Maculan's 2006 Madoro is 80% Marzemina and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon that is made from dried grapes in a style similar to Recioto, Veneto's great red dessert wine, and aged in stainless steel. This is a relatively easy-going wine with attractive layers of jammy dark fruit and a long, fresh finish. Madoro is a wine in evolution. The superb 2004 was a much more ambitious wine aged in French oak, but the 2006 takes a decidedly simpler direction. It will be interesting to see what style Maculan settles on over the long-term, but his 2004 was a gift to winelovers, and I would be thrilled to see him pursue that approach again. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2011. This is another set of strong wines from one of Veneto's most inspired producers. Fausto Maculan is best known for his phenomenal dessert wines, but his dry reds merit serious consideration as well. 2005 was a cool, damp year which presented its greatest challenges to early-maturing varieties like Merlot, while the later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon had time to recuperate.A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620