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Reviews
2014 Malvirà "Mombeltramo" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2014 Malvira "Mombeltramo" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo is a testament to the Damonte family's vineyard work, defying the cooler vintage with striking aromatic lift. It offers high-toned floral notes, tobacco, and a lithe, energetic palate that is peaking beautifully right now.
2013 Malvirà "Mombeltramo" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2013 Malvira "Mombeltramo" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo comes from a classic, highly structured year, delivering profound tertiary layers of dried rose petal, tar, and leather, with perfectly resolved tannins that frame a long, haunting finish.
2011 Malvirà "Renesio" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2011 Malvirà "Renesio" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo perfectly reflects the warmth of the vintage. It possesses a generous, opulent profile of sweet dried cherry, baking spice, and licorice, all wrapped in a plush, silky texture that makes it incredibly hedonistic today.
2010 Malvirà "Renesio" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2010 Malvirà "Renesio" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo is an absolute standout from a monumental Piedmontese vintage. It retains an electric tension, driven by profound earthy minerality, crushed dried flowers, and a chiseled, architectural structure that shows it still has years of graceful evolution ahead.
2010 Malvirà "Trinità" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2010 Malvirà "Trinità" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo is a masterclass in finesse. It offers a crystalline expression of wild strawberry, crushed mint, and white pepper draped over a delicate, lacy tannic frame that floats across the palate.
2006 Malvirà "Trinità" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2006 Malvirà "Trinità" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo is a rare, mature treasure. At nearly two decades old, it showcases the absolute magic of perfectly aged Nebbiolo with mesmerizing notes of worn leather, sweet tobacco, dried orange peel, and forest floor. It is a profound meditation wine that proves exactly why Roero deserves a prominent place in any serious collector's cellar.
2016 Malvirà "Mombeltramo" Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo) (Winery Direct)
Review Date: 11-09-2026
The 2016 Malvira "Mombeltramo" Roero Riserva Nebbiolo is a masterpiece from a legendary vintage. It shows massive structural integrity and power, loaded with dark cherry fruit, iron, and a deep, truffley, savory core that is just beginning to unfold.
2016 ArPePe "Rocce Rosse" Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva (Nebbiolo)
Review Date: 11-06-2026
This is how the Valtellina remembers Arturo Pelizzatti Perego: the year was 1984, and he decided to make his Riserva in the heart of Sassella. He and his wife Giovanna named it Rocce Rosse for the iron-rich red rocks of the subzone, and it has been the reference wine of the valley ever since. The 2016 — one of five Riserva vintages in fifteen years — spent 97 days on its skins and nearly three years in wood and cement before its long rest in bottle.
In the glass, it pours a bright, lifted, translucent ruby. The nose is understated at first, then blood orange, dried apricot, cinnamon stick, nutmeg and tanned leather. On the palate, it is striking in intensity yet light on its feet, with iron and rust recalling the rocks, silky tannins, brisk acidity and a finish of extraordinary length.
Price:
$149.99
2022 ArPePe "Pettirosso" Valtellina Superiore (Nebbiolo)
Review Date: 11-06-2026
Il Pettirosso is ArPePe’s portrait of Sassella and Grumello in one glass, from grass-covered, south-facing terraces between 400 and 550 metres, with a long maceration in wooden vats and a year in those vats and big casks before bottle. It is the bridge between the Rosso and the single crus.
In the glass, it pours a bright, translucent ruby. The nose is lifted and savoury: dark cherry, dried rose, incense, licorice, a hint of game and brown spice. On the palate, it is grippy, zippy and vertical, with soft, bright cherry fruit, fine-grained tannins and a mouthwatering sapidity through a long, floral finish.
At $59.99 this is the ArPePe to buy by the case: polenta taragna, braised rabbit, a wedge of Bitto. Drink over the next eight years.
Price:
$59.99
2023 ArPePe Rosso di Valtellina (Nebbiolo)
Review Date: 11-06-2026
ArPePe’s Rosso spends 110 days on its skins — longer than most Barolo — then six to twelve months in big untoasted casks. That is what the most traditional cellar in Valtellina does to its youngest wine, from 50-to-100-year-old vines on the lower terraces of Sassella and Grumello.
In the glass, it pours a translucent, luminous ruby. The nose is pure alpine Nebbiolo: wild strawberry and sour cherry, dried rose, alpine herbs and a cool thread of wet granite. On the palate, it is light-to-medium-bodied, pliant and supple, with fine, grainy tannins, the acidity of altitude and a long, salty finish.
Vinous called it a terrific introduction to the range, and I agree. Pizzoccheri, bresaola, a Tuesday roast chicken; drink over the next five years. $52.99.
2025 Casa d'Ambra Falanghina Ischia Campania
Review Date: 11-06-2026
Falanghina is the great workhorse of Campania, and in the hands of Ischia’s most historic house it is a workhorse with manners.
Casa d’Ambra picks it in small crates in the second ten days of October, presses gently, ferments cool and gives it a short rest in steel, nothing more. In the glass, it pours a pale straw with green glints. The nose is intense and floral: hawthorn and linden blossom, white peach, a squeeze of citrus. On the palate, it is dry and poised between softness and freshness, light on its feet at 12%, closing on a clean, saline, mineral note.
At $13.99 this is the fritto misto wine, the clams wine, the Tuesday wine. Buy it by the case for the next year of weeknights.
Price:
$13.99
2025 Casa d'Ambra "Frassitelli" Ischia Biancolella
Review Date: 11-06-2026
If Ischia has a grand cru, this is it, and the 2025 has arrived.
