(2009) This is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvée from the impressive Drei Donà, aged in Alliers and Tronçais barriques for 20 months, and only released after a further 10 months in bottle. It has a ripe but earthy blackcurrant nose, with little clove spice notes and a touch of briar. On the palate this is a firm and serious wine, with a leathery density to the tannins, which coat the mouth. Drei Donà claim this will cellar well for 20 years, and the concentration of the fruit, with touches of prune and liquorice, as well as those massive tannins, finely-honed acidity and supporting oak suggest it has great potential.

(2009) The first wine I can remember having tasted from the D.O.C. Colli d'Imola, which was created in 1997 in an area most famous for producing another Italian product: Ferrari sports cars. There is a huge richness on the nose of this 15% ABV white wine, made from varieties that include Petit Manseng apparently. Honey, beeswax, wild flowers and nuts are all in the mix, as well as spices and a hint of exotic, nectarine fruit. Very rich, full-textured and powerful on the palate too, this is savoury, chewy and dense, with a robust core of white fruit and concentrated nutty and herbal nuances coming through. Long and rounding out with some creamy quality in the finish, this is conceived on a grand scale, but is undoubtedly a profound white wine that needs food. Around 3,000 bottles produced.

(2009) A new DOC for me, the Colli di Rimini, this is a 'Bordeaux blend' of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Cabernet Franc matured in Alliers, Tronçais and Nevers oak for one year. It has a sumptuous nose, filled with dense, creamy, supple black fruit and underpinned by espresso and cocoa. On the palate the fruit is exquisitely ripe and sweet, the blackcurrant and plum flavours melding into a more structured, grippy mid-palate where sinewy, grainy tannins and plenty of extraction coat the mouth. The balance is very good, becoming chewy and savoury into the finish, in a bold, powerful and impressive wine.

(2009) Though the name of this Sangiovese perhaps loses something in the translation, it is a real powerhouse of a wine from vineyards not far from the seaside resort of Rimini. It has a saturated colour and extremely dense, sinewy nose of meat-stock and savoury, olive-tinged black fruit. Intense, tight and concentrated on the palate too, this is a very serious wine at its modest price. The wine spends only a short period in older oak, so the muscular, grippy finish is all fruit and tannin. A real mouthful but noteworthy indeed at the price.

(2009) In the hands of the Drei Donà family since the 19th century, this estate has been moved steadily upward in quality under current owner Count Claudio Drei Donà, and this top wine is made from old-vine Sangiovese aged in French oak tonneaux and barrique for 18 months. It has a lovely nose, with dark, cherry, raisin and blackcurrant fruit infused with incense and a touch of tobacco. On the palate the fruit is really very sweet and elegant, a firm, fine tannin structure keeping an edge through the mid-palate and balancing acidity extending the finish. There's a real vivacity to this wine.

(2009) This 100% Sangiovese from Emilia-Romagna is matured in French oak barriques and has a voluptuously smooth aroma, with tobacco and mulled wine spices melding into plum and deep, ripe cherry fruit. On the palate that underpinning of sweet, smoky, chocolaty oak supports very good fruit, with plenty of plush, ripe flavours, but also quite fresh and edgy thanks to brisk acidity and a bit of grippy tannin. There's a lot of spice and charry toast in the finish, but the fruit and acidity stands up well leading into a long, deliciously balanced finish.

(2009) There is clearly a big influence from new French oak on this wine with plenty of exotic spice, Sandalwood and cedary notes over quite plush, tobacco-infused black fruit. On the palate this is broad-textured and mouth-filling, with a lush weight of black berry fruits and plenty of swirling, smoky, deep and charry notes. The tannins are robust and add to the chewy density. Acidity is a little overpowered by these, but does add a welcome cut and edge to the finish. A big, plush, modern style this, but the quality is very good.

(2009) A wine that has attained the prestigious Tre Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso, this is aged in new barriques. There is rich black fruit on the nose, but also a gamy undertone, with earth and leather, and a cedary edge. The palate is a bittersweet symphony, with liquorice and tart cherry acidity, striking, lean tannins and edgy black fruit combining to be quite linear and sinewy in the mouth. This is similarly confident and modern to the 'Avi' above, but retains more savoury bite and juicy structure.

(2009) Reckoned to be amongst the elite of Emilia-Romagna, previous editions of this wine have scored in the 90s with top US critics. This cuvée from winemaker Cristina Geminiani is made in the best years (this is the 10th release since 1985) from 25-year-old Sangiovese. It is immediately rich and ripe, with a touch of Porty lift and density, and sweet, solid black fruit married to savoury oak. On the palate that bloody, gamy density comes through, with the sweet fruit melding into muscular tannin, and the fleshiness of the mid-palate nicely tempered by a juicy, tangy, cherry-skin acidity. Delightful stuff this.

(2009) Cropped low from 40-year-old vines, cuvée Thea is Tre Monti's best Sangiovese, aged 12 months in new Alliers oak barriques. It has an opulently creamy nose, where tobacco and cigar smoke swirl through dense, glossy black fruits. This is plush, modern and displays plenty of charry oak. On the palate that opulence and layered, lush, velvety impression is reinforced, with masses of spice and cedar to bold, thick, sweet and creamy black fruit. It has some structure, but this is all about immediate gratification, which it certainly achieves.