At Alex’s. A really nice wine - it was noticeably ripe given the vintage, but still well-controlled enough to make it a delicious drink. The nose was really attractive, with quince and ripe melons shading into slightly tropical territory, all this underlined by a nice bit of spice and mineral and a little garland of white flowers. The palate was really yummy. There was real depth and breadth to this, fanning across the mouth in powerful notes of ripe melons and quince, some stone fruit, all quite ripe and sunny. This had the warm friendliness of the Folatieres terroir, with some of the sun and warmth of the 2019 vintage added in. Yet for all that, it was nicely balanced enough to keep it upright and very drinkable, with a good touch of sweet lemony acidity leading the wine into a full, satisfying fishing, with sweet bits of lemon curd and white flowers traced with a nice touch of spice and chalky mineral. A full, complete wine. Just a bit too much on the ripe, sweet side for me, so it felt new world in flavour, if not quite in the elegance of its structure; but that aside, this was very yummy. One for early drinking though. I would not keep it for too long.

I really liked the nose on this. It was really perfumed, with red cherries and strawberry biscuits, sweet rose petals, all on bed of more savoury earth, meat and mushrooms aromas, and then a curl of classic Brunello spice and herb wafting out at the back of the bouquet. Very attractive. I thought palate was a little behind the nose at this point of its development though. It had a nicely elegant feel to it, with fine tannins and nice acidity framing quite yummy flavours black cherries and cassis liberally lined with dashes of spice and herb, leading into a charming bit of earthy mineral at the finish. Nothing really profound, and it probably needs a good 8-10 years in the bottle yet, but this was a nicely charming Brunello.

A touch on the ripe, modern side, but pleasant enough. The nose was certainly expressive, almost a little in-your-face, with a waft of glycerol amidst big aromas of dark berries and plums, crushed roses, with a little bit of smoky spice running along the edges. A touch modern for my tastes. The palate was still quite primary, with big blocky flavours of dark plums and black cherries, some raisins almost, and then plenty of spice and a bit of herb running into a slightly warm finish. Not bad, but this was a big modern style which is not quite up my alley. Saying that, it should get better in the bottle. While the tannins were quite plush and acidity decent, this really need a lot of time yet for the fruit and alcohol to abate and integrate. It should improve over the next 10-15 years.

This was really quite nice. Still rather modern, but perhaps just a little lighter, tighter and less forward than the 2004 Fontanafredda la Villa that we had alongside, but I think this actually benefitted from that. The nose showed deep dark notes of blackberries and plums, alongside a really nice dose of spice and dried brush herb and rocky mineral. Nice. The palate was on the more modern side, but still had a good bit of control on it, with fine but firm Nebbiolo tannins and a nice bit of juicy, chewy acidity framing full flavours of blackberries and dark cherries, maybe a touch of dried raisins and plums, these flecked with warm shades of spice and herb, and nice flush of rose petals at the finish. I liked this - a nicely complex wine, drinking decnth at this stage, but with its peak easily a decade or more ahead of it yet.

A really pleasant, if not quite an earth-shaking Colheita. The nose showed shades of dried wood, spice and raisins, a touch of yellow plums, and some preserved figs, all these touched with a bit of tawny rancio aromas. Not bad. I liked the palate too - warm and liberally spiced, with pepper, cloves and cinnamon sprinkled over a rich body of dried figs, apricots and preserved fruit peel, all driving into a nicely fresh finish touched with honey and treacle. Very pleasant and drinking nicely now.