From a dry vintage, with Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted on deep alluvial soils, winemaker Miguel Torres describes this as: 'A very classic vintage of Mas La Plana.' Black fruit aromas – blackberry, blackcurrant – some blackcurrant leaf, coffee and dark chocolate hints. Complex, layered palate, with mouth-filling black fruit, plum, liquorice, very elegant tannins and well integrated oak (18 months in French oak, 85% new). Very smooth and balanced, showing considerable freshness and finesse.

The Val di Suga 2018 Rosso di Montalcino is a vibrant and fun red to pull out for your next veal or vegetarian lasagna. The wine is teeming with bright berry fruit with wild raspberry and cherry. Showing balanced acidity and a snappy, lean-bodied style, this is textbook Rosso. There is a note of candied cherry and sweet spice on the close. This vintage marks significant improvements since I last visited this wine. Some 60,000 bottles were produced and you get good value.

This is a very well balanced Brunello with sharp and classic lines. The Val di Suga 2015 Brunello di Montalcino offers attractive energy and brightness that is transmitted through the cherry fruit and wild berry aromas at its core. That primary fruit is surrounded by light spice, grilled herb and potting soil. There is a nice purity and linearity to this wine that reminds you of the natural depth and complexity of Sangiovese when given a little time to age. (Brunello is always released five years after the harvest.) This is an ample 120,000-bottle release.

Val di Suga makes three single-vineyard expressions of Sangiovese, and this is one of them. The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio al Granchio comes from a sun-kissed 18-hectare plot located at the southeastern side of the appellation that also sees very cool nights, thanks to the soft breezes and diurnal shifts that come off the nearby Monte Amiata. You can see a sketch of this vineyard in the little drawing on the front label. Compared to the other wines in this series, this wine is distinguished by a thickly textured mouthfeel and warm aromas of dark plum and blackberry...

One of three single-vineyard expressions, the Val di Suga 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Spuntali is the most representative of the estate philosophy and the Sangiovese grape. This classic Brunello shows the thick lines and ripe fruit that this vintage is known for, but it also offers mineral notes or crushed stone and iron ore that add contours and framing to the fruit. There is an almost saline or salty note on the close that you don't get with the other wines in this series. Some 12,000 examples of this lovely cru were bottled in early April 2019.

The Val di Suga 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna del Lago draws its fruit from a low-lying vineyard site (at 300 meters in elevation) next to a big water reservoir. The heat of the summer sun permeates these vines, and you can feel that intensity in the wine's medium-dark appearance and its ripe fruit flavors. This release of 8,000 bottles offers an attractive level of ripeness and balanced dark fruit.

Dark-berry, walnut, wet-earth, herb and crushed-berry aromas and flavors. Medium body. Chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Needs at least another year to soften. Try after 2020

Lithe and delicately balanced, with vibrant lemon custard, blanched almond and steely citrus tones that take on richness and speed on the long finish.

The 2018 Barbera d'Alba Bricco dei Merli (with 10,000 bottles made) delivers that signature balance and harmony that we see in the other wines from Elvio Cogno. Barbera can sometimes take on overblown aromas, but this wine remains steady, sweet and mildly concentrated throughout. It delivers dark fruit intensity without ever feeling heavy or too rich. From a cooler vintage, this expression of Barbera shows vibrant freshness and energy.

A muscular, forceful style of considerable power, volume, and length; a little indigestible for now, needing more time, but magnificent all the same.

This is a vivid and bright style without excesses with tannins that are gently grippy and give a sense of persistence to the wine. The use of oak is adept, and really helps to accentuate the ripe, bright fruits, plum, damson, raspberry juice. It has a good length of flavour and is a real joy. Made with biodynamically-grown Grenache (66%), Syrah (12%) and Mourvèdre (12%), the rest being made up of Clairette Rose, Cinsault, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Terret Noir, Picardan, Picpoul Blanc, Muscardin, Bourboulenc, Picpoul Noir, Vaccarèse, Roussanne, Picpoul Gris, Counoise and Clairette!...

The most subtle lemony cloud hovers above a certain chalkiness on the nose. Utter subtlety also characterises the super-svelte palate that is as light as a feather, yet conveys great depth and creamy softness. The freshness seems buffered by chalk, the mousse serves to remind you that this is actually Champagne, so breezy, so light, so elegant is this. A wonderful combination of depth and weightlessness.

Bright and creamy, this white exhibits vanilla, lemon cake and peach flavors, with a light salinity underneath. Vibrant and fresh, with a long, citrus-and pastry-tinged aftertaste. Altogether fresh, elegant and harmonious. Drink now through 2024.

This offers up a deep well of warm, crushed plum, açai and blackberry fruit flavors that glide over hints of loam, sage and menthol, all backed by a lingering licorice root note on the fleshy finish. Distinctive. Syrah, Grenache, and Roussanne. Drink now through 2025.

Rich and broad in feel, with a lightly roasted edge to the mix of crushed plum, blackberry and raspberry fruit. Garrugue, singed alder and warm stone notes emerge steadily through the still-grippy finish. Grenache and Syrah. Drink now through 2024.

Beguiling aromas of pressed rose, perfumed berry, dark spice and new leather mingle together on this fragrant, enticing red. Showing extraordinary finesse, the chiseled delicious palate delivers juicy raspberry, tart red cherry, cinnamon, star anise and chopped mint. A smoky mineral note graces the finish while taut lithe tannins and bright acidity provide elegant support—another beauty from what was overall a difficult vintage. Drink 2022–2034

Green apple and white spring flower shape the enticing nose on this fragrant sparkler. The silky polished palate doles out Bartlett pear, lemon zest and nectarine alongside a dollop of ginger. Fresh acidity and a creamy mousse provide the backdrop.

A creamy, velvety-textured red from the Duero, showing cherries and chocolate with some walnut undertones. It’s full-bodied with pretty fruit and complexity. Lightly salty and savory. Drinkable now, but better in a year to two.

The 2017 Barbaresco Bordini is a potent wine. A blast of black cherry, mocha, spice, sage, earthiness, licorice and smoke gives the Bordini a real sense of gravitas. Neive Barbarescos are known for their breadth. There is certainly plenty of size here. The 2017 is not exactly understated or elegant, but instead packs a serious punch that, not surprisingly, leans into the realm of Barolo.

The 2018 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a touch more pungency compared to the Bienvenue, but perhaps not quite the same alluring charm, at least at this primordial stage. The palate is where it’s at: supremely well balanced, exuding a sense of coiled-up energy countered by a dense, persistent finish. A bit of a beast, but time will tame it. Drink 2022 - 2050.