Italy

95 Points! The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva tempts the imagination as a mix of geranium and rose petals complement citrus-laced blackberries and hints of violet pastille. This is lifted and finessed with vibrant acidity and masses of mineral infused red and black fruit aromas offset by a tinge of orange zest toward the close. The finish reveals its tannic and poised structure, yet it's blended with a primary concentration that adds tremendous balance as nuances of tobacco and licorice fade. Bury this deep in the cellar. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

95 Points! Packed with cherry and blackberry fruit, this red is dense and a bit chunky at this stage. Mineral, earth and floral notes add depth, and this finishes with echoes of fruit and earth, plus the emergence of Tuscan scrub accents. A solid base of tannins lends support; this is balanced and built for the long haul. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! In the Fonterenza style, the 2020 Rosso di Montalcino lifts from the glass with a wild bouquet as sour cherry and orange mingle with sweet herbs and exotic spices. This is full of energy yet soft and pliant. Vibrant acidity carries licorice-tinged red fruits. It tapers off long and structured, leaving the mouth watering and aching under its youthful structure. Patience will be required. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

92 Points! Darkly alluring, almost smokey in nature, the 2019 Rosso Granomelo tempts the senses with a complex blend of black currants, exotic spice, air-dried meats and crushed rocks. This seems to hover across the palate, lifted and finessed, with rose-tinged red berries that slowly take on a more savory profile as saline-mineral tones form toward the close. The 2019 lingers with impressive length and is potent, blending wild herbs with black fruits and blood orange hints that slowly fade to leave behind a fine web of tannin. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

92 Points! Aromas of cherries, dried herbs, strawberry bush, wet stones and subtle spices with some dusty mineral notes. Silky and textured on the medium-bodied palate, it’s deliciously fruity and smooth, with a lingering finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The organic Brancaia 2023 Chianti Classico shows lovely primary intensity with dark cherry and blackcurrant. Barbara Widmer and her team strive for freshness and an easy-drinking experience with this charming wine. Maintaining fruit freshness and elegance is a main goal of this estate, but it also strives to push beyond the classic parameters of Chianti Classico in terms of complexity and depth. I love the brightness of the primary fruit in this wine. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

97 Points! Lavender and sage with berries and dried strawberries, but so perfumed and subtle. Medium- to full-bodied with very fine tannins that are totally integrated with finesse and beauty at the end. Caresses your palate. - JamesSuckling.com  

96 Points! The 2020 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a classy, polished wine. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, new leather, licorice and lavender all take shape. As always, Costa Russi is the most supple and charming of the Gaja Barbarescos in the early going. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! The Gaja 2020 Barbaresco Costa Russi has a rose and floral note that emerges at first, and it doesn't have the heavy dark earth or cured leather aromas that we get in the Barbaresco. This wine is focused on fruit tones, bright ones, and those nuances are juicy, generous and long. There's more youth in this wine, and the tannins are extremely fine and silky. Count on this wine to improve with age. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95 Points! The Poderi Aldo Conterno 2020 Barolo Bussia is a fine and silky wine with the elegant power that is characteristics of this special cru. The wine shows bright fruit flavors with cherry and blackcurrant followed by earthy iris root and licorice. There is a hint of perfume or church incense. That pretty intensity follows through to the palate with balanced freshness and lasting medium-plus richness. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! The nose is attractive, with watermelon, leafy lightness, fresh violets and strawberry fruit. The palate is savory and graceful, with a full body, velvety tannins soaked in peach fruit, juicy acidity and a polished aftertaste. A bracing Barolo with at least 10 years of cellaring potential, yet enjoyable now. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! The 2019 Sangiovese Romagna Superiore Thea opens slowly in the glass with an understated mix of sage and dusty dried roses, giving way to nuances of strawberry and mint. This is silky and elegant in feel with mineral-tinged tart wild berries carried by zesty acids, as pretty inner violet tones form toward the close. A coating of fine tannins lingers through the lightly structured finale, but they are sweet and round as vivid raspberry and blood orange notes slowly fade. The Thea is a single-vineyard Sangiovese refined in tonneaux for nine months, 40% new. The 2019 is very attractive, but give it another year or two of cellaring for the best results. (Drink between 2024-2028) - Eric Guido, Vinous

95+ Points! Fruit selection for this wine casts a wider net in the celebrated Vorbeg vineyard that also fuels the exceptional Rarity bottling. This 52-hectare site has incredibly steep (70%) inclines at 450 to 650 meters above sea level with south and southwestern exposures. The 2022 Alto Adige Terlano Pinot Bianco Riserva Vorberg is a creamy, mid-weight expression from a warm and dry vintage. The wine offers pretty aromatic highlights of melon, Golden Delicious apple, pie crust and crushed oystershell. This is a beautiful and more accessible taste of the best of Alto Adige. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! Fairly neutral with vibrant apricot fruit, aromatic herbs and a touch of almonds. Tight and tense acidity on the medium-bodied palate, tingling and electric. The citrusy finish is long and salty. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! A gentle and elegant wine with aromas of spices, milk chocolate, vanilla, milk, mint, graphite and dark fruit. Silky and velvety on the palate, with ripe tannins, crisp acidity, a full body, clove flavors and amazing complexity. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2023 Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia is a delight. Crushed flowers, ripe red cherry fruit, spice, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco are all nicely laced together. This mid-weight Serre Nuove is notable for its forward fruit, mid-weight structure and overall appeal. Floral top notes extend the effortless, silky finish. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! Pear, lemon, lime and matchstick aromas. Plenty of sauvignon blanc character, but it’s not overdone. Full-bodied with a very dense palate and plenty of exotic fruit, but it’s tight and focused at the end. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

95 points Luca Maroni! 90 points James Suckling! Roasted cherry, licorice and walnut on the nose, with a touch of muscovado sugar. It’s full-bodied, rich and flavorful with ripe, broad tannins. Drink now.

