Corte Pavone is one of the higher estates in Montalcino – the owners, the Loacker family, are from Italy’s mountainous north and perhaps enjoy the rarified air of the vineyards. The wines are anything but delicate, however, and the 1999 Brunello di Montalcino shows much personality in its fresh, dark color, its nose of plums, chocolate, and tar, and its dense, mineral palate, tightly packed in texture but shapely as well and very authoritative on the finish. Drink: 2005-2018. Importer: Wine Appellations, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 381-5782 and Verdoni Imports, Hawthorne, NJ tel. (973) 636-0800