The 2006 Merlot Graf de La Tour is particularly successful in this vintage. Ripe red fruit, licorice, flowers and French oak are woven into a firm, structured frame. The integrity of the fruit is simply remarkable here, but readers will need to cellar this wine for a few years in order for more tertiary notes to develop. The finish is long and poised, suggesting a bright future lies ahead. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. Gianni Menotti makes some of the richest, most fully-flavored wines readers will come across in Friuli. The entry-level 2008 whites appear to be excellent across the board, but it is the 2006 Merlot Graf de La Tour that steals the show among these new releases. Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

This is a beautifully extracted and rich Italian Merlot with layers of luscious fruit and mature berry. The wine is exceedingly soft and velvety in the mouth and ends with alcohol, structure and a healthy dose of blackberry, cherry and jammy fruit.——M.L.(12/15/2009)—— 91