Marc Sorrel, Hermitage

Marc Sorrel, HermitagePeppery and meaty notes combine with ripe cherries and cassis on the nose of the 2017 Hermitage. It's medium to full bodied, possessing a certain tension between the fruit, the crisp acids and the firm tannins. There's more austerity to this wine than in most vintages, and it shows some dusty tannins on the finish.

I find the 2015 PS to be a little marked by the élevage from a dry and warm year that resulted in a concentrated wine

but they are now all there front and center

a warm year in Piedmont

(93-95)/2031+

There is a lot to admire in this drop-dead gorgeous Valpolicella from Romano Dal Forno

a welcome sprinkling of cracked black pepper and an off-dry finish that feels long and persistent

crushed chalk and then a silky citric grip

but unlike vintages of ten years ago

Fratelli Alessandria keeps its Barolo in oak casks for three years

spices and graphite on the nose

You can sense some of the heat of the growing season here

A Syrah-dominated red