The 2007 Cignale (90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot) explodes from the glass with dark fruit, mocha, espresso, crushed rocks and spices. The 2007 is a beautiful, deep Cignale endowed with considerable richness, depth and sheer personality. The wine is approachable today, but it could really use another few years to find its center. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2025. Castello di Querceto is a fascinating property. The estate produces a number of single-vineyard wines. At their best, the wines can be fabulous, but the estate’s Achilles heel is consistency. Frankly, in top vintages such as 2006 and 2007 all of the wines should be of a certain level.Importer (all wines except Cignale): Prestige Wine Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 229-0080. Importer (Cignale only): Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

The 2006 Cignale (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) is a dark, inky offering loaded with the essence of blackberry jam, grilled herbs, cassis, French oak, tar and menthol. Powerful and authoritative on the palate, this shows exceptional length and a round, opulent expression of fruit that flows through to the generous finish. Ideally the Cignale is best opened at least 30 minutes in advance to allow for the bouquet to find its focus. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2026. Proprietor Alessandro Francois makes a wide range of wines, but the stars are his single-vineyard bottlings. This year, the wines are more variable than in the past, but to be fair, some of the less interesting bottles are from the challenging 2005 harvest.Importer (all wines except Cignale): Prestige Wine Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 229-0080. Importer (Cignale only): Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

The 2005 Cignale is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot that spent two years in French oak prior to being bottled. The 2005 is a relatively small-scaled version of this wine. To be sure, the wine reveals impeccable balance in its dark fruit, licorice, leather and French oak, but the explosive, multi-dimensional qualities that define the very fine vintages are understandably missing in this challenging harvest. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020. Proprietor Alessandro Francois fashions stylish wines of notable character from his holdings in Greve. His top wines are all single-vineyard selections that offer tons of personality and class.Importer (all wines except Cignale): Prestige Wine Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 229-0080. Importer (Cignale only): Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900