2011 Petrolo Bogginanfora Sangiovese Tenuta di Petrolo

A wine with berries, coffee and hints of vanilla. There's a peach undertone too. Medium to full body, super well-integrated tannins and a clean, fruity finish. Only a few hundred bottles made of this Pinot Noir-like pure Sangiovese. It's a new wine from one of the top Merlot producers in Italy and is fermented in terracotta amphorae. Better in 2015.

The 2011 BogginAnfora sees fruit sourced from the same vineyard - planted in 1947 - that supplies Sangiovese grapes to the Torrione. Luca noticed the spectacular results obtained from this single-vineyard site and decided to carve out two wines from this site. This first one is aged in clay amphora (300-liter capacities) and sees a spectacularly long maceration of almost six months. The must remains in contact with the skins from harvest to the month of March. "To find my future," he says: "I needed to take a look at the past." Luca tells me that he is not particularly interested in the various winemaking ideologies associated with amphora. Instead, he sees them purely as a practical container that allows for slow micro-oxidation. And, he celebrates their historic value (clay vessels were once commonly used to store wine in Tuscany). The wine opens with a dark garnet color and does offer playful whiffs of clay and moist earth. They are downplayed with subtle elegance, but definitely remind you of the wine-s unique methodology. There's a natural fullness or smooth texture here that really sets the wine apart. The acidity is there but it is perfectly integrated. It's hard to gauge the longevity of the wine because there are so few examples like it. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025.

This medium-bodied red offers an immediate impression of floral aromas, followed by ripe cherry, blackberry and currant fruit that gives way to spice notes and light tannins. Silky and elegant, yet intense and long. Sangiovese. Best from 2015 through 2023. -BS.

The 2011 Boggina Anfora (Sangiovese) wraps around the palate with gorgeous textural richness. The characteristic depth of Sangiovese from this estate comes through in spades, even with the vinification in anfora. Sweet floral and spice notes add lift. The 2011 impresses for its pure texture and class, although the wine is a bit fleeting. Today, the non-amphora version is a more complete wine, but it will be interesting to see the direction this bottling takes over the next few vintages.

From a top producer of Merlot, a new Sangiovese from old vines aged in amphorae. First impression of wild herbs on the nose, then sweet cherry and plum. Fresh and fluid on the palate with nervy intensity and a long mouthwatering finish of great length and purity. Personal, original, fascinating. Drink 2014- 2016.