The 2009 Le Cupole di Trinoro is a gorgeous radiant wine. Layers of silky red berries flowers and spices blossom beautifully on the palate. The wine's minerality appears shortly thereafter providing a wonderful sense of balance. The 2009 Cupole shows fabulous harmony all the way through to the finish. This is without question one of the very finest wines being made in Tuscany today in its price range. Readers who want to get a sense of how great 2009 was at Trinoro may want to start here. Le Cupole is the second selection of barrels that are culled out of the production of the flagship Tenuta di Trinoro. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019. Andrea Franchetti's 2009s are stellar. The wines show gorgeous expressive fruit with less of the extreme ripeness and heaviness of past years. In most years Franchetti picks extremely late but in 2009 the vines reached full phenolic ripeness earlier than most years. Franchetti explains that the climate at Trinoro has become increasingly tropical thus creating conditions that are more favorable for Merlot hence his decision to reintroduce the Palazzi bottling in 2009. All three 2009s are stellar. --- Antonio Galloni