Wine Type: Dry Red

(2025) Ricasoli's 2022 Brolio is primarily Sangiovese (80%), blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and matured for nine months in barriques. It is indeed a classical style this; savoury and gastronomic, with the cherry freshness of the fruit joined by earthy and cedary notes. In the mouth it is supple, with a firmness to the red fruits and acidity, and a very fine tannic background that adds a graphite edge. A food wine of elegant proportions. Watch the video for more information.

(2025) Another top Tannat from the west of Uruguay near the town of Carmelo. Leading winemaker Valeria Chiola selects fruit from two plots with the highest altitude and clay content. Vivid colour to this hugely concentrated wine with its firm but fine tannins (elevage in foudres). Plenty of ripe red fruit but still a youthful wine that will benefit from further cellaring. (Geoffrey Dean)

(2025) Cold soak of 5 days at 10C prior to fermentation with wild yeasts. Pumpovers and punchdowns in stainless steel before elevage in 100% new oak. Generous red and black fruit with fabulous concentration and beautifully integrated tannins. (Geoffrey Dean)

(2025) Underwent a two-day cold soak before fermentation, giving it very good colour. “It’s a technique we use a lot as we like colour but not over-extraction,” winemaker Germán Bruzzone said. Gentle tannins and pronounced flavours of red fruit, mint and eucalyptus with impressive length make this very appealing. (Geoffrey Dean)

(2025) From very low-yielding 24-year old vines, this underwent a four-day cold soak with 40% seeing elevage in new oak, 30% in amphorae and 30% in stainless steel. Abundant high quality tannins with juicy yet complex red & black fruit. Outstanding now but with long cellaring potential. (Geoffrey Dean)

(2025) From vines plants in 1990, this is one of Uruguay’s top Tannats. Dried herbs and fresh tobacco on the nose with notes of blackberry, red cherry and black pepper on the palate. Firm tannins superbly integrated in a wine that has poise, freshness and notable concentration. Spent 15 months in French oak, 50% new, 50% second fill. (Geoffrey Dean)

(2025) Reminiscent of a fine Loire Cab Franc, and almost certainly the best tasted in Uruguay. Delightful freshness with herbal, tobacco aromas and intense red cherry fruit with a hint of cocoa. Dusty tannins provide structure. Earthy, complex and long. (Geoffrey Dean)

(2025) It's a Rioja with a difference, from the easterly Rioja Oriental region where Tempranillo is not necessarily king. This 100% Grenache wine comes from vineyards at an altitude of 600 metres and was fermented in concrete at very low temperatures to preserve aromatics. The wine is then aged for 12 months in second and third-use French oak barrels. When Grenache is made in this more subtle style rather than full-on, jammy ripeness, some compare it to Pinot Noir, and this example might qualify. It has a truffle and roasted spice component, and a very elegant red apple and small berry fruit character with some floral highlights. In the mouth the oak adds a touch of mocha to underpin the fresh and graceful red fruits, lovely acid and pert tannina balance without ever overpowering. Very stylish. Watch the video for more information.

(2025) I've been a great fan of this wine over the years and the 2018 follows up on the 93-point 2017 in some style. The Don Miguel vineyard is in the west of Sonoma County and benefits from cooling breezes and fogs funneling through from the Pacific. It is aged 11 months in new French oak barrels. A medium garnet colour, attractive aromas of cherry and small redcurrant fruit mingle with some smoky spice and cedar. There's a glimpse of something floral too. In the mouth it has weight and texture, and becomes quite lush, the fruit fleshy and supple, tannins creamy and fine and the acidity adding a red berry tartness that lifts the picture. Spice again and a little mocha and toast the barrels into the long finish.

(2025) From the Doña Margarita vineyard, six miles from the Pacific Ocean. The wine was aged in French oak barrels, 33% new, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Full, rich, with bramble and blackcurrant aromas, it's a bold style. The barrel adds smoky, chocolaty spice, and the bottle age of this 2018 has added a subtle earth and undergrowth touch. In the mouth it is textured and supple, plenty of oak showing still but the fleshy density of the fruit carries the wine into a spicy finish, freshened by cherry pit, dry acidity.