3 | Wine | Red Bordeaux Blend, Tuscany, 91 to 95

"The 2008 Bolgheri Superiore Sor Ugo boasts terrific richness and depth in its super-ripe plums, blackberries, spices, mint and wild flowers. Seamless and opulent, the 2008 captures the essence of this great Maremma vintage. Layers of fruit crescendo on the plush, racy finish."

"The 2010 Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia shows off tons of concentration and sheer depth. Mocha, espresso, dark cherries and plums are some of the many notes that take shape in the glass. The 2010 is a decidedly powerful, virile wine endowed with considerable power. It will be interesting to see how the layers of flavor flesh out once the wine has been bottled. For now, the 2010 is a highly promising Serre Nuove."

"The 2009 Sassicaia is unusually big, rich and opulent. Layers of fruit saturate the palate as the 2009 explodes from the glass with a heady melange of dark berries, plums, menthol, licorice and new leather. This is an especially racy Sassicaia. Readers who enjoy the classicism of Sassicaia are likely to find the 2009 too rich, especially at this early stage. The wine needs at least a few years in bottle to drop some of its baby fat. Despite its huge fruit, the 2009 is also pretty closed down and not anywhere close to being ready to show off its pedigree. Sassicaia is arguably Italy’s most famous wine, so it’s always great when it lives up to its reputation."

"Already harmonious and supple, this red offers black cherry, raspberry and floral flavors, showing both intensity and finesse. Bright and focused, with refined tannins and a lingering aftertaste that echoes berry and spice."

"Explodes onto the palate with masses of rich, opulent fruit that caress the palate with gorgeous length and a seamless beauty that is hard to fully capture. Dark wild cherries, plums, spices, minerals and herbs develop in the glass. This is an especially bold, perhaps slightly uncharacteristic Sassicaia in its extroverted personality, but it is beautiful all the same. The inner perfume and sweetness carries through the long finish, where the sheer weight and glycerol of the fruit leaves a lasting impression."

"The 2007 Ornellaia is remarkably open and accessible, very much in keeping with the personality of the vintage. Clean, minerally notes frame a core of silky, perfumed dark fruit, mocha, spices, licorice, grilled herbs and leather that impresses for its exceptional length. Tasted next to the 2007 Le Serre Nuove, the 2007 Ornellaia shows more muscle (from the higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon), but in terms of pure quality the wines are very close. The 2007 is not a big, massive Ornellaia, but rather a wine built on elegance and finesse, both of which are on full display."

"Explodes onto the palate with masses of rich, opulent fruit that caress the palate with gorgeous length and a seamless beauty that is hard to fully capture. Dark wild cherries, plums, spices, minerals and herbs develop in the glass. This is an especially bold, perhaps slightly uncharacteristic Sassicaia in its extroverted personality, but it is beautiful all the same. The inner perfume and sweetness carries through the long finish, where the sheer weight and glycerol of the fruit leaves a lasting impression."

"The 2007 is not a big, massive Ornellaia, but rather a wine built on elegance and finesse, both of which are on full display. ...The 2007 Ornellaia is remarkably open and accessible, very much in keeping with the personality of the vintage. Clean, minerally notes frame a core of silky, perfumed dark fruit, mocha, spices, licorice, grilled herbs and leather that impresses for its exceptional length. Tasted next to the 2007 Le Serre Nuove, the 2007 Ornellaia shows more muscle (from the higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon), but in terms of pure quality the wines are very close."

"The 2007 Ornellaia is remarkably open and accessible, very much in keeping with the personality of the vintage. Clean, minerally notes frame a core of silky, perfumed dark fruit, mocha, spices, licorice, grilled herbs and leather that impresses for its exceptional length. Tasted next to the 2007 Le Serre Nuove, the 2007 Ornellaia shows more muscle (from the higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon), but in terms of pure quality the wines are very close. The 2007 is not a big, massive Ornellaia, but rather a wine built on elegance and finesse, both of which are on full display."

"The 2007 Camarcanda is a rich, deep wine loaded with dark red fruit, espresso, mocha, licorice and tar. This is a decidedly more full-bodied effort, with superb depth, textural richness and body."