Acclaim

“I preferred the Naturale version of this wine to the 2015 Malvasia delle Lipari Passito. Packaged in a 500-milliliter bottle, this dessert wine (made with air-dried grapes) shows a more determined and forceful nature. It opens to powerful aromas of dried fruit and apricot, and there is a musky note that reminds me of air-dried porcino mushroom. The wine shows bright orange color. It finishes with silky texture that is infused with honey-like flavors.” -Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, Dec. 31, 2018

“A tightly wound version, this red features cherry, plum, eucalyptus, iron and tobacco flavors on lockdown. The trim, compact finish isn’t yielding much today. Shows a bit more volume and sweet fruit than many of its peers. Best from 2023 through 2042.” -B.S., Wine Spectator, Dec. 31, 2018

“Creamy and medium-bodied, this lightly juicy white offers rich glazed apple and mirabelle plum notes, with delicate threads of spice, smoke and hazelnut winding through and lingering on the finish. Trebbiano Spoletino. Drink now through 2022.” –AN, Wine Spectator, Dec. 15, 2018

“Basilicata, the mountainous, largely isolated instep of the Italian boot, has been named Europe’s cultural capital for 2019. Don’t expect too may tourists. It’s difficult to get to Basilicata. There are no airports or high speed train lines, just narrow roads that climb up and twist down mountains. Despite centuries of conquests, the people here cherish their independence. They also love their idiosyncratic red wine, made with Aglianico grapes grown on the side of a volcano, Mount Vulture. Unlike Aglianico from Campania, it offers no pretense of elegance or sophistication. Instead, it is hearty and rugged, a wine to pair with wintry stews and pastas, and definitely not a wine for the faint of heart or palate. This example, at a very reasonable price, provides a delicious introduction if you don’t know it already.” -Paul Lukacs, Wine Review Online, Dec. 7, 2018

“Vigna Pressenda is a lively, buoyant Barolo with bright fruit tones and soaring aromatics. Scents of rosemary and juniper leap out at once, followed by notes of dark spice and florals. Flavors of fleshy plum and ripe berries mingle with sweet tomato notes, chalky tannins heightening the wine’s bright personality.” -Wine & Spirits, Dec. 1, 2018

“Fruit for Sorì Ginestra comes from some of Conterno Fantino’s oldest vines, some up to 40 years of age, and those vines performed beautifully in the cool, wet 2014 vintage. The wine leads off with scents of green cardamom, mint and anise that follow through into cool herbal flavors. Notes of dark berries and sweet plums unfold as the wine opens, the fruit held taut by zippy acidity and vigorous tannins that need time to soften.” -Wine & Spirits, Dec. 1, 2018

“This wine’s flavors of red cherry and strawberry are impressively ripe for the vintage, vibrant with cool acidity that makes those fruit flavors pop. Notes of cayenne pepper and Mexican chocolate add to the wine’s lively personality.” -Wine & Spirits, Dec. 1, 2018

“Mosconi is the darkest in tone of Conterno Fantino’s 2014 Barolos, its flavors of black raspberry and plum deepened by notes of licorice and unsweetened cocoa. Hints of graphite add a cool mineral tone, and a whiff of mint brightens the finish.” -Wine & Spirits, Dec. 1, 2018

“Boschi di Berri is lively and red-fruited in the 2016 vintage, its ripe cherry and strawberry flavors brightened by notes of thyme, marjoram and a spray of orange zest. The fruit comes from ungrafted vines planted in sandy soils more than a century ago.” -Wine & Spirits, Dec. 1, 2018

“Marcarini’s 2016 Fontanazza feels perfectly ripe, expressed in cedar-accented flavors of juicy raspberry, blackberry and cherry that take on notes of leafy tobacco and bright orange zest. It’s fruity and uncomplicated, with taut tannins that make it food friendly.” -Wine & Spirits, Dec. 1, 2018