Tenuta Frassitelli hangs off the flank of Monte Epomeo at 600 metres, four hectares of Biancolella on terraces of green volcanic tuff so steep that the grapes come down by monorail. Luigi Veronelli told the d’Ambra family to plant Biancolella here decades ago, and the wine went on to win Campania’s first Tre Bicchieri. Casa d’Ambra has farmed the island since 1888, and the winemaking stays out of the way: no skin contact, a cool fermentation in steel and a long rest on the fine lees.
In the glass, it pours a pale straw with green glints. The nose is bright, saline and unmistakably Mediterranean: yellow broom and white blossom, white peach, Mediterranean scrub, a pinch of white pepper and briny sea mist. On the palate, it is dry and racy yet generous, the altitude giving it a vertical spine and the volcanic soil a smoky, sun-dried-straw grip, finishing long on makrut lime zest and salt.
At $29.99 this is heroic viticulture in a bottle and still one of the best values in Italian white. Spaghetti alle vongole, grilled octopus, or the island’s rabbit if you can find it.
Price:
$29.99
2021 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 10-13-2026
The name Brunello was all but born on this hill. In 1870, Count Tito Costanti took an 1865 wine from Colle al Matrichese to the provincial exhibition in Siena and called it Brunello, one of the first to do so, and the family has made wine here since at least 1555. Andrea Costanti, a geology student when his great-uncle handed him the estate in 1982, has run it ever since with a geologist’s attention to soil and a declared distaste for too much oak.
The vineyards sit a mile east of the town at 400 to 450 metres on galestro, and the 2021 was fermented in steel, then given twelve months in Allier tonneaux and twenty-four in Slavonian oak casks. Nothing about it is loud.
In the glass, it pours a lustrous mid ruby. The nose is all noble restraint at first, then opens to purple flowers, eucalyptus and sweet mint, Mediterranean brush, perfumed wild raspberry and a cool thread of tobacco and cedar. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and tense, with crushed Marasca cherry, spiced orange zest and star anise set against chalky, fine-grained tannins and tangy acidity, and a long, mineral finish still folded in on itself.
O’Keefe gave it 99 and called Andrea’s wines among the very best in Montalcino year after year; Larner, Vinous and Spectator all sit at 95. At $99.99 against $130 elsewhere, from one of the two estates that gave Brunello its name, this is the bottle of the 2021 campaign to put six of in the cellar. Drink 2027 to 2043.
2021 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino (1.5L)
Review Date: 10-13-2026
The name Brunello was all but born on this hill. In 1870, Count Tito Costanti took an 1865 wine from Colle al Matrichese to the provincial exhibition in Siena and called it Brunello, one of the first to do so, and the family has made wine here since at least 1555. Andrea Costanti, a geology student when his great-uncle handed him the estate in 1982, has run it ever since with a geologist’s attention to soil and a declared distaste for too much oak.
The vineyards sit a mile east of the town at 400 to 450 metres on galestro, and the 2021 was fermented in steel, then given twelve months in Allier tonneaux and twenty-four in Slavonian oak casks. Nothing about it is loud.
In the glass, it pours a lustrous mid ruby. The nose is all noble restraint at first, then opens to purple flowers, eucalyptus and sweet mint, Mediterranean brush, perfumed wild raspberry and a cool thread of tobacco and cedar. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and tense, with crushed Marasca cherry, spiced orange zest and star anise set against chalky, fine-grained tannins and tangy acidity, and a long, mineral finish still folded in on itself.
O’Keefe gave it 99 and called Andrea’s wines among the very best in Montalcino year after year; Larner, Vinous and Spectator all sit at 95. At $99.99 against $130 elsewhere, from one of the two estates that gave Brunello its name, this is the bottle of the 2021 campaign to put six of in the cellar.
2025 Rocca di Castagnoli "Fattoria di Scannano" Chianti
Review Date: 10-13-2026
Fattoria di Scannano is the Calì family’s farm at Rapolano Terme, on the eastern edge of the Crete Senesi, where Chianti drops the word Classico along with a good deal of its price. 90% Sangiovese with 10% Ciliegiolo, the old Tuscan companion grape that softens Sangiovese and adds the cherry, grown organically, fermented in steel, a few months in oak, lightly filtered, bottled fresh.
In the glass, it pours a bright ruby with violet edges. The nose is open and frank: black plum, sour cherry, wild myrtle, a touch of violet and dried herb. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and juicy, with round tannins, lively acidity and a clean, savoury finish that asks for food rather than attention.
Price:
$13.99
2020 Rocca di Castagnoli "Stielle" Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
Review Date: 10-13-2026
Gaiole is the high, cold, stony side of Chianti Classico, and Stielle is one of its oldest names: deeds from 1153 record vines on this hill, and the Calì family, owners of the fortress of Castagnoli since 1981, treat it as their grand cru.
Nine hectares between 460 and 500 metres on alberese and limestone, old native clones of Sangiovese cropped at a kilo per plant and picked in the second half of October, native-yeast fermentation, 18 months in tonneaux and large casks, four more months in the big barrels and a year in bottle. 100% Sangiovese, as a Gran Selezione from Gaiole should be.
In the glass, it pours a deep ruby. The nose is dark-toned and lifted: black cherry and plum, violet and lavender, licorice, clove, a thread of mocha and smoke that stays in its place. On the palate, it is full-bodied and potent yet fresh, with crunchy, enveloping tannins, the acidity of altitude and a long, savory finish. The best value in Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, no doubt about that.
