The iconic San Giusto a Rentennano 2019 La Ricolma remains one of the most important Merlot-based wines made in Italy—and the world, for that matter. This vintage reveals rich texture and tightly knit concentration that is layered with black cherry, earth, spice and sweet oak. These various elements are beautifully balanced against one another. This is a massively beautiful, full-bodied wine released with just 3,790 bottles. Like the other releases from this estate, it is certified organic.

The San Giusto a Rentennano 2018 La Ricolma is an absolute stunner. This iconic expression of Merlot opens to rich and velvety concentration with lots of black intensity. Italians might call it "una bomba," or a veritable bomb of fruity bounty and beauty. The organic grapes are fermented in steel over 18 days and aged in French barrique for up to 22 months. This rather straightforward winemaking methodology results in profound fruit purity and persistence. The tannins are still tight and grippy, and this is a more controversial point that I discovered across many of the wines I tasted from 2018. You'll need to give this wine more time to evolve and soften. Production is 5,994 bottles, 315 magnums and 33 double magnums.

It is my job to come up with words to describe a wine, but the 2016 La Ricolma left me speechless. "Wow" is all I could say just after tasting it. The 2016 vintage has a greater sense of focus and precision compared to the 2015, which is happier and almost carefree by comparison. The 2016 vintage is buttoned up and tightly knit. The two vintages are tricky side by side, because both are stunning, but they show different kinds of beauty. It's like comparing the colorful, folkloric and somewhat haphazard landscape of Postiano (representing the 2015 vintage) to the linear, straight and well-engineered landscape of Manhattan (representing the 2016 vintage). In terms of scoring, I gave 98 points to the 2015 vintage, which gives me only so much room to express a preference for the 2016 vintage. This edition offers so much magic on so many levels. I get black fruit and even a touch of cheerfully sweet cherry juice, alongside more mature notes of black olive, spice, tar and road paving. This is a dense, rich and succulent wine with abundant beauty and depth. Black mineral and graphite notes appear as the wine takes on more air. It really is gorgeous. A mere 4,373 bottles, 300 magnums and 30 double magnums were made.

Wow, the 2015 La Ricolma is wine that leaves you speechless—quite literally—because you'll want to focus all your attention on drinking it. This pure expression of Merlot from one of Italy's most blessed growing sites is an outstanding wine. There's so much beauty and intensity here, it's hard to know where to begin. The bouquet bursts open with black fruit, spice and leather. The combined effect of the wine's extreme integration is so smooth and silky to the palate. That Merlot softness wraps over and caresses the senses with care and grace. This is a medium to full-weight wine, but ultimately, its texture is lighter and more streamlined than you might expect. This is a crucial key to what makes this wine so profoundly attractive. Only 5,780 bottles were made.

The 2014 La Ricolma (100% Merlot) is something of a minor miracle and a masterpiece in its own right. The wine is sumptuously textured and beautifully rich. It soothes the palate with its dark fruit intensity and sensual flavors of spice and toast that increase in intensity with each delicious sip. The bouquet peels off in thick layers, revealing Morello cherry, leather, black olive and moist chewing tobacco. Only 5,150 bottles were produced, and no matter what you've heard about the 2014 vintage, this wine is definitely worth your consideration.