The 2004 Villa Fidelia is an elegant, sexy wine. Medium in body, it reveals gorgeous inner sweetness in its layered personality, with plenty of sweet dark fruit and well-integrated oak. This understated wine is immensely appealing now, but it will be even better in another year or two. Sportoletti’s Villa Fidelia is one of the most compelling wines of Umbria. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, it spends 12 months in small French oak barrels. While it’s hard to describe a wine retailing for over $50 as a good value, in today’s market, the 2004 Villa Fidelia offers as good a relative value as readers are likely to find. Simply put, this is a terrific effort from the Sportoletti brothers and oenologist Riccardo Cotarella. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2024. Brothers Ernesto and Remo Sportoletti run this small estate located in the hills outside Assisi and Spello. Consulting oenologist Riccardo Cotarella is responsible for winemaking. Sportoletti’s top wine, Villa Fidelia, is often outstanding as it is again this year. For more on Sportoletti readers may want to check out my article on Best Buys from Italy available at www.erobertparker.com. Importer: Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620