Tenuta di Trinoro, Palazzi 2015

From the wild Val d'Orcia, Tenuta di Trinoro makes some of Italy's most singular reds, and Palazzi is its pure-Merlot statement, a right-bank Bordeaux ideal transplanted to high Tuscan hills. The 2015, from a warm and generous year, is opulent and dramatic, Merlot at full, brooding intensity.

Near-opaque purple, it pours out black cherry, blueberry, plum and crushed violet over mocha, licorice and warm earth. The palate is sumptuous and powerful, dense dark fruit cloaked in velvety yet substantial tannin, with savoury graphite and sweet spice beneath. The warmth of the vintage shows as richness, not heat, and the finish is long, dark and resonant.