Italy

The 2017 Coltassala, the single vineyard wine from Volpaia, is brooding, intense, and very powerful. With time it's sure to be an impressive wine: at this price, a no brainer.

The 2018 Saffredi is another impressive wine from Elisabetta Gepetti. Bold and intense, there’s a real graphite element - this feels like ripe Bordeaux, with lovely energy. Really very well put together, and so long, with spice and baked earth unfurling on the finish.

This wine is a lesson in the elegance yet depth that Brunello can attain in a great vintage. Notes of crushed blackberries and wild strawberries swirl from the glass, with orange peel and a hint of fresh tea. There’s a spearmint note here, too, giving lift and energy. This is long, focussed, complex and delicious. Does Brunello get any better?

The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione is beautiful. Notes of sour cherry and blood orange, with a hint of fresh tea, swirl from the glass. On the palate it’s focussed and powerful, with every part in brilliant balance. A stunner from this outstanding estate.

One of the original Super-Tuscans, the de Marchi family’s Cepparello is one of Italy’s greatest wines, and in 2017 it performs wonderfully yet again. A warm vintage, this maintains stunning freshness and poise. What a brilliant wine from this wonderful estate.

Lovely delicacy on the nose. Feel a touch of oak, but it’s nicely spiced and plenty of juicy cherry fruit. There’s plenty of focus and a lovely density to the fruit. Lots of potential and density. Lovely drive here, and very saline on the finish. There’s a beautifully clean finish here, such a drinkable wine.

More power, spice and balsamic, impressive length, power of tannins and excellent mineral length. Like the density here - silky and mouthfilling, without being overblown.

This smells beautiful and has blood orange notes with plenty of focus and a lovely energy. Mouthwatering freshness, and there’s a real focus on the nose. Plenty of density here, with notes of baked earth, and lovely tannins on the finish. This is so juicy and fine, and with another year in bottle, this will open up even more, with so much texture and finesse. A brilliant Brunello.

The 2016 Birba is a real beauty. Notes of crushed rocks and flowers swirl on the nose, with a core of dark yet fresh fruit. The palate is structured and intense, but with a refinement and balance, and a finish that lasts an age. This is a superb wine: one to stock up on, to get ahead.

From two plots in the appellation, the 2015 Brunello from Le Potazzine is surely the best wine they’ve produced here. We’ve tasted it throughout its development, and it’s blossomed into a sublime wine. Bright cherry fruit with a zesty blood orange note keeps this focussed and pure, and the finish is remarkably long. This is a lesson in elegance and purity from one of the best producers in Italy. Not to be missed.

In 2015 they only managed 5 tons/ha: they’d hope for a maximum of 8 tons/ha. Lots of glossy fruit, here. This is very silky and nice grip on the palate, too. Quite a plush style, notes of cinnamon and also a floral element. Nicely balance, while freshness balances that fruit.

From a hot site running along a ridge, it's the balance here that's most remarkable. Notes of wild herbs and some blackcurrent dominate, but there's also a fine core of citrus fruit that keeps this lifted, alongside chalky tannins, and real salinity. This will need some time, but will be very very impressive.

Coming only from vines of 20 years old or more, this is an intense, focussed, lively red, that shows the very best of a great vintage. Notes of mulberry and dark cherry, with hints of cinnamon and sage. This is a complex, long, profound wine: particularly at this price.

Produced in smaller quantities than usual, the 2017 Ornellaia is an intensely structured, beautifully refined wine. Notes of violet and baked earth, with dark cherries, cassis, and incredibly silky tannins. Brilliant

Italy's most celebrated Merlot is incredible in 2017. Plush tannins, notes of freshly picked plum, lots of spice, and incredible floral lift all combine to ensure that this is a wine that wows with its intensity and concentration. The finish remains focussed: in 2017 this Bolgheri blue clay has produced something special.