The 2006 Carnasciale is insanely beautiful in this vintage. The bouquet alone is extraordinary. Scents of tar, smoke, grilled herbs, French oak and coffee beans seamlessly meld into an expressive core of perfumed dark fruit. This opulent wine possesses exceptional balance and poise, with persistent notes of minerality that provide balance and proportion. Though not inexpensive by any means, the 2006 Carnasciale offers outstanding relative value. Fans of Il Carnasciale won’t want to miss this beauty. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2021. Over the years Il Carnasciale has acquired cult status among readers who crave the finest Tuscany has to offer, and rightly so. These are some of the most unique wines from Italy. The estate’s flagship wine, Il Caberlot, is made from a clone originally sourced in a nursery in Veneto believed to be a cross between Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This year, I was especially struck by how reminiscent Il Caberlot is of Giuseppe Quintarelli’s Alzero, minus that wine’s sweetness. In recent years, proprietor Bettina Rogosky and oenologist Peter Schilling have introduced a second wine, named simply Carnasciale. With the 2006, they might have done too good a job with that wine, as it is simply delicious. Readers who have an opportunity to pick up these wines should not hesitate, as they are superb.Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

The 2004 Carnasciale is a great introduction to the wines of this estate. It is a gorgeous, open-knit effort that reveals notes of herbs, menthol, roasted espresso beans and sweet dark fruit on a medium-bodied frame, displaying excellent length, fine tannins and a lingering note of sweetness on the finish. Made in a more accessible style than Caberlot, Carnasciale is sure to provide more immediate pleasure than the estate’s ‘Grand Vin.’ Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484