From a hot and dry vintage, the Matteo Correggia 2017 Roero Riserva Ròche d'Ampsèj offers extra ripeness and dark fruit concentration. You get dried cherry and redcurrant, but the wine also shows integrated spice and earthiness. It's quite lovely, honestly, with soft layers of lush fruit and fresh acidity to conclude. This is a stand-out production of 6,498 bottles.

The 2010 Roero Riserva Ròche d'Ampsèj represents one of the more important wines from Matteo Correggia, clothed in slightly more oak than the others.

Correggia's 2008 Roero Riserva Roche d'Ampsej is gorgeous. Sweet dark cherries, tobacco, spices and French oak are all layered together beautifully. The 2008 boasts gorgeous integration of oak, lively acidity and great overall balance. This is one of the best, most polished and refined vintages of Roche d'Ampsej I have ever tasted. The wine still needs time to fully come together, but its beauty is undeniable. In 2008 the estate suffered hail damage and was forced to make a severe selection of fruit, which resulted in just 3,000 bottles as opposed to the more normal production of 10,000 bottles. For their sacrifice, Correggia has been rewarded with an exceptional wine. I also tasted the 2007 again, and frankly, there is no comparison. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020. Various American importers, including: Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; (516) 677-9300; Robert Houde Wines, Elk Grove Village, IL; tel. (847) 430-3887; Giuliana Imports, Boulder, CO; tel. (303) 449-5477; Cavatappi Distribution, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 282-5226

The 2007 Roero Riserva Roche d’Ampsej is another big, textured wine loaded with fruit and French oak. Sweet candied cherries, spices, vanillin and dried roses are some of the notes that emerge from this plush, soft Nebbiolo. The high percentage of sand in this terrain gives the wine much of its inner perfume and sweetness. As good as this is, it’s hard not to feel the wine is trapped in the past. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. Even with the recent emergence of a number of growers in Roero, Correggia remains a reference-point winery. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Matteo Correggia’s untimely passing. In a decade that has seen such a huge explosion of quality in Piedmont and Roero it is only natural to wonder what kind of wines Correggia might be making if he were alive today. But you can’t live in the past, and the reality is that this is a very fine set of wines from the estate. As is often the case, many of the true jewels lie among the simpler offerings.Various American importers, including: Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; (516) 677-9300, Robert Houde Wines, Bensenville IL; (630) 422-1119, AHAWines, Portland, OR; tel. (503) 806-4472, Estate Wines Ltd., San Rafael CA; (415) 492-9411