Terre di Leone, Valpolicella, Classico Superiore, 2014

Terre di Leone is named after Leone, grandfather of owner Federico, who along with his wife, Chiara, produce wines from their modern 10ha estate in the village of Marano di Valpolicella. The vines are grown on volcanic soils at an altitude of 300-400m, surrounded by traditional dry-stone wall terracing. Although the pair believe that wines are made in the vineyard, they utilise modern technology and gentle gravity fed systems in the winery to get the most from their grapes. For this wine, the grapes are dried for 100 days, before being fermented in stainless steel and matured for around 16 months in French oak tonneaux and 25hl barrels, followed by a further six months in bottle. Andrea Briccarello: A clean, smoky and savoury nose with earthy notes shining through. On the palate the wine has plenty of intense red forest fruits and some jammy notes with hints of spice and raisin. Michael Garner: Broad, ripe and leafy, with cool, dark fruit aromas of impressive lift and development. This is juicy and fleshy, with lightly tart but full fruit flavours and aromatic touches of cedar, clove and Victoria plum. Sculpted and fine, this is a herculean effort. Andrew Jefford: Attractive lifted cherry scents in a creamy, sweet style, with some tea-leaf freshness behind. The palate, too, is graceful and elegant, very fine and perfumed, with mouth-coating fruits and ample tannic support, without being fierce or burnt in style. It's poised and pristine, a full-flavoured example of this style in the 2014 vintage. Excellent work.