($45, Golden Ram Imports/Blue Sky Group): Castello delle Regine will be the producer to focus the light on Umbria as a source of grand wine.  Their Selezione del Fondatore, which to my mind is their flagship wine, comes exclusively from 50+ year-old Sangiovese vines that the owners found on the property when they purchased it in the 1990s.  Despite this nine year-old wine being their current release, it is still youthful and will benefit from additional bottle age.  Tightly wound at this stage, it has a Brunello-like combination of beautifully balanced dark minerality and dense fruitiness. It’s layered and long with each sip revealing new flavors.  Thrilling to taste now, it reminds me of what Louis Paul Latour, former head of one of Burgundy’s top producers once told me:  “Great wines always tastes great.”  Some is going into my cellar.
97 Michael Apstein Nov 15, 2016