04 Selciaia, Rosso di Montepulciano Fassati

What a gorgeous and bold winter red. Rich, powerful, robust--all those fat, inky descriptors apply here and, if I were writing this review on paper, I'd press down harder on the pen, maybe right through the paper and onto the coffee table below. This is the fragrant, luscious Tuscan wine that even the old-timers must be proud of. So much so, you laugh a little bit at the D.O.C. regulations--the venerable Vino Nobile uses the same prugnolo (sangiovese) grape burnt by a bit of steaming canaiolo, but receives at least an extra year's worth of oak aging. The six months of French barriques here, though, are plenty--laying down a thick rug of chocolaty tannins for the grapey, dark cherry fruit to sink into. Peppery beef. Fond. Oxtail marrow. Red Tootsie Pops, the glassy candy stuck in my molars, the caramel in my gums. One. Two-hoo. Three. Three.