($90) Bright medium red. Knockout nose suggests a wine of strong extract and extends one's Brunello vocabulary: cherry, peach pit, licorice, lead pencil, honey, jasmine, botanical herbs, you name it. Dry, classic and sharply delineated, conveying a strong impression of energy allied with great delicacy. This manages to be very ripe, broad and silky and at the same time virtually weightless. Finishes sweet, pliant, minerally and very long. With aeration, though, this shut down dramatically in my glass and showed a leathery element. One for the cellar. (Empson U.S.A., Alexandria, VA)

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A rich, broad palate of flavours here: tomato, earth, cherry, vanilla, violets, tannin that grips the mouth with gentle force and a funky cheesiness grated on top. Excellent. (RH)

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High-toned aromatics lead to a firm, taut expression of fruit in Costanti's 2004 Brunello di Montalcino. Wild herbs, red cherries, tobacco and flowers are just some of the nuances that emerge from this chiseled, traditionally-made Brunello. The wine possesses gorgeous length and finessed tannins that provide lovely balance. Today the wine is clenched and unexpressive, but it should come together in bottle. That said, numerous bottles of this Brunello have failed to deliver the magic I found when I tasted the wine from tank prior to bottling.

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Rich and subtle, delivering plum, berry and ripe strawberry character, with dried mushroom undertones. Full, with a ripe, velvety tannin backbone and beautiful fruit. Features coffee and berries on the finish, with bright acidity.

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