Italy - All Red Wines
Italy is renowned worldwide for its exceptional red wines, which showcase the country's rich winemaking traditions and diverse terroir. From the iconic regions of Tuscany and Piedmont to the hidden gems of Sicily and Veneto, Italy offers an extensive selection of fine red wines that captivate the palate and leave a lasting impression.
In Tuscany, famous vineyards like Antinori, Marchesi di Frescobaldi, and Tenuta San Guido produce some of the most renowned red wines in the world. Wines such as Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, and Super Tuscans like Sassicaia and Tignanello showcase the region's mastery in crafting complex, age-worthy, and expressive wines. These wines exhibit flavors of ripe berries, elegant tannins, and a harmonious balance that reflects the unique Tuscan terroir.
Piedmont is home to legendary vineyards and wineries that produce outstanding red wines. Renowned names such as Gaja, Vietti, and Marchesi di Barolo are synonymous with excellence. The region's iconic wines, Barolo and Barbaresco, crafted from the Nebbiolo grape, epitomize power, elegance, and longevity. These wines boast flavors of red fruit, floral notes, earthy undertones, and firm tannins that develop beautifully with age.
Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, offers a different yet captivating expression of Italian red wines. Vineyards like Planeta, Donnafugata, and Tasca d'Almerita craft remarkable wines from indigenous grape varieties such as Nero d'Avola and Nerello Mascalese. These wines exhibit intense fruit flavors, vibrant acidity, and a unique volcanic minerality, showcasing the island's diverse terroir.
In the Veneto region, Amarone della Valpolicella stands out as a distinctive and powerful red wine. Wineries like Allegrini, Tommasi, and Quintarelli produce exceptional Amarone wines using dried grapes, resulting in a wine with concentrated flavors of dark fruit, spices, and a velvety texture.
These are just a few examples of the remarkable red wines Italy has to offer. Whether you're indulging in a classic Tuscan Sangiovese, an elegant Piedmontese Nebbiolo, a bold Sicilian Nero d'Avola, or a robust Venetian Amarone, Italian red wines transport you to the sun-drenched vineyards and embody the passion, history, and artistry of Italian winemaking.
Experience the allure of Italian red wines and discover the immense variety and quality that make them a true treasure in the world of wine. From prestigious appellations to hidden gems, Italian red wines are sure to impress even the most discerning wine enthusiasts with their complexity, elegance, and ability to age gracefully.
Italy - All Red Wines
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Vinous (99)
It’s almost impossible to imagine that the 1985 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva La Storica has just celebrated its thirty-sixth birthday. It displays a brilliant ruby red color and amazing clarity in the glass, with only the slightest bricking around the rim. The bouquet alone is enough to keep you at the edge of your seat, as if opening a cedar treasure box to find dusty rose and sour cherry offset by spiced orange, crushed dried sage and just the slightest hint of animal musk. This is total class, cool-toned and poised, seeming to hover across the palate with an air of red inner florals, as tart woodland berries mix with hints of black tea and lemon oils. There’s a bolt of nervous acidity that keeps the experience remarkably fresh, but also adds a highly attractive sweet and sour note. And finally, while structured and youthful in feel, it finishes completely fresh, vibrant even, with dried currants enlivened by nuances of grapefruit and mint that linger on and on. This is an experience wine in every sense of the word, hailing from a dry and warm harvest yet exemplifying the purity of Sangiovese, as well as its ability to mature for well over three decades. The 1985 La Storica comes directly from the winery’s aging vault, and it was reconditioned with a new cork in 2000.Inc. GSTSG$1,589.85 -
Vinous (96)
(6 g/l total acidity, 3.35 pH, 27.5 g/l dry extract, 14.5% alcohol): Good bright medium red with an amber rim. Deep, refined aromas of red cherry, strawberry jam, licorice and wet underbrush. Supple, suave, creamy and rich, with a suggestion of white chocolate complementing ripe red fruit flavors. Very soft and silky, but also shows well-integrated acidity and very polished tannins. Most impressive today on the long, scented back end, which exudes a delicate but very persistent flavor of candied small red fruits. Aged for 65 months in large oak casks. This wine was made from a very low yield, and a growing season marked by two deep freezes in spring and a very hot September and October. In fact, the 1985 vintage is one of the few hot years in Montalcino that gave truly memorable wines--unlike, for example, 1997 and 2003.Inc. GSTSG$4,304.85 -