2024 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Rosso di Montalcino
Review Date: 10-13-2026
The Bianchini family’s Rosso comes from 7.5 hectares of Sangiovese Grosso in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, between 180 and 360 metres on mineral-rich marl, fermented in steel and cement and raised twelve months in big Slavonian oak casks before a December release. Forty thousand bottles a year, no tricks, and a track record that makes it one of the safest buys in Montalcino.
The 2024 is the sleekest version in years. In the glass, it pours a vibrant ruby. The nose is cool rather than sunny: crushed blackberry and tart raspberry, rosemary and black olive, rose petal, crushed stone. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and silky, with a web of fine tannins, a crunchy mineral grip and a long, classically dry finish.
2021 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona "Pianrosso" Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 10-13-2026
Then there’s Pianrosso. This is the big gun. It comes from a sun-drenched amphitheater of red, iron-rich galestro soil, and man, does it show. If the regular bottling is a wake-up call, the Pianrosso is a heavyweight bout.
It’s dark, it’s brooding, and it literally smells like crushed iron, wet stone, and wild mint. But here is the magic of the 2021 vintage: for all of its sheer mass and serious dry extract, this wine absolutely refuses to be fat. The acidity acts like a whip, keeping all that dense, macerated dark fruit perfectly in line. The tannins are monumental—chalky, demanding, and uncompromising—clamping down hard on a bone-dry finish that seems to last for five minutes. Do not open this just to casually sip on the couch. This is a massive, highly intellectual Brunello built for the darkest corner of your cellar.
2021 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 10-13-2026
Look, Ciacci Piccolomini is absolute royalty in Castelnuovo dell'Abate. But let's be brutally honest for a second: the southern sector of Montalcino can sometimes get a little too baked. You often end up with wines that trade tension for pure, syrupy weight. Not here. Not in 2021.
This annata bottling is a total wake-up call. It completely ditches any of that heavy, jammy baggage. Instead, it comes flying out of the glass with this wild, untamed aromatic profile—roasted Mediterranean scrub, cracked earth, and a brilliant, sharp hit of blood orange and sour cherry. When it hits your palate, it doesn't just sit there like a lazy fruit bomb. It snaps. It has that nervous, electric energy that I am constantly begging for in Sangiovese. The tannins are sandy and traditional, offering a mouthwatering, saline grip.
2019 San Polino Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Review Date: 10-13-2026
San Polino is our direct import and my favorite Brunello producer in the program, and this is the wine the estate makes only when a vintage earns it. 2019 earned it.
Luigi Fabbro and Katia Nussbaum have farmed their isolated hill southeast of Montalcino organically since 1991, among the first in the appellation to do so, and have gone further than almost anyone into the life of their soils, down to the microbes. The cellar is non-interventionist in the way that actually works: spontaneous fermentation in 35-hectolitre truncated-cone oak vats, three days of cold soak and 42 days on the skins, six months of bâtonnage in French barriques and four years in large Slavonian and French oak. The fruit is from the south-facing vineyard at 450 metres above the house, sandy loam and volcanic soil threaded with marl. Just 3,800 bottles were made.
In the glass, it pours a lustrous mid-to-deep ruby. The nose is exuberant and exotic: raspberry sliding into cranberry and wild strawberry, dog rose and violet, orange peel, juniper, a cool thread of eucalyptus and pipe tobacco, clove and ginger. On the palate, it is medium-to-full-bodied and dramatically long, silky on entry and then gravelly, the tannins fine-grained and firm, with blood orange, star anise and a flinty mineral resonance that keeps building after the fruit has gone.
Suckling gave it 98 and a place in his Top Wines of Italy, Jancis Robinson 18 and called it stunning, O’Keefe 96. Riservas of this pedigree from this vintage sit at $150 and up on our shelf; this one is $99.99 because we bring it in ourselves. Three hours in a decanter tonight with lamb and rosemary, or cellar it until 2028 and drink it for twenty years.
2021 San Polino Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 10-13-2026
The story first. In 1991, Luigi Fabbro, a Friulian, and his English wife Katia Nussbaum bought an abandoned hill southeast of Montalcino: no water, no electricity, six-hundred-year-old olive trees and soil that had not seen a chemical in decades. They farm organically, ferment spontaneously with native yeasts in 35-hectolitre truncated-cone oak vats, and have spent three decades obsessing over the microbial life of their soils, long before it was fashionable. The estate makes two Brunelli: Helichrysum, from the high vineyards around the house, and this classic bottling, from a five-hectare plot on the northern side of Montalcino at about 300 metres on deep clay and marl. Three days of cold soak, a month on the skins, three years in large Slavonian oak with a share in seasoned French barriques.
2021 gave Montalcino a cool winter, a dry warm summer without heat spikes and a calm September, and the result is a vintage of precision rather than mass. In the glass, it pours a mid ruby with a translucent rim. The nose is extremely perfumed: Morello cherry and wild raspberry, white rose and lavender, Mediterranean scrub, cedar and sandalwood. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and vibrant, with fine-grained, chalky tannins, blood orange and star anise on the finish and acidity that keeps it vertical.
