80-100 Euros

Many of us were immediately captivated by this little thoroughbred from not-far-from-Bolgheri’s ability to show off its wares: its intense, intact colour and its scents of morello cherries and ripe plums, with no pyrazinic sensations but faint eucalyptus-like notes. The palate was soft and velvety – perhaps overly so. Slightly more acidulous grip would have made it easier to match with food, as would less rounded tannins. It remains a fascinating and enthralling wine, though, that will impress especially those who love a well-knit, easy-drinking style.

110-130 Euros

This was probably the wine of the evening. It had an absolutely unnatural colour for a wine that has now “come of age”: an extremely lively, bright and perfectly intact red. Its complex nose immediately lingered on notes of grilled yellow peppers but with time it cleaned itself up and courted one’s nostrils with blood-like, ferrous, mineral and spicy notes. The palate surprised you with its expressiveness: silky, rich, tense and multi-layered. Interminable length; a wine that if it hadn’t acquired a few too many vegetal notes over the course of time would have come close to perfection.

100-110 Euros

Here we played our ace. The colour was really intense, rich and opaque. The depth on the nose was almost unexpected for a Merlot, with great concentration and complexity, incorporating hints of black pepper, morello cherries, musk and tobacco. The fruit on the palate was powerful and mouth-filling, very rich in extract and varied sensations. A real star.

90-100 Euros

A bright but certainly not very deep red in colour, with an expressive nose of undergrowth, ploughed earth and deciduous leaves that also revealed faint mushroom-like notes. It perhaps didn’t show the great depth it had on previous occasions, but it made up for this with really remarkable cleanliness. The flavour was elegant and flawless, with hints of coffee. Much like a watercolour: nuanced and understated.

110-130 Euros

This was sheer power: an intense, almost opaque red colour, and a nose with sensations of sour and morello cherries, as well as tanned hides. Voluptuous, velvety and rounded on the palate. The slight vanilla-like hint was merely a well-integrated seasoning rather than being bothersome. What was surprising, given that all my descriptors were in the superlative, was its overall balance.

90-100 Euros

This had the palest colour of the entire day: a bright but diaphanous red, almost like a Pinot Noir. The nose, though, exploded with red berry fruits, balsamic (eucalyptus) notes and tree bark-like sensations. The palate was extraordinarily expressive: it seemed lean but kept you completely hooked with its elegance, balance, freshness and sheer class. An interminable finish.

130-150 Euro

La miglior versione di Sassicaia 2000 bevuta fin’ora, forse siamo arrivati alla maturità giusta per godere questa annata. Colore rosso vivo, naso sontuoso di tabacco da pipa dolce, cuoio antico e balsamicità soffusa. Bocca morbida e carezzevole, articolato, con tannini levigati e suadenti.

130-150 Euros

It had a stupendous vermilion colour, and an elegant, inviting nose with smoky and bilberry-like sensations and just the slightest of vegetal hints. The palate is an enveloping drape, smooth yet vigorous, with amazing balance. Even our star wine is in difficulty when compared to such extreme stimulation of one’s senses.