking layers of dimension. Potent Serralunga tannins are present, but they are beautifully woven into the wine’s fabric. Sadly, production is around 11,000 bottles, down sharply from the 18,000 or so that is more typical.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGLots of rose-petal aromas here, together with some stems and sandalwood, as well plums and berries. Medium-bodied with a tight palate and very fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Linear and focused. Hints of nutmeg and pie crust highlight the palate. Approachable. now, but needs at last three or four years to open. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 95 JS

Blackberry and spice character – white pepper to be precise. Full-bodied, layered and chewy with a dusty texture and a black-olive undertone. It’s rich and chewy. Drink after 2022.James Suckling | 95 JSA blend of Petit Verdot and Merlot, the Tua Rita 2018 Lodano Rosso is another wine that I had tasted in a preview capacity at the beginning of this year. The wine is seamlessly integrated with dark fruit, blackberry and plum that is rounded off nicely by the smoke and tobacco from French oak and a smaller part of American oak. The Merlot is sourced from the estate’s celebrated old vines, and a theme of flashy or contemporary concentration and richness is found in this wine and throughout the estate portfolio. This vintage was cool and wet during the spring months but turned much warmer and drier toward the end of the growing season.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis is one of the best expressions of Petit Verdot I have tasted in a long time. While always intriguing, the variety is often very linear and structural whereas here it has some richness, roundness and charm. It opens slowly to reveal dark fruits, gunsmoke and spice, with finely textured, silty tannins. Perhaps the old-vine Merlot helps coax this more edgy variety into showing its more sensual side. Drinking Window 2022 - 2028.Decanter | 94 DEC

The 2018 Ornellaia is an introvert at this stage. Medium in body, with terrific persistence and impeccable balance, the 2018 is not in any mood to show all its cards today. Hints of red berry fruit, mocha, spice, licorice and dried flowers emerge with a bit of coaxing. I won’t be surprised to see it put on weight with more time in bottle. There is certainly plenty to look forward to. Readers should expect a silky, aromatic Ornellaia in line with vintages such as 2004 that are more about finesse than raw power. This is the first time in which Merlot drives the blend in Ornellaia.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThis is such a charismatic wine, abundant and packed full of flavour while refined and precise. The palate has barely-there tannins that glide across the tongue underpinned by milk chocolate, leather, almost-sour cherries, blackcurrants and liquorice spicing. Freshness and persistence balanced by density and silkiness. Fermentation in oak barrels 70% new and 30% once used, then transferred to barriques for 18 months. After the first 12 months of maturation the wine is assembled and returned to barriques for an additional 6 months before being bottled and aged again for 12 months prior to release. A blend of 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040Decanter | 97 DECThe 2018 Ornellaia is mostly Merlot but includes a solid amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It's a gorgeous wine that takes air to show at its best (and deserves bottle age), giving up a terrific array of red and black currants, cedar pencil, tobacco, iron, and savory herbs. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly well-balanced red that has building, ripe, polished tannins, perfectly integrated acidity, a great mid-palate, and one heck of a finish. While not a blockbuster in the exuberant, extroverted sense of the word, it has incredible intensity and depth, and this is a gem of a wine. It needs another 5-7 years to hit maturity and, I suspect, will evolve for 30-40 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDSo aromatic and complex with blackcurrants, blueberries, fresh violets and lavender on the nose. Some graphite and iodine, too. Medium to full body with firm, chewy tannins that are polished and refined, yet the palate is so long and refined. This is an Ornellaia with strength in elegance. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2018 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is complete and seamlessly stitched together with extreme care and precision. This is an almost technical blend of Merlot (at 50% of the blend for the first time), 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot that offers a true sense of wholeness and consistency that speaks to the blending expertise and experience of the winemaking team. Finding harmony among the various vinous components of the wine was especially important in this vintage that prized early-ripening grapes like Merlot over the others. Blackberry and dried cherry segue to spice, tar, campfire ash and more sweet fruit. We're off to a great start, and this vintage of Ornellaia is surely destined to flesh out and grow more complex with age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPComplex, sophisticated and harmonious, this pure red is marked by black currant, black cherry, cedar, iron and light spice flavors. Bright and focused, with refined tannins emerging on the spice-tinged finish. Discreet and stylish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2040. 1,500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS