The 2001 Scacco Matto is simply one of the best dessert wines ever made in Italy, powerful in its expression of flambeed peaches and apricots, orange and tangerine jam, honey, and pineapple. The complexity of noble rot and oak spices are felt in its rich and luscious flavors and the viscosity, focus, and layers of sensations are simply stunning. Drink: 2006-2020. I occasionally wonder if I should write about the wines of Cristina Geminani, the owner-winemaker of this estate, one of the most talented women in Italian wine. It is not so much for the fact that I have known her for close to twenty years, but due to the close working relationship I once had with her husband Alessandro Masnaghetti, a former nuclear engineer who has become one of Italy’s most serious and informed writers on wine. But I don’t think I have any problems of objectivity in this case, and about the quality of the wines there is little to discuss – this is the leading estate in Emilia-Romagna, has been so for fifteen years, and it cannot be ignored. Importer: A Christopher Cannan Selection, various American importers including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300 and Diamond Wine Merchants, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 567-9897