2025 Randi "Rambela" Rambela Bianca Romagna
Review Date: 10-08-2026
Famoso is the Ravenna plain's own aromatic grape, a historic variety that had all but vanished before a group of growers around Bagnacavallo recovered it, had it entered in the national register in 2009 and gave it back its dialect name, Rambëla. Randi has made wine in Fusignano since the early 1950s, and under Massimo Randi it has become the variety's standard-bearer: four organically farmed hectares planted in 2007 on the sandy clay of the Bassa Romagna, cordon-trained at a modest three thousand vines per hectare, with the Bianca vinified in steel alone so that the perfume arrives unedited.
In the glass, it pours a pale straw with green glints. The nose is elderflower, sage, white peach and orange blossom, with a cool, chalky note beneath the fruit: a Traminer-like perfume without Traminer's weight.
On the palate it is dry and light-bodied, with fresh acidity, a soft saline undertow and a faint bitter-almond grip that gives the finish its shape.
Price:
$18.99
2021 Trullo Flaminio Negroamaro
Review Date: 10-08-2026
Trullo Flaminio exists because four friends from the wine trade could not let two hectares of fifty-year-old alberello Negroamaro disappear when the grower who had tended them for decades sold up in 2016; the vines stand on red clay over the Salento limestone a few kilometres from the Adriatic, on the line of the ancient Via Appia outside Brindisi. The wine is made without tricks: picked at the end of September with two extra weeks on the vine, fermented in concrete with native yeasts and raised eight months in used tonneaux, so what you taste is old vines and a hot peninsula rather than a cellar. 2021 was Puglia's drought year, a small, healthy crop picked from mid-September that gave dark, concentrated wines, and five years in bottle have softened its edges. In the glass, it pours a deep, dark ruby with a garnet rim. The nose is black plum, dried cherry, rosemary and tobacco leaf, with a smoky, sun-warmed note of crushed terracotta. On the palate it is full-bodied but not heavy, with round, grainy tannins and enough acidity to keep the fruit lifted; the finish is savory and long, closing on the bitter-almond note that is the variety's fingerprint. This is honest, old-school Negroamaro, fiercely unmanipulated and at its peak. Drink now and through 2028, with orecchiette and ragù di braciole, grilled lamb, or aged caciocavallo.
Price:
$14.99
2020 Trullo Flaminio Susumaniello
Review Date: 10-08-2026
Susumaniello takes its name from somarello, the little donkey of Puglian dialect, because a young vine carries enormous loads of fruit before its yields collapse with age, and that temperament is precisely why the variety was abandoned for Negroamaro and Primitivo and had almost vanished from the Brindisi countryside before a handful of estates replanted it. Trullo Flaminio put in two hectares in 2016 on the same clay-and-limestone ground as its old-vine Negroamaro, near the sea along the Via Appia, so this 2020 comes from vines in their fourth leaf, the donkey at its most generous. The winemaking is simple and transparent: native-yeast fermentation in concrete, with 80% of the wine raised in concrete and 20% in used tonneaux, no new wood anywhere. 2020 was a balanced season in Salento, without 2021's drought or 2022's extreme heat, and six years in bottle have turned the grape's famous blue fruit toward something darker and more savory. In the glass, it pours an inky, nearly opaque purple with a narrow garnet rim. The nose is blueberry, black mulberry and violet, with black pepper, dried fig and a cool note of eucalyptus. On the palate it is round and juicy, with soft, velvety tannins, fresh acidity and a long, dark-fruited finish that stays clean. This is Susumaniello as a drinking wine rather than a curiosity, pure and unforced. Drink now and through 2027, with bombette from the Valle d'Itria, braciole al sugo, or burrata and a wood-fired pizza.
Price:
$14.99
2024 Sotto Nebbia Langhe Nebbiolo (K&L Exclusive)
Review Date: 10-08-2026
Sotto Nebbia, "under the fog," takes its name from the nebbia that settles over the Langhe in late October, when Nebbiolo is finally picked, and the label exists to do one thing: bottle a Langhe Nebbiolo that tastes of its hills rather than of a cellar. The fruit comes from Monforte d'Alba, inside the Barolo appellation, on the compact, sandstone-laced marls of the Lequio formation that give the commune its grip, and the wine is raised like a Barolo in miniature: twelve months in wood, then three months in bottle before release, a longer élevage than most Langhe Nebbiolo ever sees.
Price:
$19.99
2025 Nervi-Conterno "Il Rosato" Vino Nebbiolo Rosato
Review Date: 10-02-2026
I said it last year and I will say it again: this is my favorite rosato, full stop. When Roberto Conterno — the man behind Giacomo Conterno and Monfortino — bought the historic Nervi estate in Gattinara in 2018, nobody expected the rosé to become one of the most talked-about wines in the cellar. Yet here we are.
Nervi is the oldest working winery in Gattinara, founded in 1906, and Il Rosato is 100% Nebbiolo from the estate's own vineyards. Roberto dropped the Uva Rara from the old Nervi Rosa to let the grape speak, and he uses fruit from slopes most producers would reserve for their top reds. Fermented in steel and rested four months on the lees in cement, it takes its texture from the lees and its spine from the iron-rich volcanic soils of Alto Piemonte.
The 2025 pours a pale coral with copper glints. The nose is Alto Piemonte Nebbiolo in miniature: wild strawberry, blood orange, rose petal, alpine herbs and a flinty, smoky mineral streak. On the palate, it is bone-dry and taut, with electric acidity, a saline grip and the faintest whisper of Nebbiolo tannin on a long, mouth-watering finish. Vinous gave it 93, and I think they were being careful.
Forget the calendar. This is not a summer wine; it is a Nebbiolo that happens to be pink, and it belongs on the October table with vitello tonnato, fried anchovies or a plate of salumi as much as it did in July. Conterno pedigree for thirty dollars: buy it by the case before I do.
