This well-known proprietary red wine made from Sergio Manetti's Sangioveto vineyards, is an exceptionally elegant, medium ruby-colored wine with kirsch and cherry aromas intermixed with leathery, cigar box-like spices. In the mouth, there is dry tannin, which is slightly intrusive, but the wine's fruit is clean. The overall impression is of a stylish, spicy, complex, medium-weight red for consuming over the next 4-5 years.Importer: Premium Brands, Inc., Forest Hills, NY; tel. (no listing)

The 1994 Le Pergole Torte shows sure signs of Brettanomyces, and I'm told that bottle variation has long been an issue with this vintage. The bouquet shows a meaty side with saddle leather, cola, balsam herb, iron, blood and dried tomato paste. In a blind tasting, you could easily mistake this wine as Sangiovese from a hot climate like Maremma on the Tuscan Coast, as opposed to the cooler Chianti Classico region. The mouthfeel is succulent and soft. Some of Italy's greatest red wines were made in 1994, so it's too bad that Montevertine missed this train.