One of the most balanced and graceful Vigna dell’Imperos with black cherries, blueberries and hints of spice and Spanish cedar. Wonderful integration and length. Fine tannins. So gorgeous now, but will age beautifully. Drink or hold.

This Sangiovese comes from the estate's oldest vines, planted in 1935 in the almost-3ha Vina dell'Impero at around 300 metres above sea level. Vinified in stainless steel with a long maceration of around one month, the wine then matures for 24 months in large 15hl and 25hl casks, plus a further year in bottle. Aromatic and slightly gamey, this 2018 is intense and balsamic with soft and juicy red berry flavours fortified by a tannic backbone and good acidity. Complex, fragrant notes of leather, wood and underbrush emerge on the mid-palate, accompanying a pure red fruit streak on the long finish. Just 6,800 bottles produced.

The 2018 Vigna dell' Impero, Sette Ponti's best Sangiovese, is gorgeous. It offers up an exciting mélange of crushed red berry fruit, sweet pipe tobacco, mint, anise and rose petal in a style that marries the transparency of Sangiovese with the textural richness these wines have always shown. That's a pretty appealing combination in my book. - Antonio Galloni

Vibrant, with cherry, plum, earth, tobacco and wild herb aromas and flavors, this red also reveals a smoky note. Firms up nicely, all the while remaining fresh and complex, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, earth and herbs. Sangiovese.