2015 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Library Release)
Review Date: 09-28-2026
Last year's 2014 Library Release was one of our favorite holiday finds, so when Avignonesi opened the cellar again for the 2015 we did not hesitate. We are the only store in the USA to have it. This is the estate's Vino Nobile held back ten years at the winery and released in a limited edition of just 9,340 bottles, each wearing a bespoke illustration by artist Carlo Stanga of Le Capezzine, the historic model farm at the heart of the property. It is a showstopper on the table. The wine inside is even better.
2015 was a five-star vintage in Montepulciano, a hot summer that Avignonesi handled by picking early to keep the freshness. The recipe is the house classic: 100% Sangiovese, biodynamically farmed, fermented on its own yeasts, 18 months in large Slavonian casks and French oak, then a decade of patience in the estate's own cellar. Galloni found it "wonderfully deep and persistent" on release, and time has only been kind to it.
In the glass, it pours a deep garnet with a brick rim. The nose has settled into full maturity: dried cherry and plum, sweet tobacco, dried violet, orange peel and a touch of thyme. On the palate, it is broad and velvety, the tannins resolved to silk, with enough acidity left to keep it lively through a long finish of black tea and dried orange peel.
Fully mature, ready tonight, no decanter required. Set it next to the roast bird, a wild boar ragù or the cheese board and watch it disappear. Ten-year-old Nobile from the winery's own cellar, in this vintage, at this price does not come around often. What a buy!
2025 Tenuta Roveglia "Limne" Lugana
Review Date: 09-23-2026
The 2025 Tenuta Roveglia “Limne” Lugana is a fresh white with real flesh on it, and that combination is the whole point. The nose is clean and clearly drawn: crunchy apple, citrus and white flowers, with almond underneath adding a quieter, savory note. Then the palate fills out through the middle in a way that would surprise anyone expecting a lean, austere lake white. What makes Limne interesting is how that supple texture and its nervous energy work together: the freshness keeps the fruit defined without stripping the wine of substance.
It is 100% Turbiana — genetically a Verdicchio, not a Trebbiano — from vines averaging 25 to 35 years old, and it spends four to five months in stainless steel, so nothing from a barrel gets between you and the fruit.
The best cross over into Italian wine if you like Sauvignon Blanc!
Price:
$14.99
2021 Vietti "Castiglione" Barolo
Review Date: 09-22-2026
Vietti is undisputed Piedmontese royalty. Based in the medieval village of Castiglione Falletto, the winery has spent over a century defining the modern era of Barolo. While they are famous for producing some of the region's first single-cru bottlings, their "Castiglione" label remains the ultimate masterclass in the ancient, historical art of blending. By meticulously sourcing fruit from top-tier crus across Barolo’s diverse communes—marrying the elegant, perfumed fruit of the calcareous-clay in the west with the powerful, structured fruit from the sandstone soils of the east—Vietti creates a wine that is greater than the sum of its parts. The 2021 vintage is already being hailed as a modern classic, offering perfect climatic balance. In the glass, it pours a glowing, translucent garnet. The aromatics are soaring and pure, delivering the quintessential Barolo bouquet of dried rose petals, tar, bright red cherry, and a whisper of alpine mint. On the palate, it is flawlessly structured. The tannins are firm but remarkably refined, wrapping around a vibrant core of red fruit and precise acidity. While it has the pedigree to age for decades, a few hours in a decanter makes it a magnificent pairing for truffle pasta today.
2017 Assolati Montecucco Rosso Riserva
Review Date: 09-22-2026
If you want to drink like a Tuscan insider, you need to know about Montecucco. Located in the Maremma, this rugged DOCG sits directly across the Orcia river from the legendary hills of Montalcino. It shares the same high altitudes, the same luminous Mediterranean sunlight, and the same rocky, galestro-rich soils that make Brunello so famous, yet it remains one of Italy's best-kept secrets. The Assolati family farms a tiny, pristine estate here, treating their Sangiovese with the exact same reverence as their famous neighbors. Their Riserva is a powerful, unadulterated expression of this wild terroir. The 2017 vintage was notably warm, and the roots of the old vines dug deep into the limestone to find water, resulting in a wine of incredible concentration and structural power. In the glass, it reveals a deep garnet hue. The nose is an intense, traditional weave of dried dark cherry, worn leather, sweet tobacco, and wild Mediterranean scrub. On the palate, it is robust and commanding, with firm, mouth-coating tannins and a core of dark fruit, finishing with a savory, earthy grip. This is "Brunello's rugged cousin," demanding to be served alongside a thick, grilled Bistecca alla Fiorentina.
2022 Inama "Carmenère Più" Carmenere Veneto
Review Date: 09-22-2026
The Colli Berici is a fascinating, overlooked pocket of the Veneto. This hilly, volcanic outcrop south of Vicenza is covered in terra rossa—iron-rich red clay over limestone—and enjoys a uniquely warm, dry microclimate. Over a century ago, local farmers planted what they thought was Cabernet Franc. It wasn't until the 1990s that the Inama family, pioneers of the region, correctly identified the vines as Carmenère, an ancient Bordeaux variety that had nearly gone extinct in Europe. Rather than tearing it up, Inama championed it, proving that the Colli Berici is Europe's premier terroir for the grape. "Carmenère Più" (meaning Carmenère Plus) blends this star grape with a small percentage of Merlot to round out its edges. The result is a dark, brooding, and intensely savory red. It pours an opaque ruby-purple. The nose leaps from the glass with aromas of dark cocoa, wild blackberry, and Carmenère's signature note of freshly cracked black pepper and subtle roasted herbs. On the palate, it is plush and velvety, with fine-grained tannins and a vibrant, spicy finish. It is the ultimate companion for grilled steaks, braised short ribs, or aged cheddar.
