2015 Birba, La Gerla, Tuscany, Italy
£23.68, laywheeler.com
Robbie Toothill is a wine buyer at Lay & Wheeler and his palate is impeccable. Here are three stunning Italian reds that Robbie has unearthed, two of which I know well and one which is a brand-new find. My advice is to mix a case and treat your palate to these extraordinarily delicious and competitively priced wines.
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In order, from the “lightest” to the “heaviest”, first up is the 2017 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Boscarelli (£20.68), a smooth, seamless sangiovese with little or no tannin and a snap of keen acidity on its finish. It is a cranberry- and sour-cherry-soaked fellow that is eminently gluggable as well as being effortlessly classy. Second is my featured Birba, which means “little rascal” in the local dialect. Made by a fabulous Brunello di Montalcino producer, this is a seriously plush, spicy, ripe and oaky wine that is every inch a Super-Tuscan – superbly luxurious and immensely impressive. If it wore a £50 price tag I wouldn’t have blinked. “Little rascal” should be renamed “big beauty”!
Finally, the 2016 Arte Langhe Rosso Domenico Clerico (£24.28) is made by an elite Piemonte estate and this nebbiolo and barbera blend is impactful, stuffed with glamorous black-fruit tones and oodles of attitude. Just starting to drink well and with another ten years in the tank, this is another heroic discovery. Tre applausi!
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).
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