The 2006 Eneo has developed beautifully since it was bottled. It is a remarkably soft-textured, seamless wine loaded with black cherries, blackberry jam, mint, tar and graphite in a vibrant and utterly spellbinding style. The wine’s sheer extract covers the potent yet silky tannins that lie beneath. Clean, minerally notes linger on the long, satisfying finish. This is a spectacular effort. In 2006 Eneo is 40% Montepulciano 40% Sangiovese, 10% Marselan and 10% Alicante. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026. I have been following these 2006s from Montepeloso and proprietor Fabio Chiarellotto for three years. Now that the wines are in bottle their true potential is clearly evident. It appears I underestimated the 2006s from barrel, as all three offerings are showstoppers of the highest level. My scores from bottle are in some cases significantly higher than from barrel. The 2007s are also very beautiful; in fact Montepeloso is one of a handful of estates where the 2007s are very close in quality to the 2006s. I tasted the 2007s as final blends just prior to their bottling. Chiarellotto believes his wines shut down for several months after bottling so with his 2007s he added the final dose of SO2 in two stages, in between which he prepared the sample bottles I received. I chose to score the wines in parentheses to indicate that technically they were not fully finished. If history is any indication, I have tended to err on the side of excess caution when judging the wines at this early stage in their lives. This year Chiarellotto also has a new, entry-level wine, A Quo, that is sure to thrill Montepeloso fans looking for an alternative to the higher-end bottlings. In short, these are marvelous Tuscan reds that readers will absolutely not want to miss. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

The 2006 Eneo has developed beautifully since it was bottled. It is a remarkably soft-textured, seamless wine loaded with black cherries, blackberry jam, mint, tar and graphite in a vibrant and utterly spellbinding style. The wine’s sheer extract covers the potent yet silky tannins that lie beneath. Clean, minerally notes linger on the long, satisfying finish. This is a spectacular effort. In 2006 Eneo is 40% Montepulciano 40% Sangiovese, 10% Marselan and 10% Alicante. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026. I have been following these 2006s from Montepeloso and proprietor Fabio Chiarellotto for three years. Now that the wines are in bottle their true potential is clearly evident. It appears I underestimated the 2006s from barrel, as all three offerings are showstoppers of the highest level. My scores from bottle are in some cases significantly higher than from barrel. The 2007s are also very beautiful; in fact Montepeloso is one of a handful of estates where the 2007s are very close in quality to the 2006s. I tasted the 2007s as final blends just prior to their bottling. Chiarellotto believes his wines shut down for several months after bottling so with his 2007s he added the final dose of SO2 in two stages, in between which he prepared the sample bottles I received. I chose to score the wines in parentheses to indicate that technically they were not fully finished. If history is any indication, I have tended to err on the side of excess caution when judging the wines at this early stage in their lives. This year Chiarellotto also has a new, entry-level wine, A Quo, that is sure to thrill Montepeloso fans looking for an alternative to the higher-end bottlings. In short, these are marvelous Tuscan reds that readers will absolutely not want to miss.Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484