2022 Anselmi "Capitel Croce" Veneto
Review Date: 09-22-2026
Roberto Anselmi is a legendary renegade in the Veneto. In the year 2000, frustrated by the lax regulations and mass-produced mediocrity of the Soave DOC, he made the radical decision to declassify all his world-class wines to simple Veneto IGT status. He chose to rely on the undisputed quality of his terroir and his meticulous farming rather than a compromised appellation name. The "Capitel Croce" is his masterpiece—a single-vineyard expression of 100% Garganega grown on ancient, pure volcanic tuff. What sets this wine apart is the winemaking: unlike most Garganega, it is fermented and aged in French oak barrels. Because of the incredible density and acidity derived from the volcanic soil, the wine absorbs the oak seamlessly, resulting in a white wine of profound structure and longevity. It pours a deep, glowing gold. The nose is a complex tapestry of baked apple, chamomile, apricot, and toasted almond, underpinned by a distinct, smoky flintiness. On the palate, it is rich, creamy, and enveloping, yet perfectly balanced by a driving mineral tension. This is a white wine for red wine drinkers, demanding rich dishes like lobster, truffle risotto, or veal scallopini.
2025 Attems Pinot Grigio Ramato
Review Date: 09-22-2026
The Attems estate boasts a millennium of history in the far northeastern corner of Italy, nestled in the Collio region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. While the modern world is accustomed to Pinot Grigio being a crisp, clear white wine, the "Ramato" (meaning coppery) style is actually a vivid return to the Republic of Venice's ancient winemaking traditions. Because Pinot Grigio is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir, its skins are naturally a dusty pink-gray. By allowing the juice to rest on these skins during fermentation, Attems extracts a gorgeous, copper-pink hue and a stunning layer of texture. Grown in the region's famous ponca soils—stratified layers of marine marl and sandstone—this wine delivers intense saline minerality. In the glass, it looks like a rosé but drinks with the savory complexity of an amber wine. The nose offers wild strawberry, dried cherry, and a hint of broom flower. On the palate, the skin contact provides a delicate tannic grip, wrapping around a vibrant, structured core of red fruit and crushed stone. It is a fantastic, historical revival that pairs beautifully with prosciutto, rich seafood stews, or roasted poultry.
2023 Cerbaiona Rosso di Montalcino
Review Date: 09-15-2026
Calling this a "Rosso" is honestly a disservice. In the hands of a legendary estate like Cerbaiona, this is essentially a baby Brunello that just happens to be accessible a few years earlier. It completely shatters the ceiling of the category and offers a brilliant, high-definition snapshot of their terroir.
The 2023 is all about vibrant, electric tension. The nose doesn't try to fake weight or hide behind oak; it explodes with pure, unmanipulated Sangiovese character. This is of the best deal in Sangiovese if not Italy, period.
2021 Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 09-15-2026
Let’s talk about Cerbaiona. This estate is the absolute high temple of traditional Sangiovese. When you combine this mythical terroir with a vibrating, classically structured vintage like 2021, the result is nothing short of a masterpiece. If you want to understand the soul of Montalcino, this is the bottle, and this is the vintage you absolutely must secure.
The 2021 completely bypasses the heavy, baked notes that plague lesser estates in the region. The nose is a soaring, high-toned masterclass in precision. It delivers an intoxicating wave of crushed wild rose, sour cherry, and dried blood orange peel, all wrapped around a profound, cooling core of camphor and wet stone minerality.
On the palate, it drives forward with a vertical, electric spine. It possesses that "crunchy," nervous energy that keeps the immense concentration of the 2021 vintage feeling completely weightless. The tannins are ultra-fine, chalky, and demanding. What a wine
2021 Cristian Boffa "Capalot" Barolo
Review Date: 09-14-2026
This is the wine that made us pick up the phone. From a great, classically structured vintage, the 2021 Capalot has the depth and grip of serious La Morra Barolo, with layers of dark red fruit, leather, incense, and tobacco that unfold slowly in the glass. Galloni called it "ample and explosive," and he's right, but what stays with you is the length. It drinks well now with an hour in a decanter and will reward a decade in the cellar. At this price, single-vineyard Barolo from a named cru with a 94 from Vinous is close to unheard of.
2021 Cristian Boffa "Del Comune di La Morra" Barolo
Review Date: 09-14-2026
A blend from all four Santa Maria vineyards, this is La Morra in its most immediate, charming form: succulent red fruit, cinnamon, dried leaves, and a note of blood orange, carried on soft, rounded tannins. Galloni described it as a "plush, inviting Barolo," and that is exactly its appeal. It's the bottle to open on a Tuesday, the one that reminds you Barolo can be a pleasure rather than a project. Ready now, and it will hold comfortably for five to seven years.
2024 Cristian Boffa Dolcetto d'Alba
Review Date: 09-14-2026
Made entirely in stainless steel and bottled young to preserve its snap. Blackberry, violet, and a gently bitter almond finish, with the bright acidity that makes Dolcetto the Langhe's everyday table wine. Serve it slightly cool with salumi, agnolotti, or pizza. This is the wine the Boffas drink at home, and it shows.