Vinous (96)
1985 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano—Medium ruby. The 1985 Santo Stefano is an outrageous, decadent wine. It offers an ethereal, perfumed nose along with layers of dark fruit in soft, seductive style, closing with a blast of tar on the finish. The Santo Stefano is the more open of these 1985 Giacosas. It is an irresistible wine to drink today and I would choose to drink my remaining bottles over the next five or so years while the fruit and vibrancy are still present.Inc. GSTSG$4,959.28 -
Wine Spectator (97)
A majestic wine, beautifully harmonious, seamless and integrated, with magn ificent fruit, matchless complexity and stunning depth of flavor. Hints of violet, toast and nutmeg enrich the plummy raspberry fruit. Long and tight on the finish. -Inc. GSTSG$6,773.70 -
Vinous (89)
It was getting late, but there was still time for one more Nebbiolo, from a vintage that we hadn’t spent any time with. I wasn’t sure how this magnum of the Produttori del Barbaresco’s 1985 Barbaresco would show given that its provenance was iffy, at best, but the wine was simply beautiful, with soft, caressing fruit and expressive aromatics. It was an impressive showing for the regular bottling in a warm, precocious vintage in which many wines are approaching full maturity.Inc. GSTSG$2,171.19
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Vinous (99)
It’s almost impossible to imagine that the 1985 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva La Storica has just celebrated its thirty-sixth birthday. It displays a brilliant ruby red color and amazing clarity in the glass, with only the slightest bricking around the rim. The bouquet alone is enough to keep you at the edge of your seat, as if opening a cedar treasure box to find dusty rose and sour cherry offset by spiced orange, crushed dried sage and just the slightest hint of animal musk. This is total class, cool-toned and poised, seeming to hover across the palate with an air of red inner florals, as tart woodland berries mix with hints of black tea and lemon oils. There’s a bolt of nervous acidity that keeps the experience remarkably fresh, but also adds a highly attractive sweet and sour note. And finally, while structured and youthful in feel, it finishes completely fresh, vibrant even, with dried currants enlivened by nuances of grapefruit and mint that linger on and on. This is an experience wine in every sense of the word, hailing from a dry and warm harvest yet exemplifying the purity of Sangiovese, as well as its ability to mature for well over three decades. The 1985 La Storica comes directly from the winery’s aging vault, and it was reconditioned with a new cork in 2000.In BondSG$1,450.00 -
Vinous (96)
(6 g/l total acidity, 3.35 pH, 27.5 g/l dry extract, 14.5% alcohol): Good bright medium red with an amber rim. Deep, refined aromas of red cherry, strawberry jam, licorice and wet underbrush. Supple, suave, creamy and rich, with a suggestion of white chocolate complementing ripe red fruit flavors. Very soft and silky, but also shows well-integrated acidity and very polished tannins. Most impressive today on the long, scented back end, which exudes a delicate but very persistent flavor of candied small red fruits. Aged for 65 months in large oak casks. This wine was made from a very low yield, and a growing season marked by two deep freezes in spring and a very hot September and October. In fact, the 1985 vintage is one of the few hot years in Montalcino that gave truly memorable wines--unlike, for example, 1997 and 2003.In BondSG$3,890.00 -
Vinous (96)
1985 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano—Medium ruby. The 1985 Santo Stefano is an outrageous, decadent wine. It offers an ethereal, perfumed nose along with layers of dark fruit in soft, seductive style, closing with a blast of tar on the finish. The Santo Stefano is the more open of these 1985 Giacosas. It is an irresistible wine to drink today and I would choose to drink my remaining bottles over the next five or so years while the fruit and vibrancy are still present.In BondSG$4,530.00 -
Wine Spectator (97)
A majestic wine, beautifully harmonious, seamless and integrated, with magn ificent fruit, matchless complexity and stunning depth of flavor. Hints of violet, toast and nutmeg enrich the plummy raspberry fruit. Long and tight on the finish. -In BondSG$6,155.00 -
Vinous (89)
It was getting late, but there was still time for one more Nebbiolo, from a vintage that we hadn’t spent any time with. I wasn’t sure how this magnum of the Produttori del Barbaresco’s 1985 Barbaresco would show given that its provenance was iffy, at best, but the wine was simply beautiful, with soft, caressing fruit and expressive aromatics. It was an impressive showing for the regular bottling in a warm, precocious vintage in which many wines are approaching full maturity.In BondSG$1,885.00
