($19, Quintessential):  Although Piedmont is best known for its stellar red wines, it is home to excellent whites, such as this one.  The Cortese grape, from which Gavi is made, is naturally high in acidity, so the wines need enough body to balance it or they come across and tart and thin. … Read more

($23):  The three-grape blend, Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, give rise to the name, TRE.  This mid-weight wine (13.5% stated alcohol) delivers an array of red and black fruit notes surrounded by mild tannins. Bright and lively, it has good density and surprising complexity and polish for the price. … Read more

($70):  Brancaia has fashioned a “bigger” more modern style of Super Tuscan by blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.  Although these are grapes known as Bordeaux varieties, Brancaia’s Ilatraia has clear roots in Tuscany as manifested by its terrific enlivening and refreshing acidity. … Read more

($40):  With an unusual blend, this “second” wine from Caiarossa is an outstanding value.  The team uses five of the seven red varieties planted on the estate, Syrah (28%), Cabernet Franc (22%), Merlot (21%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%), and Alicante, for this robust, yet balanced wine. … Read more

($51):  Caiarossa, a relatively new entry into the Super Tuscan world (2004 was their first vintage), is headed towards the top of that illustrious group.  In addition to four of the traditional Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot), they planted and use in this, their flagship wine, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Alicante. … Read more

($40, Folio Fine Wine Partners):  It’s hard to go wrong with any wine from Donnafugata, one of Sicily’s — and Italy’s — iconic producers.  With Tancredi, Donnafugata has married Nero d’Avola, an indigenous Sicilian grape, with Cabernet Sauvignon and a pinch of Tannat to produce a dense and concentrated, but balanced, wine. … Read more

($80, Folio Fine Wine Partners):  Mille e una Notte, Donnafugata’s flagship wine, is a tribute to Sicilian grape growing and winemaking.  The 2012 is simply gorgeous.  A masterful blend of Old World (Nero d’Avola) and New (Petit Verdot and Syrah) it conveys power and sophistication. … Read more

($72, Quintessential):  Though the wines are bottled and in distribution to wholesalers, the official release date of the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino is the beginning of 2018.  The growing season was cooler than 2012, which suggests the wines might be more elegant than powerful, but generalizations can’t be made, if at all, until tasting a full range of them. … Read more

($15, Quintessential):  Though the Piemontese speak of Barolo and Barbaresco with reverence, they all drink Barbera d’Asti with gusto.  And this wine shows why.  Its bright red fruit flavors mingle nicely with a spiced herb component.  The naturally high acidity balances good concentration, making it energetic and lively. … Read more

($18, Terlato Wines International):  Feudi di San Gregorio’s Greco di Tufo is less floral and more mineral-tinged than their Fiano d’Avellino (also reviewed this week), but has a similar refreshing edginess to it.  A more “serious” wine, it has an engaging firmness and more of a presence on the table. … Read more

($18, Terlato Wines International):  Floral and clean, like fresh fruit blossoms, Feudi di San Gregorio’s 2016 Fiano conveys a lacey delicacy.  Combine that with its lip-smacking acidity and you have a refreshing choice for simply sautéed — or if your grill is still functioning — grilled fish. … Read more

($160):  From Vigna Rionda, an acclaimed vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba, Oddero has fashioned this still — at 10 years — a youthful wine.  Oddero started to label wine from this vineyard as a Riserva with the 2006 vintage and released it after 10 years of aging, five of which were in barrel. … Read more

($74):  Oddero is one of Barolo’s top producers, Rocche di Castiglione is a top site in Castiglione Falletto, and 2013 was an excellent year for Barolo, so this wine’s stature is no surprise.  Floral and pretty, it emphasizes elegance over power, although it still packs plenty of the latter. … Read more

($42):  Befitting a Riserva, Castello di Radda’s 2012 has depth balanced by a gutsy firmness.  Even with its youthful vigor, the balance of dark fruit and savory notes is apparent.  An appealing hint of bitterness in the finish reminds you this is a wine meant for the dinner table. … Read more

