Château Léoville Barton 2005
The 2005 Léoville Barton is a textbook portrait of St. Julien in one of Bordeaux’s greatest modern vintages. It has shed some of its youthful austerity and now presents a poised harmony of cassis, black cherry, graphite, and cedar smoke. The tannins remain powerful yet polished, a firm lattice that still underpins the wine nearly two decades on. What impresses most is its authority—this is not a wine of flamboyance but of discipline and classical balance, destined for further decades of life.
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2010
Grand-Puy-Lacoste’s 2010 epitomises the quiet nobility of Pauillac. The wine has entered a glorious phase of evolution, where blackcurrant, cassis, and cigar box aromas merge seamlessly with graphite and hints of violet. The palate is both powerful and composed, showing a confident structure but with tannins that have softened into velvet. This is a wine of stature, yet never ostentatious—a reminder of how deeply characterful Pauillac can be in the hands of an estate that values understatement over spectacle.
Barolo Monprivato 2001 – Giuseppe Mascarello
Monprivato 2001 remains one of the most lyrical expressions of Barolo in the early 21st century. The nose unfolds with haunting aromas of dried roses, cherries, truffle, and tar, layered with delicate notes of spice and tobacco. The palate has achieved a near-perfect equilibrium: tannins that once bristled have now dissolved into fine powder, holding aloft fruit that glows with an autumnal warmth. It is a wine that seems to capture both the grandeur and fragility of Nebbiolo at maturity.
Guado al Tasso 2014 – Antinori
Bolgheri’s 2014 season brought coolness and challenges, and Guado al Tasso wears that story with grace. The fruit leans red—sour cherry, cranberry, redcurrant—brightened by pepper, mint, and a touch of balsamic lift. The structure is taut, acidity high, tannins a little stern, yet the wine has a refined silhouette that speaks to restraint rather than opulence. It is less of a statement vintage than a study in transparency, a Super Tuscan that reveals its season rather than conceals it.
Barolo Arione 2015 – Giacomo Conterno
Roberto Conterno’s Arione 2015 is an essay in depth and gravity. Still youthful and brooding, it releases aromas of dark cherry, menthol, iron, and a stony mineral intensity that hints at its underlying power. The palate is muscular, with tannins that feel monumental, built for decades rather than years. Behind that architecture lies a striking purity, a quiet insistence that this wine will, in time, join the pantheon of Barolo’s most profound bottlings. For now, it is a promise rather than a revelation.
Brunello di Montalcino 2017 – Biondi-Santi
The 2017 vintage, marked by heat and stress, could have produced a blunt wine, but at Biondi-Santi it emerges as a testament to restraint and heritage. Aromas of sour cherry, orange zest, and Mediterranean herbs rise with clarity, framed by a lively acidity that gives the wine a surprising lift. The palate is taut, almost wiry, with tannins that carry finesse rather than force. It may not have the grandeur of cooler years, but it radiates the estate’s unmistakable signature of elegance.
Brunello di Montalcino 2010 – Caparzo
In the celebrated 2010 vintage, Caparzo delivered a wine that blends generosity with discipline. The nose offers a classic mix of black cherry, plum, leather, and tobacco, dusted with spice. On the palate, the fruit feels ample yet balanced by firm acidity and tannins that provide both structure and freshness. This is a Brunello that captures the completeness of 2010—power, clarity, and poise all aligned in one of the most memorable expressions of modern Montalcino.
