The 2009 Rosso Miani is flat-out delicious. Dark cherries, plums, graphite, grilled herbs and licorice are some of the many notes that flow from this silky yet authoritative wine. Miani’s Rosso possesses marvelous depth and classiness from start to finish. Sweet red berries, crushed flowers and spices linger in the empty glass. In 2009 the Rosso is mostly Merlot with approximately 15% Refosco. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021.There are few properties anywhere in the world I look forward to visting more than Miani. Proprietor Enzo Pontoni continues to turn out riveting wines. I have been steadily working through my stash of 2009s and can report that the wines are every bit as fabulous as my reviews suggested. Production remains around 8,000 bottles a year, but Pontoni is developing a number of new vineyards sites, so hopefully that number will increase over the coming years. The 2010 whites are terrific, but they are tightly wound and need to be opened well in advance.Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 603-1461

The 2007 Rosso Miani is a hugely delicious red that will satisfy readers’ cravings while some of Pontoni’s more important reds age in the cellar. Vintage 2007 was not kind to Pontoni. There are no high-end reds here in 2007, just the Rosso, which is made from the best Merlot and Refosco Pontoni was able to salvage. It shows beautiful raspberry fruit, leather and spices, with soft tannins, no hard edges and fabulous balance in a small-scaled style consistent with a less prestigious year. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2017. Enzo Pontoni is simply on another planet. In the best years his wines frankly have no peers in Italy. The textural richness and depth Pontoni coaxes from his old-vine parcels is a marvel. The 2009 whites show an extra dimension of ripeness from a heat wave in August of that year that gave the wines more body than is often the case but without the excess of truly torrid vintages. Quite simply, I was blown away by what I tasted. For what it’s worth, I bought as much of these wines as I could afford. As usual, the wines are aged in French oak (roughly 40% new) and the malolactic fermentations are typically blocked.Importer: Small Vineyards, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 933-6767