($22):  In a word, delicious.  It’s just what you’d expect from Chianti Classico: a wonderful combination of dark cherry-like fruit and herbal qualities. Not all gussied up with oak, the alluring earthiness of Chianti Classico comes through.  Polished tannins in this mid-weight wine impart a suave texture.… Read more

($49):  As much as I liked Castello di Radda’s 2012 Chianti Classico Riserva, I must admit, their Gran Selezione from the same vintage is just better.  With stricter production standards, Gran Selezione, a relatively new category for Chianti Classico, is supposed to highlight a producer’s top wine. … Read more

($18, Kobrand):  One tends to forget about Chiarlo’s white wines since they make such stunning reds.  Here’s one that should not be forgotten.  Not an opulent wine, this Gavi still has good depth and is piercing, mineral-y and refined.  It is cutting and stony, a perfect foil for a tomato-based seafood dish, such as swordfish in a tomato-caper.… Read more

($102, Kobrand):  Chiarlo was largely responsible for the resurrection of this iconic vineyard in La Morra, that, according to Kerin O’Keefe, a world’s expert on Italian wine in general and Barolo in particular, laid abandoned until the 1950s even though it had been listed as a top spot in an authoritative 19th century classification of Barolo’s vineyards. … Read more

($86, Kobrand):  Chiarlo owns about 3-acres of vines in the heart of Cannubi, arguably Barolo’s most famous vineyard.  From it, they make a sensational wine. Their 2012 Cannubi combines power and elegance, just as the textbooks say.  Its wonderful aromatics and intriguing tar-like character make for an unusual pairing, but the combination is captivating and keeps you coming back for another look. … Read more

($11, Montcalm Wine Importers):  This juicy mid-weight wine is an example of why Barbera d’Asti is so popular.  Lip-smacking, cherry-like acidity enlivens the briary, spicy character of the wine’s fruitiness.  Mild tannins make it perfect for current consumption.  This is not an “important” wine, but rather one you could open on the spur of the moment — it has a screw cap, so you don’t even need a corkscrew — when a take-out pizza arrives at your door. … Read more

($13, Montcalm Wine Importers):  A more robust, richer style of Barbera, Bricco dei Guazzi’s 2013 still maintains the grape’s hallmark juicy acidity and low-ish level of tannins that makes it hard to resist.  Darker in color with a whiff of oak flavors, it a seductive, suavely textured wine that has a black, rather than red, fruit profile. … Read more

($75, Terlato Wines International):  I hate to say that an almost $75 a bottle of wine is a bargain, but, if you have 75 bucks to spend on a wine, here it is.  Although Taurasi justifiably carries the DOCG accolade, it still lacks the prestige — and price — of the Tuscan or Piedmont DOCGs. … Read more

($15, Montcalm Wine Importers):  Here is a wine that provides more enjoyment than the price suggests.  Wines, especially those made from the Montepulciano grape and especially from Abruzzo, the region east of Rome on the Adriatic coast, have little or no prestige, which keeps their prices depressed. … Read more

($92, Kobrand):  Silvio Nardi, one of my favorite Brunello producers, consistently makes a stunning wine from their Manachiara vineyard, some of whose vines date back to the 1960s.  Located on the east side of Montalcino, the vineyard has a mixture of clay and sand in the soil, which helps account for the wine’s seemingly paradoxical combination of power and elegance. … Read more

($42, Kobrand):  In addition to making noteworthy Barolo, Chiarlo, a top producer in Piedmont, also makes excellent wine from lesser known areas, such as Nizza.  Starting with the 2014 vintage, this wine will be labeled simply Nizza Riserva DOCG, since this small subzone of the Barbera d’Asti region was recently awarded DOCG status. … Read more