Price:
$19.99
2024 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia "Le Volte" Toscana
Review Date: 09-07-2026
I have a soft spot for Le Volte. It was one of the wines I loved when I first started getting into wine, and I am not going to pretend otherwise now that I spend considerably more time thinking about soil, acidity, and the precise character of a tannin. Becoming serious about wine should not require disowning the bottles that helped get you there.
That affection is not a free pass, though. Nostalgia is a perfectly good reason to revisit a wine. It is not a reason to overrate it.
The 2024 puts fresh red fruit at the center of the conversation. Cherry and wild strawberry lead the aromatics, with a cooling menthol note that gives the nose lift and definition. The emphasis is on brightness here.
The fruit is juicy, the overall impression balanced, and the wine maintains that useful distinction between being easy to drink and having nothing to say. There is substance here.
The winemaking follows that same logic. The varieties are fermented separately in small stainless-steel tanks, with malolactic fermentation also taking place in steel. Ten months of aging follow, partly in barrels previously used for Ornellaia and partly in tank, with the stated aim of balancing tannic structure and fruit expression. This is not a recipe built entirely around the barrel.
At this price this is a must buy, a supe Tuscan for everyone and every occasion, you won’t be disappointed here.
2022 Fuligni "Ginestreto" Rosso di Montalcino
Review Date: 08-31-2026
The 2022 Fuligni "Ginestreto" Rosso di Montalcino is a fiercely unmanipulated translation of the Cottimelli estate’s high-elevation, northeast-facing slopes. It opens with an cold-toned aromatic array: dried blood orange peel, crushed slate, wild rosemary, and a distinct ferrous minerality.
Ultra-fine, chalky tannins frame the mid-palate with strict precision, keeping the wine focused through the back half. This is a radically structured, terroir-driven benchmark that punches far above its classification and demands serious culinary pairing. This is the definition of Baby Brunello.
2024 Poggiarellino Rosso di Montalcino
Review Date: 08-31-2026
Poggiarellino’s 2024 Rosso di Montalcino is a masterclass in raw site transparency. Rooted in the calcareous-clay soils of their small estate, this vintage is fiercely unmanipulated, reflecting the quiet, hands-on ethos of traditional Sangiovese production. It opens with an austere, cold-toned aromatic strike of wild Mediterranean macchia, dried pomegranate, and crushed terracotta.
On the palate, the fruit profile is intensely crunchy—brimming with sour red cherry and tart wild strawberry skin, a classic old school Rosso that as a lot to offer at this price point.
Price:
$24.99
2024 Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Review Date: 08-26-2026
Foot-trodden and fermented entirely in glass-lined concrete, the 2024 Trebbiano is a masterclass in tension and texture. Expect a vibrant, aromatic core of crushed almond, chamomile, and crisp orchard fruit, all grounded by a profound, chalky minerality. While thrilling and electric in its youth, it has the structural integrity to evolve beautifully in the cellar over the next decade.
Price:
$109.99
2021 Casanova di Neri "Tenuta Nuova" Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 08-16-2026
The "Tenuta Nuova" is a legend in its own time. Born from Giacomo Neri’s vision to find a specific terroir in the southern sector of Montalcino (Castelnuovo dell'Abate) that could produce a powerful, unique expression of Sangiovese, this wine has become an icon. In the 2021 vintage, it is a monumental success. This is a wine of structure and depth. The nose is explosive and dark, offering waves of blackberry preserve, crushed violet, graphite, and new leather, all lifted by a distinct Mediterranean spice. On the palate, it is massive but weightless—a paradox that only the greatest wines achieve. The fruit is dense and saline, wrapped in velvety, muscular tannins that promise a long life. It is immense, saline, and savory. This is a blue-chip collectible that will rival the greatest vintages of this label.
2019 La Fortuna Brunello di Montalcino
Review Date: 07-23-2026
While their Rosso is our go-to for immediate gratification, the Zannoni family's flagship Brunello is the reason Tenuta La Fortuna remains an absolute cornerstone of our direct import Montalcino portfolio. They have mastered the art of traditional, terroir-driven winemaking, and in a historically great vintage like 2019, that expertise results in something truly profound.
The 2019 vintage is already spoken of in hushed tones across Tuscany—a year that delivered wines of immense power, structure, and flawless balance. La Fortuna's 2019 captures every ounce of that potential. It pours a deep, commanding garnet and slowly unwinds in the glass to reveal a stunning, classic Montalcino bouquet of dark wild cherry, baked plum, sweet tobacco, worn leather, and savory underbrush. On the palate, it is full-bodied and beautifully muscular, with firm, perfectly ripe tannins and a driving core of acidity that promises a long life ahead.
This is serious, old-school Brunello built for the long haul. While it is undeniably impressive right now with a few hours in the decanter and a rich piece of roasted meat, this is a brilliant candidate for the cellar. It is a phenomenal showcase of the 2019 vintage and an unbelievable value for top-tier, direct-imported Sangiovese Grosso.
2022 Podere 29 "Gelso D'Oro" Nero di Troia
Review Date: 07-23-2026
We head far south to the sun-baked, wind-swept coast of northern Puglia to discover Podere 29. Situated in the Daunia region near the Adriatic Sea, this organic estate is fiercely dedicated to elevating the local, historic grape of the area: Nero di Troia. The name "Gelso D'Oro" translates to "Golden Mulberry," paying homage to the ancient mulberry trees that dot the estate and symbolize the deep agricultural heritage of the land.
