Villa Saletta, Borgo Saletta, Toscana

Last bottle of a case of 12. Cork was soaked by about a quarter but rest perfect and was tight coming out with a pop. Very italian nose. On the palate italian too but with ragu sauce seemed more Bordeaux like (ie the sauce offset some of the italian acidity). Middle aged, nothing mature about this. Lots of life left. This could easily be a 2010 Bordeaux.

Elegant, stylish bouquet with red cherry and oak at the fore. The flavour is oaky with mature red cherry fruit and rose hips. Rich tannins give a good balance.

On opening: lovely Bordeaux cassis but a little muted. Good acidity. Didn't quite work with duck liver & mushroom pate (20 min decant). After an hour decant and with med-rare fillet steak with leak and shiitake mushrooms and this is now spicier, more open and complex. Bordeaux cru class quality. Noticeable acidity again, tangy. Great food wine. Good value.

Deep ruby red colour with purplish rim. Pleasant red fruit driven nose with cherry jam and vanilla aromas. On the palate the wine is well balanced with red cherry and damson flavours, nicely oaked with a long stylish finish. Initially there was a hint of VA in the wine but this disappeared an hour after decanting. Probably at or just over it's peak.

Cork was slightly suppressed, almost stuck when pulled and soaked one third up. However classic clarent, tannins seemed softer than before but notable acidity. Good with shepherds pie. Quite drying on its own though.

Great value again. Classic claret with obvious acidity. I kept this in a fridge with inert gas for 7 days and was still perfect -- however it did begin to appear more dried out and hard-work an hour later when drank on its own after food.

Wonderful wine again. This seemed a touch more open than the second bottle a couple of weeks ago. It was more like the first bottle in January. It was given a 30 minute decant. Classic claret with hints of barnyard. Great complexity. Went very well with a cheese course (cheddar & gouda). Everyone loved this.

Similar to last time but without the slight, attractive hint of barnyard - however this is likely due to glassware as this was only present in a Riedel Cab/Merlot before. Very young, cassis, acidity, power, structure, tight. Great potential.

Pop & pour: Bordeaux cassis nose. More on the classic, savoury side rather than modern fruit bomb. A small touch of some very appealing barnyard funk/brett, especially with air (think Rioja Alta or even Musar). This lacks a little weight and certainly not classed growth quality but could beat many a low level St Emilion or even a few Cru Bourgeois left banks. It seems almost Italian on the end: not sure whether there is Sangiovese in the blend or …