The inky-colored 2003 Castello di Terriccio (50% Syrah, 25 & Mourvedre and 25% Petit Verdot) is packed with heady sensations of super-ripe dark jammy fruit, chocolate, earthiness, spices and toasted oak on a supple yet brooding frame. Although the harder tannins of the vintage are present there is plenty of fruit to give this wine a lovely sense of balance within the context of its powerful personality. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2015. Consulting oenologist Carlo Ferrini oversees the winemaking at Castello del Terriccio, which is located in the province of Pisa, in the northern part of Maremma. “Vintage 2003 must be considered entirely on its own, it really bears no resemblance to any other year,” says Ferrini. “It was extremely difficult to find balance in the vineyard. The wines continue to have a completely unpredictable evolution in the bottle. You taste a wine today, then taste it again in a few months’ time and you are likely to come away with two distinctly different impressions. Certainly the more representative vintages for Tuscany are 1999, 2001, 2004, and more recently 2006.” Importer: Kobrand Corp., New York, NY; tel. (212) 490-9300

A nice performance from Tuscany, this extracted and rich wine (made from a blend of mostly Syrah and Petit Verdot) boasts penetrating aromas of herbs, roasted nut, spice and clove. Red fruit is in there, too, but in smaller doses. It’s a big, brawny wine with drying tannins and a robust constitution.——M.L.(5/1/2007)—— 90