2015 D'Alceo

There is plenty to like in these new releases from Castello dei Rampolla. Two thousand seventeen was a rough year. Frost in May, hail in August, and hot, dry conditions during the rest of the season had the cumulative effect of reducing the crop by 50%. Rampolla releases their top wines later than most so the current vintage for the dual flagships Sammarco and d'Alceo is 2015. Both wines are incredibly pure and nuanced. Readers will find an unusually open Sammarco in 2015 because of higher percentage of Merlot than has been the norm here. Sustainable farming, minimal intervention in the cellar and great dirt result in some of the most compelling wines of Tuscany, and the world, for that matter.