2010 Italy

Despite a very modest 12.5% abv, this Colline Teramane DOCG wine punches above its weight, enhanced no doubt by the stupendous 2010 vintage. A luminous lime-green gold, the nose pings with root ginger and citronelle, of candied citrus fruit even. Precise yet unhurried, the palate charms with lime skin zest, with essential oils and sapidity. It’s so exciting to be able to bring Abruzzo wines of this calibre to your attention; to give them the credit they’re due.
David Berry Green

There’s such a difference between Bibbiano’s sensual, fleshy Castellina Chianti Classico wines and, say, Badia’s sinewy, salty examples from their village of Gaiole. The 2010 vintage puts this in sharp perspective. Bibbiano’s Vigna del Capannino plays another card: that of the Brunello clone of Sangiovese used in the vineyard. Hence the darker, ruby colour, and the unctuous nose which is a sensual ride of crushed velvet and super-ripe mulberry fruit, reminding you more of Montalcino, than Castellina. Yet it’s not cumbersome; that’s the joy of Chianti Classico, especially from a fine noble estate as Bibbiano. Yes, there’s a gorgeous brambly roll but it ticks over energetically, with refreshing saltiness and levity.
David Berry Green

A village blend of Serralunga Nebbiolo from seven vineyards (Damiano, Brolio, Costa Bella, Sorano, Sori di Baudana Cerretta Piane, Meriame), the 2010 vintage is very tidy, with compact, red-black currant tea-leaf, clove and pepper notes; the palate meanwhile is ample, with crunchy red currant fruit, great transparency and limpidity, and salty too; there’s even something vaguely Pauillac about it, with its lattice of minerality and stature, a ripe fondant core and pulsating red berry acidity . Classic Barolo from Serralunga.
David Berry Green

Il Colleallodole (the skylark) is the soaring pinnacle of Francesco Antano’s Sagrantino estate, made, as the label says, from a site whose whereabouts he keeps firmly to himself.  Compared to his classic Sagrantino di Montefalco, this brooding beauty has more of everything: dark garnet, the nose is darkly potent with baked wild herb, wild bramble and incense aromas; the fulsome palate follows being both richly sucoso (juicy), this time of loganberry fruit, while the ever present, square Sagrantino tannins are soothed by spirited redcurrant intensity and fruity acidity. 
David Berry Green

Monte dei Ragni is a tiny jewel of a Valpolicella wine estate perched at between 250 and 350 metres above sea-level on the vertiginous slopes above Fumane, at the heart of the Valpolicella Classico zone. Only 1,200 bottles of their Amarone are produced.

As with Monte dei Ragni’s Ripasso, the production of this classically proportioned Amarone is very limited (only around 1,900 bottles were made). The fruit is bright and intense on the nose and palate, with plum pudding and mocha richness layered with dried figs and macerated cherry. The mid-palate is plump and the finish is generous. Drink now to 2027.

Isole e Olena's 2010 Cepparello is magnificent. In particular, I admire the way the wine fleshes out in all directions, with seemingly endless layers of dark, mineral-infused berry, plum and pomegranate notes. A primal wine in need of significant cellaring, the 2010 is easily one of the highlights of the year. Bright, saline notes support the precise finish. Today, the 2010 is naturally quite backward and undeveloped, but it should be a gem in another 5-10 years. This is an especially dark, structured Cepparello built for the cellar. The 2010 brightens up with time in the glass, but it remains one of the darker, more brooding wines made in the estate's history.
Antonio Galloni - Aug-2013

The 2010 Solaia is even better than the Tignanello. Here, too, it is the wine's energy and sheer vibrancy that stand out most. Blackberry jam, graphite, tar, espresso, violets, crushed rocks and spices all take shape in the glass. The 2010 is a wine I have followed since its infancy, and it has never failed to deliver the goods. Earlier this year I had a chance to taste every vintage of Solaia back to the inaugural 1978. It is still early, but there is little question the 2010 is one of the greatest – if not the single greatest Solaia ever made
97/100 Antonio Galloni - Aug-2013

The grapes for Gaja's flagship Barbaresco are sourced from 14 unique vineyard sites across Barbaresco. The wine spends an average of 12 months in barriques followed by 12 months in large wooden casks. A very elegant wine which ages well, it can be appreciated within a few years of bottling.
David Berry Green

Il Poggione is one of the stars of Brunello, despite this it is always incredibly reasonably priced. Every year we sell through our allocation quickly and 2010 I think it is a case of blink and you will miss it! Il Poggione is a wine that reflects the more modern end of the styles in Brunello, it always has rich, lush fruit and in 2010 it is perfectly held in check by a cool freshness. Alongside the lovely cherry fruit, there are floral characters and toasted spice a wine with a sensual character.

First tasted in February 2013, before bottling, this Brunello di Montalcino was notable for its completeness, its complexity of loganberry, black pepper, black truffle; very sapid, crunchy, ‘carnoso’ (meaty), with great balance. Last summer, the wine showed more tamarind and tobacco. And in Jan 2015, from bottle (since August 2014), it seemed an incredible ‘force of nature’, with spicy incense, tar, quinine and liquorice notes.

Enjoying a relative short maceration of 12 days, it’s fleshy, generous, ‘sucoso’ (juicy) yet structured too. Much more Nebbiolino than the sunny, grasso 2009.
David Berry Green

Stella fawns over her wines, each vintage a ‘new child’, not wishing to let them out of her sight until she’s satisfied they’ll cope! Hence 2010 has become a Riserva, to be physically released out into the world, ripping it from her grasp (!) only in early 2016.

