Castellare Di Castellina 'I Sodi di San Niccolo' 2018

97 Points - Vinous

2018 I Sodi di San Niccolo is the most elegant Sodi I have ever tasted, and I have tasted them all. Sodi can be quite the bruiser in its youth, as the tannins are often imposing, but 2018 is impressive because there is more than enough fruit to balance things out. Dark cherry, plum, lavender, spice and gravel build in a Sodi endowed with mind-blowing purity and exceptional finesse. Superb!

96 Points - Decanter

With lovely abundance and expression on the nose, you get that perfect clarity of fruit - black fruits and blackcurrant laced with violets. Strong, round and rich, this is densely concentrated with power and punch. Gorgeous texture, dry with firm tannins and a direct fruit profile, tension and linearity, yet plushness and ripeness here too. It's round yet direct but also sweet and succulent. I love that immediately juicy perfumed hit you get on the tongue. Such brightness and energy here, and the sweet red cherry edge is so delicious. Supremely charming but also fun, with such playfulness going on with the flavours and the textures. 

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This celebrated Tuscan red is a blend of mostly Sangiovese with a smaller part of Malvasia Nera. The Castellare di Castellina 2018 I Sodi di S. Niccolo shows the elegance and grace of these native grapes with aromas of red and purple fruit, cherry, wild rose and gardening soil. However, there is also a strong oak element that adds spice and toast to the bouquet and textural weight to the wine's generous build.

94 Points - Wine Spectator

This is marked by new oak initially, and then the plum and cherry flavours shine through. Vibrant, leather and earth elements join in before the oak spice and tannins frame the finish. With a lot going on, fresh and complex, it just needs time. Sangioveto and Malvasia Nera.