The shy nose eventually reveals camphor, new leather and dark spice. Bold and brawny, the warm palate offers prune marinated in spirits, licorice and tobacco alongside enveloping, velvety tannins. You'll also notice the warmth of evident alcohol on the close. Drink 2024-2029.

The 2017 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Madonna della Querce lifts up with a rich, smokey and slightly exotic display, with crushed cherries giving way to sweet herbs and tobacco. It's silky and pliant. Salty minerals add pleasurable traction, creating a cascading feel to its ripe red and black fruits, as a laser beam of acidity keeps it all in check. There's such intensity here, yet the tannins frame it well. This tamed beast of a wine needs a couple of years of cellaring to come fully into focus.