($16):  So you’re not familiar with the Colli Maceratesi DOC or the Ribona grape?  Join the club.  Ribona, more commonly known as Maceratino Bianco, takes its name from the city (Macerata) in the western part of the Marche region.  The Colli Maceratesi DOC, comprising only about 600 acres, does not produce a lot of wine, which explains why we in the U.S.… Read more

($15, EDV Esprit du Vin):   Often the line between DOC and DOCG — and IGT, for that matter — is blurred as far as quality is concerned.  Not this time.  For Prosecco that is a cut above the others, reach for the DOCG because it encompasses the original zone where the grapes are grown on less-fertile hillsides, which translates to better wine. … Read more

($10, EDV Esprit du Vin):  There is a lot of inexpensive Prosecco on the market, most of it giving the category a bad name.  Not this one.  Tasted side-by-side with Valdo’s stable mate release from the Veneto’s prime region, Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG (also reviewed this week), it pales in comparison. … Read more

($20, Artisanal Cellars):  Despite being Italy’s first DOC, Vernaccia di San Gimignano (yes, you read that correctly) rarely receives the accolades it deserves, which is a boon for consumers because its low visibility keeps the prices down.  Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara is one of the region’s top producers, so their wines are a good place to start for consumers who want to know what Vernaccia di San Gimignano should taste like. … Read more

($30, Artisanal Cellars):  Often confused with Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, which means small cherries, usually comprises part of a blend.  But a few producers, such as Fibbiano, make a monovarietal wine from it.  This is a lovely example, combining cherry-like fruit, earthiness and an attractive subtle bitterness in the finish. … Read more

($18):   Enter a different style of Nero d’Avola.  Assuli’s emphasizes the fruitier side of the grape.  At 14.5 percent stated alcohol, it is riper and more lush, with fewer savory notes than the Nero d’Avola from Barone Sergio (also reviewed this week). … Read more

($19, Artisanal Cellars):  Nero d’Avola, the most widely planted red grape in Sicily, makes a diverse style of wine, ranging from fruity to more savory depending on where the grape grows and the producer’s style. This one focuses on the earthy, herbal character, though there’s plenty of dark fruit flavor as well. … Read more

($29, Vinifera Imports):  Prà, like Pieropan, is a benchmark producer of Soave Classico.  The Prà name on a label is as good a guarantee of quality as you can get.  Their flagship Soave Classico bottling is from the well-regarded and well-situated Monte Grande vineyard.  … Read more

($26):   Pieropan is undoubtedly one of great names in Soave.  They have been instrumental in resurrecting the prestige of the area with their consistent production of stellar wines, from their “regular” (though none of their wines are “regular”) Soave Classico to their single vineyard bottlings, such as this one. … Read more

($17):  Prosecco has gained so much popularity worldwide that its name has replaced the word Champagne as the generic term for all sparkling wine. Sadly, much Prosecco is mass-produced and uninteresting.  Typically, the path to finding a more distinctive Prosecco takes the consumer to a difficult to pronounce DOCG, Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore. … Read more

($85, Kermit Lynch):  Valpolicella originally was an inexpensive delightfully light red wine, not an “important” or prestigious one.  Over the last several decades, many producers have ramped it up by performing a “ripasso,” adding either dried grapes or the leftover must from another fermentation to the fresh pressed juice, which increased the alcohol content and the overall weight of the finished wine. … Read more

($15, Palm Bay International):  Rocca delle Maciè consistently makes lovely Chianti Classico, so it’s no surprise that they succeed with the Sangiovese grape further south in Scansano.  Their Morellino di Scansano 2015 focuses more on ripe cherry-like fruit than earthiness, but a hint of savory notes and bright acidity keeps it in balance. … Read more

($15, Palm Bay International):  Falanghina, the grape was named after falengae, the Latin word for the stakes the Romans used to support the vine, is my “go to” wine in Italian restaurants with modest wine lists because it almost always represents good value.… Read more