Pomegranate, tea leaf, chocolate and wet earth on the nose. Juicy, sleek and nicely mellowed, with medium body and a creamy, tasty finish. Drink or hold.

An elegant red, with flavors of plum sauce and cherry reduction framed by light, taut tannins and bright acidity. Pure and fragrant, with aromas of violet, licorice drop, iron and sandalwood wafting through the finish. Uva di Troia and Montepulciano. Drink now through 2028. 5,000 cases made, 5,000 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Italy / South / Puglia / Castel del Monte Select to Add

A fresh red, with a salty, mineral underpinning and a well-meshed range of ripe black cherry, dried sage, fig cake and sandalwood. Features fine-grained tannins that emerge to firm the finish. Better than previously reviewed. Best from 2023 through 2028. 4,500 cases made, 200 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Italy / South / Puglia / Castel del Monte Select to Add

An elegant, medium- to full-bodied red, featuring a lovely, lightly spiced range of wild cherry, iron and loamy earth notes, backed by hints of delicate herb and citrus peel. Fresh and expressive, with fine-grained tannins firming the finish. Nero di Troia and Montepulciano. Drink now through 2025. 4,500 cases made, 200 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Italy / South / Puglia / Castel del Monte Select to Add

This is a landmark wine from Puglia, and in fact, it was one of the first fine wines I tasted from the region many years ago. This was back when I was obsessed with the historic figure of Federico II, to whom the falcon reference in the wine's name is dedicated. Rivera's 2013 Castel del Monte Riserva Il Falcone is a blend of 70% Nero di Troia and 30% Montepulciano, and the wine is aged in a combination of botte grande and barrique for 14 months. Like the other reds from Rivera, it sees a final resting phase in glass-tiled cement vats before its commercial release. Showcasing the austerity and elegance that I would associate with the times of the Holy Roman Emperor (1194-1250), this wine is precise, linear and tight. Federico II was indeed a visionary architect, man of science and falconer sportsman who built the octagonal Castel del Monte after which this wine appellation is named. It deserves a regal dish of roasted game. Some 120,000 bottles were made.