However Stella has given us the opportunity to offer the 2010 Riserva out, providing our customers can wait. I would: just its colour fills you with warm anticipation: broad, compact, serene, red garnet, from rim to rim, filling the glass. On the nose it’s composed, with noticeable crystalline aromas that surely stem from her mix of galestro, calcite, volcanic, alberese and alluvial soils.

There’s gunpowder, graphite presence; a mass of emphatic herbal, red berried fruit, along with a coiled, juicy heart of cranberry/strawberry ‘gelato’ (ice cream!) flavours. Immense focus, with beautiful refreshing juiciness. Not a hair out of place!
David Berry Green

Compared to the whiter tufo soils of La Serena (Cerbaiona) on the north east corner of Montalcino, Scopetone is located in the north-west, below the city walls, on friable red chestnut soils mixed with more typical rocky galestro/alberese elements. In June 2013, pre-bottling, I noted their wine as having compact, tight clove red berried perfume, a hint of eucalyptus/balsamic/black pepper, as being more complete than 2009; with suave, pretty cassis, liquorice, tobacco fruit, molten tannins ‘fondo’ (depth).

Last year: it presented as a ‘gioiellino’ (a little gem), with soft perfumed pepper/clove/cassi fruit, racy, nuanced moreish. Last week (late Jan ’15): distinctly rose/Chinato, medicinal/iodine, fabulous rose raciness, a flowing thread of cassis, compact, linear neat.
David Berry Green

Compared to their neighbour La Serena, Cerbaiona’s 2010 Brunello is altogether more refined sleek. Dark garnet red, the nose is a compote of loganberry, clove, black pepper even of blood-like aromas. Incredibly composed pinpoint, the palate is square emphatic, with distinct meaty (‘carnoso’), racy, ‘sweet’ red cassis flavours. Structured, it is underpinned by a mesh of fruit tannins minerals. Giving little away in its youth. Needs time in bottle. Drink 2018-2030
David Berry Green

From the whiter, nutrient poor, mineral rich soils that characterise the upper half of the Serralunga ridge, Serra is much paler red in colour, the nose restrained, slender, sapid, and sandalwood infused, of salted cranberry and thick skins – notes that reminds one of the east-facing, high altitude, breezy spot, that leaves you invigorated. Still in its formative stage, the palate is a mass, an array, of sensations, flighty, racy acidity and pace. A suggestion of almond rose? Needs time.
David Berry Green

Made using mostly guyot-trellised fruit that’s been partially dried until the first week of December 2010, Marion’s Amarone is comprised of fresh dark brambly fruit, plus plenty of oak and coffee notes. Slender, fleshy, sapid and yet at the same time round red fruit (residual sugar level: 7), this dry wine is very one for main dishes.
David Berry Green

The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is fabulous. Dark cherry, lavender, mint, hard candy and a host of balsamic-inflected notes soar from the glass as this towering, structured Rivera shows off its personality. This is one of the more tannic, backward Riserva of the vintage. As such, demands patience. Just as extraordinary as it was last year, the Riserva once again shows just how magical this vintage was for Andrea Costanti.  Drink: 2022 – 2040
98/100, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com, Feb 2016

The Costantis are an old Sienese family dating back to the fifteenth century. They appear in the history of Montalcino as being involved in major event which led to the creation of the Republic of Siena in 1555. Fast forward to 1983 when a very young Andrea Costanti took over the family firm and started building the estate into the successful Brunello producer that we know today.

The winemaking style lies somewhere between the arch-traditionalists and the modernists with fermentation in stainless steel with two weeks maceration on the skins, followed by 18 months in 500 litre French oak barrels and 18 months in Slavonian oak botti, before 12 months in bottle before release, with another year in bottle for the riserva.

Given that Gianluca is from Vergne it’s only logical and re-assuring that his single vineyard Barolo should come from the village’s top vineyard: Bricco delle Viole; the fruit coming from his second, west-facing parcel at close to 460 meters above sea level, up above and behind the garage-like cantina/winery. Less complex, perhaps without the addition of other vineyards, it makes up for it in the clarity of expression of Bricco delle Viole. Dark, with rich, almost mulberry fruit, there’s a whiff of eucalypt, tobacco, ‘sandalo’ and incense – the latter reminding us of its proximity to La Morra (and to La Serra). There’s more volume than the Barolo, and more kirsch and tamarind characters, with a firm but molten tannic structure. Great texture and poise. What a debut. Bravo Gianluca!
David Berry Green

The stunning Cannubi Boschis vineyard has excelled again in 2010. The vintage conditions have given this wonderful red cherry and wild strawberry aromas, amongst the most energetic noses of the vintage. The palate has the characteristic Sandrone richness, with a touch of cedar spice complementing the lovely primary cherry fruit. In 2010 this richness is beautifully tempered with a direction and energy that sets this top vintage apart from the rest.
David Berry Green

This is a Barolo made from a blend of top sites across the region, in this sense it represents a more traditional approach to Barolo than the single vineyard Cannubi Boschis. The winemaking is still modern though with low yields, lovely ripe grapes and some new oak used to add some structure to the wine. In 2010 this approach has produced a wine with a lush blackcurrant nose, with some touches of redcurrant and liquorice. The palate has wonderful layers of flavour and structure with the overall experience being one of fine tannin and excellent freshness. This doesn’t meant that it is not mouth filling though, with the cherry and plum fruit coating the mouth coupled with menthol and hints of black tea starting to show on the finish.
David Berry Green