La Dolce Vita!

Italian Dessert Wines

Masterpieces Up to 99 points!

Dal Forno Romano | Ornellaia | Antinori | Volpaia

Sweet wines used to be the norm all over the world, but as time has progressed our table wines have become bone dry, and we often overlook the great sweet wines around us. In Italy they have been making these wines since antiquity, either by drying the grapes on straw mats, or picking later, or allowing noble rot to enhance the grapes. When a sweet wine is made correctly, they can be amazing bottles that can live for decades. Not cloying, but bursting with fruit and honeyed sweetness.

We have just a few of these precious wines from Italy. An epic bottle from Amarone master Dal Forno Romano, a gorgeous noble rot Umbrian wine, a late harvest Petite Manseng from Tuscany, and a dried and aged Vin Santo from the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany.

These are all very limited and in stock now!

2004 Dal Forno Romano Vigna Sere Passito Rosso

$159.89 (375ml) In Stock – Buy Now

99 WA / 98+ VM

The 2004 Passito Rosso Vino Dolce Vigna Seré is a masterpiece that is impossible to repeat. In fact, the wine has not been produced since 2004. Even if a vintage as good as this did come along, we'd need to wait another 13 years before we could enjoy this level of maturity and evolution. Formally a Recioto della Valpolicella, this sweet red wine is made with air-dried fruit as local tradition dictates. Luckily no botrytis set in that year, because that would have eroded the wine's deep and luscious color saturation. The bouquet delivers a generous flow of dark spice, bitter chocolate, espresso, raisin, plum, barbecue spice and teriyaki smoke. The concentration and layering of the wine are both rare and distinctive. The mouthfeel sees sweet flavors with a syrupy mouthfeel. The finish offers hints of caramelized brown sugar and savory hickory. The aging window is impossible to predict, but the wine is surely built to last. I can think of no other wine that comes close to matching this unique style. Drink 2017-2050- Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

2019 Ornus Dell'Ornellaia

$119.89 (375ml) In Stock – Buy Now

95 JS / 94 JD / 94 WA / 94 VM

A gorgeous sweet wine that brings a smile to your face. Dried apricots and flowers with peach pie on the nose. Full-bodied with medium sweetness and phenolic tension that gives you a firm and persistent mouth-feel. It tightens on the finish. Medium-sweet finish. Lovely acidity. Drink now.—James Suckling

A dessert wine built on 100% Petit Manseng, the 2019 Ornus Dell'Ornellaia is a ripe, exotic effort offering notes of honeyed mango, candied orange, caramelized grapefruit, and brioche aromas and flavors. More medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's light on its feet and graceful, with notable freshness and purity. It's going to be incredibly versatile as a dessert wine and, I suspect, age for decades, although there's no need to delay gratification either.—Jeb Dunnuck

2009 Antinori Muffato della Sala

$51.89 (500ml) In Stock – Buy Now

96 WA

The precious 2009 Muffato della Sala (Sauvignon Blanc, Grechetto, Semillon, Traminer and Riesling) is stunning on all levels. Aromas of candied fruit, caramel, honey and marzipan burst from the glass. The mouthfeel is viscous, rich and syrupy – but there’s enough acidity to keep it from feeling heavy or fat. The hot 2009 vintage has shaped a spectacular Muffato. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2030. Marchesi Antinori’s estate in Umbria is a revolutionary force for the region. The amazingly successful Cervaro della Sala has arguably done more to raise the image of Italian white wine than any other single bottle. Winemaker Renzo Cotarella grew up near Castello della Sala and enjoys a deeply personal relationship to this estate. Drink: 2014 – 2030. Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate

2016 Volpaia Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

$68.89 (375ml) In Stock – Buy Now

94 JS / 90 WS

This has a nutty character with notes of walnuts, toasted almonds, dried apricots and figs as well as some bread crust and honeysuckle. Full-bodied with a dried fruit character. Vivid acidity balances the sweetness and brings a freshness to it. Polished and chalky with a clean and delicate finish.-James Suckling

This moderately sweet white starts out soft and lush, firming up by the lingering finish. Delivers apricot, caramel and a hint of molasses. Trebbiano and Malvasia. Drink now through 2028. Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator

Check out all the latest arrivals of Dessert and Fortified Wines!