A gorgeous Taurasi, with an up-front burst of ripe fruit -- black cherry, wild strawberry and black plum reduction -- expanding on the palate and transitioning to a savory range of minerally stone and smoke accents. Reveals Mediterranean scrub, dried flowers and milled pepper, with fine, supple tannins swathed in the silky texture, while fresh acidity carries the flavor profile on the lasting finish.

With Aglianico fruit harvested from a two-hectare site at a high 700 meters in elevation, the Tenute Capaldo 2017 Taurasi Riserva Gulielmus offers a faithful reading of the grape. This full-bodied red is soft and luscious on the mid-palate, yet it ends on an austere note, thanks to its powerful and angular construction. Plummy dark fruit is followed by pressed rose, sweet gardening soil and toasted spice. Thanks to that high-altitude fruit, you would not peg this as a hot vintage. Some 6,000 bottles were made.