($90, Dalla Terra Winery Direct):  The bottles were opened at least a dozen yards away, but the aromas of apricots and nuts stopped all conversation as people looked for the source of the wondrous aromas.  Vin Santo is a curious wine, this one especially.  The Trebbiano grapes are harvested before they are fully ripe during the second week of September.  Then, they are dried on mats or hanging by wires in an attic until December or January.  You might think the drying process is controlled by a computer program.  No, the winemaker, Benedetta Contini Bonacossi, controls the drying process by opening and closing windows depending on the weather!  After pressing and fermentation, the wine remains untouched in 50 to 100-liter barrels for seven years, during which time it loses about half its volume from evaporation — the Angel’s share.  The remaining earthly share is truly heavenly.  What’s remarkable is not the sweetness or the richness or the complexity, of which there is plenty, but the acidity.  Wow!  This sweet wine is not cloying, just exhilarating because of its liveliness and freshness.  It is a perfect match for cheeses or just by itself.
96 Michael Apstein Mar 28, 2023