Alessandro Stefani 2023 Yarra Valley Sangiovese 'Boccolo'

"Pouring the very definition of ruby in the glass, the 2023 Sangiovese ‘Boccolo’ presents itself as if a metaphysical conceit. Parodos: hints of terracotta, cherry, sage, and balsam. Ode: rose petals and orange rind, white tea, dried ginger and fresh red dates, Cuban cigars (especially Partagas), cedar, and wild herbs. Exodos: dried roses, strawberries, cloves; mint. Proceeding the altar of the palate; the texture is pillowy with satin sheets of tannin. As in 2022 this Sangiovese possesses a linear array of flavours allied to a soaring verticality of presence. Red and tending blue fruits sliced at first then with second sip crushed over limestone, potent mineral ores, and a mixture of fresh, dried, and candied peels that delight. More intellectual elements present themselves along this Appian Way; guidestones in the form of tobacco and cloves, cedar trees on warm afternoons, and smoky abstracts hinting at black cardamom and dagad phool, the places where porcini grow. This wine elevates and exults Sangiovese." - David