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A smooth, polished performance from this 100-acre estate. The 1997 is modern in style, exhibiting huge but not too-dominant wood aromas and flavors, balancing with sweet, ripe berry fruit and black cherry jam. This is a wine that should be accessible young in four or five years, but should certainly age well over the following 10 or more.

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Not for the fainthearted, this is a huge, mouthfilling wine bursting with yellow plum, hazelnut and peach aromas, and accented by smoke, butter and toast. Yet for all its size, it manages to marry that power with a sense of mineral elegance. Drink nowC2010.

US

This reserve shows nice lime/citrus scents, hints of honey and a bit of sandalwood, which is quite interesting. It's an elegant, lightly spicy, complex and subtle wine, with delicious nuances and a dancer's balance.

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The Mariani family has produced a hugely concentrated, wood-dominated wine with powerful smoky aromas and concentrated black, ripe, chunky fruit. It's heavy on the berries, both in the rustic, brambly nose and on the deep, tight, classy palate. Toasty flavors come through the fruit, but these will soften and blend in with aging. Unlike many Brunellos, this one is drinkable right now, but could be cellared for 10 years or more.

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A classically powerful Riserva from Antinori, produced from the three family estates at Tignanello, P ppoli and Badia a Passignano. Aromas of violets and cherries are followed by tobacco and spice flavors from the wood, as well as concentrated black fruits. Rich and full-bodied, it should age well over the next 10 years.

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Antonio Mastrojanni has made a classic, old-style Brunello. There is a chunky solidity to the wine, with black, tarry fruit over toasty, but not new wood, flavors. It is firm, robust and, at this stage, still very dry from fruit tannins. Like many Mastrojanni vintages, it needs time in this case, at least 10 years.

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The work of award-winning winemaker Renzo Cotarella shows through in this wine's modern, bright purple color, its new wood and ripe fruit aromas and in the juicy blackberry and berry fruit flavors. Yet it is certainly not just modern glitz: Lurking behind is the real heart of a tough, ageworthy, tannic Brunello, which promises a good 10 years at least before being ready to drink.

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Little changes at Biondi-Santi. The tannins on this huge 1997 are dense, almost impenetrable. The flavors are of cherry, tobacco, old wood and solid, black fruits. The aftertaste is all tannin at this stage. Despite this rigorous adherence to tradition, the 1997 seems a touch less overwhelming than previous vintages of this classic wine. Nevertheless, age for at least 15 years before drinking.

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The land from which this wine comes was once owned by the Biondi-Santi family. It forms part of an 18-acre estate belonging to Sergio Rossi. It is a stunning wine, with a sense of fine poise combined with solid tannins and firm, ripe fruit. At the back of the palate is a lingering flavor ofviolets and sweet herbs. Drink from 2005; the wine should age well.

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The label reads Chianti, but this is more about deep, driving black fruit than typically racy Sangiovese. It kicks off with the purest scent of smashed berries, and then offers up a supercharged black-cherry-laden palate with far more hedonistic weight than starching acids. The wine finishes with power and warmth.

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This nuovo mondo Super Tuscan represents the first vintage of Borgo Scopeto under the management of Tenuta Caparzo, and it has a tremendous jammy, extracted quality to it, from the smooth, deep plum and blackberry nose to the soft, rich palate that exudes tons of black cherry fruit along with coffee and licorice. It's a mix of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah, and everything is working in unison.

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A Type-A wine if ever there was one. It's high-voltage Cabernet, with just a touch of Merlot, and it's layered with cassis, buttery oak, and some toast. The mouthfeel is full but elegant, with mint and clove nuances poking through to impact the bold currant-laden palate. A smooth, well-oaked, persistent finish is the encore. Can easily be aged for a decade.

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Sesta is one of the wines coming out of Montalcino that manages to combine the old-world power and tannin of Brunello with top-quality fruit flavors. It is firm and concentrated, showing dry tannins that go right through the palate. At the same time, there is delicious ripe, violet-flavored fruit and balancing acidity. Drink after 10 years.

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Fast becoming one of the world's top luxury cuv es, this blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Syrah is a complex amalgam of dry, classy fruit, herbal notes, smoked meat, black pepper and baking spices. Its calling card is its perfect body weight. It isn't heavy or jammy, but it manages to offer tons of stuffing and a graceful finish loaded with the essences of cola, coffee and chocolate. If possible, it should be cellared for several more years.

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Riccardo Talenti, grandson of Pierluigi Talenti, the grand old man of Montalcino, currently makes one of the finest Brunellos with the help of consultant Carlo Ferrini. They are now using new wood for aging, and the extra layer of richness this brings is apparent in the comparative accessibility of this wine. Yet it is also huge, with classic tannins and intense, concentrated flavors of sweet blackberry jelly.

US

This is the best Pinot Noir yet from the Drouhin estate; immensely concentrated and rich. The fruit is complex and penetrating, focused and long, layered throughout a generous and extended finish. Cherries and chocolate linger on the palate, resonating long after the wine has been swallowed.

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Hailing from the town of Suvereto in the southern Maremma, this sophomore Cabernet-Merlot blend from the same owner as Bellavista and Contadi Castaldi in Franciacorta is flat-out awesome. One whiff of the bouquet says it all: earth, currant, blackberry and coffee. The palate is equally sensational a magic carpet ride of plum fruit, pure oak and solid but forgiving tannins. Drink and enjoy any time through 2006.

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Spicy and full of cassis, tobacco and coffee aromas. Texture and mouthfeel are what this wine is all about; it is plush like velvet carpet. Deep, satisfying flavors of plum, black currant and vanilla lead into an ultrasmooth finish that is clean as a hospital emergency room.

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The moral of this story? Drink your tropical fruit-and-oak Chards young, before the fruit disappears, leaving nothing but the hollow shell of an empty barrel.

US

This charmless wine brings back memories of those old reds that suffered from the veggies, aromas and flavors of canned vegetables that come from unripe grapes. With its flabby structure, there?s not a whole lot to recommend this barely acceptable wine.