While Puglia is famous for producing massive, jammy reds from Primitivo further south, Nero di Troia in this northern coastal pocket behaves differently. The vineyards here thrive on sandy, mineral-rich soils that are constantly ventilated by salty sea breezes. This maritime influence is crucial; it mitigates the intense Southern Italian heat, allowing for a long, slow ripening season that preserves the grape's natural acidity and complex aromatics.
"Gelso D'Oro" is the estate's crown jewel. In the glass, it pours an inky, impenetrable ruby. The nose is a profound sensory journey into the Mediterranean scrub, exploding with the grape's signature aroma of crushed violets, followed by dark blackberry, dried figs, and roasted cocoa. On the palate, it is enveloping and powerful, yet held together by a surprising coastal freshness and velvety tannins. It is a magnificent, soulful red that demands rich, slow-braised meats or aged Pecorino cheese.
2023 Michele Chiarlo "Cipressi" Nizza (Barbera)
Review Date: 07-23-2026
If there is one producer responsible for transforming Barbera from a simple, rustic "farmer's wine" into a world-class, cellar-worthy masterpiece, it is Michele Chiarlo. He is a titan of Piedmontese viticulture, and his visionary work in the Asti region fundamentally changed the landscape of Italian wine. The "Cipressi" bottling is a profound testament to that legacy, hailing from the magnificent Tenuta La Court estate in Castelnuovo Calcea.
More importantly, this wine comes from the heart of the Nizza DOCG. For years, this small, sun-drenched enclave was just a sub-zone of Barbera d'Asti, but its terroir is so exceptional that it was recently elevated to its own independent appellation—effectively becoming the "Grand Cru" zone for the Barbera grape. The secret to Nizza lies in the Astian sands: a unique geological mix of calcareous marl and magnesium-rich sand. This well-draining soil stresses the vines just enough to produce low yields of incredibly concentrated, aromatic fruit.
Because Barbera naturally possesses high acidity and very low tannin, the sandy Nizza terroir amplifies its elegance rather than adding heavy weight. The 2024 Cipressi pours a brilliant, glowing ruby. The nose is an intoxicating, pure expression of ripe red cherry, wild raspberry, and a delicate dusting of sweet spice. On the palate, it is electric, savory, and wonderfully silky, avoiding heavy oak in favor of terroir-driven freshness. It is a brilliant, sophisticated red that pairs flawlessly with traditional agnolotti pasta, mushroom risotto, or roasted pork.
2020 Amista Nizza (Barbera) (1.5L) 1-Pack in OWC
Review Date: 07-23-2026
It is a rare event to see a true Nizza DOCG hit the shelf at twenty dollars. When you consider that the 2020 Amista is positioned at fifty dollars in every other market, the proposition becomes undeniable. Nizza is Piemonte’s answer to structural Barbera, yet so many modern examples fall victim to syrupy extraction, burying the grape's identity in heavy-handed cellar tricks. The Amista, sourced from the chalk-dominant soils of the Bricco subzone, stands as a direct refutation of that lazy, spoofed-up style.
Do you like Cabernet? You need this. Do you like Barbera? Again, you need this. What a deal!
2025 San Lorenzo "Vigna di Gino" Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico
Review Date: 07-21-2026
Named for Natalino’s father, Gino, this is the freshest expression of the estate, but it’s far from simple. It carries the signature San Lorenzo texture, with vibrant notes of green almond, citrus pith, and a sharp, saline kick on the finish. It’s a stunning introduction to the house style and one of the best value whites we carry.
Price:
$14.99
2023 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barbera d'Alba Superiore
Review Date: 07-20-2026
After the smoking success of the 2022, we were thrilled to secure another small allocation and bring you the highly anticipated 2023 vintage.
We returned to our friends at one of Piedmont's most legendary estates for this bottling. They continue to treat this Barbera with the exact same reverence and meticulous care as their top-tier Barolos—and it absolutely shows in the glass.
Simply put, the wine is fantastic. The 2023 brings incredible energy and vibrancy, pouring a deep ruby and offering gorgeous aromatics of dark cherry, ripe blackberry, and a dusting of sweet spice. It is lush and velvety on the palate, yet perfectly lifted by that classic, mouth-watering Barbera acidity that makes it so incredibly food-friendly. It’s another rare opportunity to drink blue-chip pedigree juice at a phenomenal, everyday price.
Price:
$19.99
2024 Fattoria Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano
Review Date: 07-17-2026
When Elisabetta Geppetti took the reins at Le Pupille in the late 1980s, southern Tuscany was largely viewed as a viticultural wild west, prone to producing heavy, alcoholic reds devoid of structure. Geppetti single-handedly rewrote that narrative. While her flagship Saffredi proved the region could yield world-class depth, it is this baseline Morellino di Scansano that cements her legacy.
Geppetti understands that the maritime warmth of Scansano can easily yield flabby, spoofed-up wines if left unchecked. Her genius lies in her vineyard management and precise picking decisions, capturing a fierce nervous energy that defies the Mediterranean sun. By keeping the winemaking entirely transparent and focusing on the grape’s natural, crunchy red fruit, she has maintained a benchmark that has remained unchanged in its intellectual focus for decades.
Geppetti has spent nearly forty years ensuring that even her most accessible wine possesses the same vertical spine, architectural grip, and marine-inflected saline snap as her top crus. It remains a foundational reference point for the region, proving that true territorial typicity doesn't require a massive price tag—just an uncompromising vision.