La Dolce Vita!

Cellar Diving for Italian Gems

Up to 100 points - All In Stock

Summertime and it’s time to live la Dolce Vita. Lazy afternoons in the shade, sipping on crisp whites and zingy rosato. Antipasti and some nice bubbles from Prosecco or Franciacorta? Or just a negroni on ice? Either way it’s time to plan ahead for when the temperatures get more reasonable, and the bounty of the harvest becomes available.

Obviously, I was dreaming of Italy. From the Nebbia covered hills of Piemonte, to the steep slopes of the Veneto and Alto Adige, and down the coast to the rolling hills of Toscana! We have quite the collection of amazing wines from all over Italy, and these beauties are in stock and can rest in our lovely temperature-controlled cellar until we can ship them to you in the fall for your upcoming “festas”.

So many to choose from on our list of

In Stock Italian Wines

A couple amazing examples:

2016 Sassetti Livio Pertimali Brunello di Montalcino

$89.89 (750ml) In Stock - Buy Now

100 JS / 97 VM / 97 WS / 97 WE

Blackberries, black walnuts and black cherries, as well as loads of chewy tannins. Some smoked wood, wood tannins and even black truffles. It’s full-bodied and powerful with loads going on. It just keeps growing on the palate. So much wet earth and black olive at the finish with porcini mushrooms, too. Needs time to soften. Crazy finish. Try after 2025. –James Suckling

If checking in early, make sure to give the towering 2016 Brunello di Montalcino from Pertimali plenty of time to stretch its legs. It’s incredibly shy and backward upon first pulling the cork, coming to life nearly an hour later and never taking a step back from there on out. A beguiling display of spiced orange peels, sour cherry and mint pull you closer to the glass, where notes of cardamom, cinnamon, clove and sage reside. It’s dangerously soft and supple at first sip with fleshy red fruits and sweet spices blanketing the palate; yet beneath this soothing mix, a complex web of minerals and fine tannin slowly saturate. That said, there’s a lively bolt of acidity which maintains freshness in spite of the 2016’s heroic structure. Inner florals resonate along with a hint of white pepper, as it tapers off with classic austerity. This is a gorgeous vintage for Pertimali. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

2012 Tommaso Bussola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva TB

$129.89 (750ml) In Stock - Buy Now

98 VM

The 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva TB takes things to a much darker, deeper and more savory place than nearly any wine in its category. Cloves and cinnamon combine with balsamic spice, molten chocolate and medicinal blackberries as this blossoms in the glass. It floods the palate with racy, silky textures and an intense burst of ultra-ripe red and black fruits offset by a bitter twang of sour citrus and cocoa. Tantalizing acidity barely maintains balance yet ultimately succeeds. Exotic spices and dried black cherries saturate and are framed by a coating of fine tannins that promises decades of further evolution. This is a powerhouse.--Eric Guido, Vinous Media