Working with one of the top importers of boutique Italian wines in the US has its benefits… Massanois Imports supplies us with some of the highest-scoring and reputable Italian brands such as Aldo Conterno, Livio Sassetti and Parusso.  They’ve also introduced us to some stunning values from break-out boutique producers like Salcheto which launched in 2009.  Salcheto is already earning huge scores and obtaining this brand early in its life cycle offers an opportunity to stock-up while it’s still value priced.  The quality is so obviously high, that we struggled keeping the 2012 on the shelf.  The 2013 has even higher scores and a price that’s easy to swallow (pun, intended), you simply have to try this one…

 

Emerging from Tuscany’s Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, this stunning Riserva spends more than the required 2 full years in oak and a year in the bottle before release.  It’s 100% Sangiovese and the 2013 has a gorgeous perfume of sweet cherries, wild plum, leather and spices, and on the palate the wine is deep, seductive and velvety.  With the 93 and 94 Point scores on the 2013, you’ll want to secure yours before the rest of the world gets their chance.

 

Retails at:  $36.00/btl

 

 

“This is beginning to hit its stride, with sweet cherry and berry, licorice, leather, tar and iron aromas and flavors. A good dose of tannins remains, but they are well-integrated into the whole. Fine length. Drink now through 2033.” 93 Points	“… Powerful and ample, with tons of depth, the 2013 is impressive. Fresh dark cherry, spice, licorice and menthol notes abound in this vibrant, beautifully resonant Vino Nobile…. In a word: superb!“  94 Points

GIACOMO GRIMALDI 2014 BAROLO PIEDMONT, ITALY   Your Price: $42.99/btl Click to Order   From The Wine Spectator: “Cherry and plum flavors resonate throughout this red, joined by notes of eucalyptus, tar, tobacco and spice. The fruit persists, with a firm grip of tannins as this fades on the finish...” 92 Points	LA RASINA 2013 BRUNELLO DIMONTALCINO   Your Price: $49.99/btl Click to Order   From James Suckling: “A wealth of ripe fruit with spice, tobacco, cedar and plum aromas that follow through to a full body, chewy and dense tannins and a ripe and delicious finish. A solid and stoic young red. Give it three or four years to soften. Made from organic grapes.” 96 Points