between $50 and $75 ()

One of the founding members of the prestigious Amarone Families association who focus on safeguarding the unique winemaking traditions of Valpolicella, Allegrini sets the standard for a new generation of vintners. This opens with sweet tones of Indian spice, ripe fruit and tobacco. The mouthfeel is exceedingly rich, long lasting and intense.

A dark, masculine, brooding Brunello with savory aromas of leather and cured meat behind ripe fruit and blackberry. It's tight and clean with a streamlined mouthfeel that gives evidence to the wine's firm tannic structure. Executed in a traditional style and shows possibility for long cellar aging.

The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino is rich, deep and resonant. It shows fabulous depth and richness, with seemingly endless layers of fruit that caress the palate. Dark red cherries, savory herbs, tobacco and licorice linger on the textured, creamy finish. This is another terrific effort from Argiano. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2027.

This wine typically starts life out as a young, tannic puppy, and although it has ripe flavors and a suppleness that can handle rich meats and cheeses, it's best to cellar it. This vintage is quite undeveloped, wrapped in tannic astringency, but with a hopeful core of fruit that should age well from 2008 on.

Imagine what Château Lafite-Rothschild would taste like if Malbec grew as well in Bordeaux as it does in Argentina? Caro, which is made in Argentina by the owners of Lafite, provides the answer. It has the classic mineral and herb notes of Lafite, and Lafite's classic Cabernet structure, but it adds the distinctive deep, rich black fruit notes that can only be obtained from Argentina's world-class Malbec grapes. For this wine, Lafite has teamed up with Argentina’s leading winery, Catena Zapata, which owns most of the finest Malbec vineyards in the region.

Creamy vanilla-tinged oak cloaks dried currant and berry fruit with notes ofgraphite and crushed rock, firming nicely on the finish. A true to form Cakebread Cabernet. Drink now through 2024.

This vineyard bottling is very vintage driven. The cool 2009 harvest has made it ripe and tart in cherry pie flavors, but also rather tannic. It's aloof, revealing little of its soul, beyond the primary fruit and oak. Needs time in the cellar. Could really be interesting over the next decade.