Antonio Vallana, Spanna Campi Raudii, Piedmont

Light ruby with mild bricking From Magnum Medium plus aromas of red/black cherry, dark florals and dried herbs with hints of barnyard Medium bodied with palate of red cherry and dried herbs Medium plus acidity and medium plus fine grained tannins - fairly well integrated - medium to medium plus alcohol Nice finish led by floral notes and tannins Drink now or 3-5 years

Thought I'd grabbed a '16 but it was a '19. Still in need of time. This was okay but very primary on night one, opened up much more nicely by the second day with bright cherry candy fruit.

Had with Bolognese. Excellent pairing!

A year has done a lot of work on this one. Bright and red fruited, slightly hard candy cherry up front then a fog of fine-grained tannins settles on the palate through a long finish. As always, compelling stuff.

While this is a wine that drinks well young, this one is just a bit too young. I think this will shine in a year or so but it's a touch bitter at the moment and the structure is dominating the fruit. Easy quantity buy in good vintages, across the range.

I really enjoy this, especially for the price. The bottle disappeared at an unexpectedly fast pace. Lovely floral aromas, some spice notes, tart and sour red fruits. Good acid, medium tannins that brush off fairly quick. Will be buying more.

In truth, no idea on the vintage, but it did come in the same box as some 1954s and the labels are consistent, hence on balalnce of probability, also a 1954. Certainly over-mature in colour, being predominantly brown/mahogany albeit with enough red to suggest it might still be alive. Very attractive nose, with high toned faded fruit, mushroom, liquorice, fennel and a touch of black olive, all with a genuine flow to the profile and the sort of complexity that …

Another upper shoulder wine - with the cork coming out in instalments... Colour-wise, this is showing significant age, with maroon/mahogony body and a broad orange at the rim. Not bad colour for the age. The nose is very expressive, with strong mushroom aromas, volatile acidity, an orange/ medicinal element and the remaining fruit playing a game supporting role. The wine itself is hanging on in very well. If I were being objective I'd say this would probably have peaked 10-20 …

Having experienced this wine before, expectations weren't too high and as I was opening it said "It will definitely be fading". Fading perhaps, but stonking with it! Cork was pretty soft & soaked and came out in two pieces. The level was a concerning, (albeit unsurprising with it's age) upper shoulder The colour is edging from claret to mahogany with the red tones hanging in there - just. The browning at the rim has a touch of amber, but not …

Colour-wise, this was really showing it's age, with a mahogany colour and little hint of red left. However the colour was quite deep. Fill level was upper shoulder IIRC. The nose had a strong tertiary mushroom nose, with shades of licorice and medicinal sweetness. Certainly impressive and complex. On the palate the dominant mushroom aromas were replicated, together with the licorice. Initially it fell away quite quickly on the finish, though with a little air, it held up slightly better …