Red Wine from Italy

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: There’s something ethereal in the nose with flowers, cherries, strawberries and shitake mushrooms. Full body. This grows on the palate with super tannin and fruit structure. So much berry flavor and round, caressing...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: What an amazing nose with pure herbs coming to the fore, soon to be joined by fresh brambleberries, blueberries, violets, heather, lavender, pine needles and forest floor. Full body, chewy but incredibly fine tannins, and...

Vinous, 98 points: Castellare's I Sodi di San Niccolò is the single most overlooked high-end wine in Tuscany today. The 2016 picks up where the 2015 left off. A rush of inky dark fruit, lavender, spice, licorice, gravel, blueberry and...

Decanter, 100 points: Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savoury, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: (98+ points) The 2016 Fontalloro is the best vintage of this landmark wine that I have tasted thus far. This is a very elegant vintage, with more volume in the mouth and precise notes of tar, licorice, camphor ash, resin...

Decanter, 97 points: Decanter World Wine Awards 2020. Intense raspberry and rose petal nose. Supple attack, silky and poised, creamy without heaviness, and there are sufficient tannins to give structure and texture. Ethereal and complex...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: Dark-cherry and floral aromas with citrus and dried-lavender undertones. Full body and firm,chewy tannins with a solid structure and length. Needs time to soften and come together. Better after 2021.

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Creme de cassis, freshly picked blueberries, crushed violets, hot stones, dried sage and thyme, charcoal and bark. Full body, tightly worked tannins and a long yet tight finish. The palate shows real transparency and a...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: Terracotta, earth, iron filings, cedar and leather make for an undergrowth-driven Brunello 2015, which doesn’t fall short in the fruit department either, where there are red plums and red cherries. The tannins are neatly...

Wine Spectator, 97 points: Aromas of juniper, rosemary, thyme and Szechuan peppercorn segue to strawberry, cherry and rose hip flavors in this elegant red. Intense and balanced, with the structure to develop over the next two decades. Shows...

Vinous, 94 points: The 2012 Lessona Riserva is ample, creamy and voluptuous, and yet it also avoids some of the excess heaviness and ripeness found in other wines of the year. Sweet red cherry, blood orange, mint, dried flowers and anise...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Very complex aromas of crushed berries, yet the fresh herbs, dried berries, sandalwood and Spanish cedar add complexity and brightness. Full-bodied with tannins that melt into the wine. Savory. Cabernet franc, merlot...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: A beautiful nose that shows dark plums, vanilla, tar, tobacco and spices. Full-bodied and very powerful with punchy tannins, but some real integration to the agile fruit and acidity. The complexity and depth at the end is...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: This is a very subtly played Chianti Classico Riserva that opens to reveal brambleberries, dried orange peel, vanilla, tobacco, cedar, spice box and grilled meats. Very structured on the palate with loads of firm tannins...

Vinous, 95 points: The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Gemini shows a ripe yet earthy display of forest berries with spicy florals, notes of moist soil, crushed stone and hints of animal musk. On the palate, soft textures envelop the...