The 2009 Rosso di Montalcino boasts a gorgeous, exotic nose redolent of sweet pipe tobacco, sweet red berries, smoke and licorice. This is a ripe, flashy Rosso that captures the essence of the warm vintage in its sheer glycerin and body. It is a pretty, racy wine to drink over the next few years. The Rosso was aged 60% in neutral barriques and 40% in cask. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. Proprietor Francesco Monaci and consulting oenologist Fabrizio Moltard showed me a wide range of wines during my recent visit. Monaci describes 2007 as a year with no winter. Overall temperatures were warmer than normal, but without heat spikes. The harvest took place in the early part of September, about ten days earlier than normal. The estate is gradually moving to a greater use of cask for its Brunello, a change that is allowing much more nuance to come through in the wines. As always, fermentations are done with indigenous yeasts and the malos take place in oak. All of the estate’s vineyards are Brunello-designated, including those used for the Rosso. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484