I T A L I A N . R E D S 98 CANTINE DI ORA 2012 Amicone Italy $15 Wow! We are blown away with this wine! What character! Black and red fruit flavors mingle with light earth, coffee/tea and oak. This wine in wonderfully crafted, well-balanced and a lingers on your palate liker a long lost love. Excellent! (tasted 8/4/15) 98 VILLA TOSCANO 2013 Barbera Shenandoah Valley $30 98 VILLA TOSCANO 2012 Barbera Shenandoah Valley $18 97 BLISS FAMILY VINEYARDS 2011 Sangiovese Mendocino $12 Right from the first whiff, this wine screams Sangiovese! Nice dried strawberry, fresh raspberry and cherry, accented by boysenberry, spice and light puffs of dust. Nicely balanced, smooth on the palate, this is a great example of a California Sangiovese. 97 CARA MIA 2012 Chianti DOCG - Italy $10 97 LA FIERA 2013 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC; Abruzzo - Italy $8 (tasted 2/9/15) 97 MCMANIS 2012 Barbera Jamie Lynn Vineyard - California $11 97 MEADOWCROFT 2010 Sangiovese Sonoma County $22 Pretty raspberry, strawberry, plum and cherry fruit, with clove/pepper spice, vanilla and oak. One of the best domestic sangioveses we’ve tasted. All of the aromas translate into a wonderfully-balanced, medium-bodied wine that begs you to drink more and more. The finish is long and spicy. 97 VILLA TOSCANO 2014 Barbera Shenandoah Valley $30 (tasted 6/24/16) 96 BRUTOCAO 2009 Uber Tuscan Style Hopland Ranches - Mendocino $24 Raspberry, cherry, strawberry, plum and wild blackberry are enveloped in spice, violets, steel/mineral dust and light oak. True to its Italian components, this wine is a little heavy in dust and minerals, but its well-balanced fruit and floral components pull it through on the long, lingering finish. 96 CANTINE DI ORA 2012 Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG - Italy $35 Pretty nose of black currant/cassis, blackberry, black cherry, raspberry, spice and a light dose of plum wrapped in light earth, tobacco and oak. This is a classic Amarone! Wonderful flavors, round body and a long lingering spicy finish. Beautiful! (tasted 8/4/15) 96 CORTE VOLPONI 2013 Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore DOC Valpolicella - Italy $25 This is a very interesting red wine. Although it exhibits a lot of winemaking (oak and its sidekicks), this reminds us of an Amarone in taste and structure. Dried red and black fruit mingle with pepper spice, minerals/earth, leather and light tar. It’s a nicely balanced wine, well-made wine just hard to categorize. (tasted 12/12/16) 96 GRAN PASSIONE 2013 Rosso IGT; Veneto - Italy $13 (tasted 2/9/15) 96 WISE VILLA WINERY 2012 Sangiovese Sierra Foothills $34.37 Pretty raspberry, cherry, cranberry and strawberry fruit aromas, with baking spice, mineral dust, vanilla and charred oak. Still a bit tight, this wine delivers all of its flavor in a firm body, accented by charred wood, leading to a slightly sticky finish. Give this wine a few years and it’ll open wonderfully. 95 BRUTOCAO 2010 Uber Tuscan Style Hopland Ranches - Mendocino $24 Raspberry, cherry, strawberry, plum and wild blackberry are enveloped in spice, violets, mineral dust and light oak. True to its Italian components, this wine is well-balanced, with ripe fruit and floral components leading through the long, lingering finish. 95 GIO NV Rosso Italy $12 (tasted 2/27/20) 95 MEADOWCROFT 2012 Sangiovese Speedy Creek Vineyard; Knights Valley - Sonoma County $28 Cherry, blackberry, black raspberry and plum, with light mineral dust, spice, vanilla and oak. Not a terribly varietal wine, but its tasty red fruit and spice on the palate is nice and refreshing, leading to a pleasant lingering finish. (tasted 3/4/15) 95 SOBON ESTATE 2013 Barbera Amador County $16 (tasted 3/5/16) 95 STEVENOT 2010 Barbera Gran Reserva - Sierra Foothills $24 95 ZONIN 2009 Ripasso Valpolicella Superiore - Italy $20 94 CHATOM VINEYARDS 2010 Gitano Sangiovese Calaveras County $16 94 SOBON ESTATE 2014 Barbera Amador County $16 Cherry, blackberry, black raspberry and plum, with light mineral dust, spice, vanilla and oak. Not a terribly varietal wine, but its tasty red and black fruit with a zesty spiciness on the palate, which adds nice character to a pleasant lingering finish. (tasted 9/30/16) 93 CHATOM VINEYARDS 2013 Sangiovese Calaveras County $20 (tasted 2/3/15) 93 CONTEMPO 2018 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC; Abruzzo - Italy $10 (tasted 9/26/19) 93 FRESCOBALDI 2007 Nipozzano Riserva; Chianti Rufina - Italy $22 93 PEDRONCELLI 2012 Sangiovese Alto Vineyards - Dry Creek Valley $16 93 SQUADRA 2015 Rosso IGT; Sicilia - Italy $13 (tasted 7/1/17) 91 COLLE MAGGIO 2011 Montepulciano di Abruzzo DOC - Italy $14 Typical blackberry, black raspberry, cherry and light plum notes, with a good dose of tobacco, leather, earth and oak. Showing a little age, this is a slightly tight but tasty wine that delivers everything the nose suggests. (tasted 8/4/15) 91 CONTEMASSI 2007 Toscana Red Italy $15 91 LA FOLIA 2012 Sangiovese Sierra Foothills $32 (tasted 10/25/15) 91 TORRE DEI GIGANTI 2017 Nero D'Avola DOC; Sicilia - Italy $18 (tasted 5/7/20) 90 LA FOLIA 2013 Barbera Sierra Foothills $30 (tasted 10/25/15) 90 MERCATO NV Carne Vino Rosso - Italy $12 Mineral and chalk dust covered cherry, raspberry, black plum and brambleberry, with earth floor/mushroom, clove/spice and light wood. The palate is a little sticky/gritty at first, but this wine opens up nicely overnight. Let breathe or decant and it’ll be much better. (tasted 2/1/17) 90 ROCCA DI MONTEMASSI 2008 Le Focaie Sangiovese; Maremma Toscana - Italy $15