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...

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...

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...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: I was lucky to taste two Riservas, side by side, from the 2013 and 2014 vintages. The Masciarelli 2013 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Villa Gemma is a gorgeous wine with a real sense of precision and balance. Next to the...

Vinous, 95 points: The 2014 Tenuta degli Dei is fabulous. In fact, the 2014 is one of the best recent vintages of this wine I can remember tasting. Aromatically expressive and inviting, the 2014 is terrific. Stylistically, it is perhaps not...

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: Aromas of blackberries, black olives, green olive, and violets. It’s really aromatic. Full-bodied, yet so precise and polished with creamy, layered tannins that caress your palate. It’s extremely persistent and goes on...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is a direct and powerful wine from a hot vintage. Dark fruit aromas segue to candied cherry, moist pipe tobacco, balsam herb and dark granite stone. In the mouth, this is a...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: A bright and fruity red with a level of tightness and precision that suggests greatness. Medium to full body. Intense tannins give focus to the center palate. Super length and beauty. Celebrates its 25th anniversary. 80%...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: The power but also vibrancy of the fruit on the nose is very impressive. Dark plums, incense, tar, dried meat and elderberry compote are out in full force. The soft fruit would be enough in itself, but its enveloped in...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: This is a wonderful pure sangiovese with wet earth, mushrooms, pine and cedar with black cherries. Full body. Dense and layered with ripe tannins, yet there’s vivid and energetic acidity. It drives to the end and pulls...

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...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The Mazzei family was one of the first and most enthusiastic advocates of the Gran Selezione movement. Their 2016 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello Fonterutoli is a crowning achievement for this storied Chianti...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Beautiful combination here of balanced orange and lemon rind and riper glazed cherries, terracotta and scorched earth. Mushroom too. Tightly wound and elegant with a persistent core of mineral acidity and finely...

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...