Sourced from Barbera grapes that have been lightly dried for a short period of time (not as long as Amarone) to concentrate their flavor and intensity.

96 Points! This rich, pure red is generous in its flavors of black cherry, blackberry, plum, fruitcake, earth and spices. The tannins are well-integrated and overall this is harmonious and long, echoing the lush fruit and spice elements. This is all about elegance and finesse, making it approachable now. Merlot. Drink now through 2038. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Expressive and expansive nose of fresh plums, cherries, cloves, nutmeg, flowers and sandalwood. It’s so transparent and vibrant, with a medium to full body and fine, tight tannins. Gorgeous fruit. From organically grown grapes. Try from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The San Polo 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi shows a very earthy side that evokes savory spice, smoke and gamey aromas. The core of this organic wine is colored by black fruit and baked plum, but the wine is primarily driven by the aromas it has picked up during oak and bottle aging. This adds a medium-heavy constitution and a good amount of warm-vintage fruit weight for a Sangiovese. The wine also has an accessible character that makes it best to drink over the next 10 years. The fruit represents a selection from over two hectares. - Monica Larner robertparker.com

97 Points! A recurrent question with amply aged Italian classic reds like Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino is whether or not the extra ageing stipulations in place for the Riserva categories are truly necessary; it can often seem as if younger versions have the edge on older, 'grander' wines, since they show brighter fruit structures. This 2019 Riserva illustrates the benefits of extra age. It's pale, now, with some gentle bricking at the meniscus; the aromas are refined and harmonious, packed not just with red fruits but with autumnal warmth and oak-copse charm, as if the wine was evoking the landscape in which it came into being. On the tongue, it's still quite grandly structured and clearly has further development ahead; look behind those succulent if ample tannins, though, and you'll find beautifully articulated fruit supported by deft redcurrant acidity. Grand Barolo from this outstanding vintage. - Decanter World Wine Awards

93 Points! In the bottle with the red wax capsule, the Fratelli Serio & Battista Borgogno 2019 Barolo Riserva Cannubi shows a hint of tertiary definition with faded fruit, autumnal leaf and black tea. The wine is finely knit in terms of mouthfeel, and you get a slightly textured effect with granular tannins. Fruit is selected from one part, the Vigna Battista, of the three parcels farmed in Cannubi, with southern exposures on sand, silt and clay. That limestone sand is what adds the special finesse to Cannubi fruit, typically, although climate change has complicated things. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

92 Points! His 2021 Barolo sees fruit from vineyards in La Morra, Verduno and Serralunga d'Alba. There is a pretty chalky quality to the wine that you perceive across the senses, especially the bouquet. To that, I would add cocktail cherry and cassis. I am reminded of the Jolly Rancher candies we had as kids. The wine is informal, bright and accessible. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

A blend of 90% Sangiovese with 10% Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, and Colorino, Piemaggio’s flagship Chianti Classico ferments spontaneously in stainless steel during a 3 ½ week maceration, and spends two years aging in a combination of concrete tanks and previously used wooden casks—mainly 25-hectoliter Slavonian oak, with some 500-liter French oak employed as well. Utterly textbook in character, it combines earth, bright fruit, and tangy acidity, with notable yet unforced concentration; it is a wine of balance and egoless drinkability.

95 Points! This is a fantastic wine from Stefania Barbot that represents a spot-on interpretation of both vintage and territory. The 2016 Taurasi Fren is dark and luscious, boasting impressive depth and persistence. There is extreme purity of fruit with blackberry and blackcurrants interwoven into smoke, tar, ash and exotic spice. To the palate, the wine offers structure and ample fruit weight, resulting in a powerful, steak-worthy performance. Fruit comes from 70-year-old vines planted at 470 meters in altitude. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

92 Points! An aromatic, savory streak of tarry smoke and leather offers a subtle underpinning for the rich mesh of Amarena cherry, cured tobacco, licorice and warm spices on display in this harmonious red, with supple, well-knit tannins. Corvina, Rondinella and Corvinone. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

100% Nebbiolo from clay, sand, and limestone soils in the heart of the Cannubi vineyard in Barolo

Sourced from three vineyard parcels: Gourat, Battista, and Nuova

Maceration takes place for 30-40 days in large oak casks, with frequent use of remontage

Aged for 30 months in oak casks, plus a further 6 months aging in horizontal racks

96 Points! The 2021 Barbaresco Ovello Vigna Loreto is powerful and explosive in the glass. A rush of wild red cherry, spice, kirsch, menthol, rose petals and incense races across the palate. Deep, savory and intensely mineral, the 2021 is magnificent. Readers will find a wine of stature and pure breeding. Superb. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media