This medium ruby-colored wine reveals amber at the edge, followed by an attractive earth, tobacco, and spice-scented nose with the fruit a secondary influence. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied, with cedary, black cherry fruit, good spice, and a dry, compressed finish. Don't tempt fate by aging this wine more than another 2-3 years.Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

Never big and brutish, Il Poggione's top wines are always velvety and caressing, like this 1993 Brunello. Berry, tobacco and leather aromas and flavors prevail. Medium-bodied, with caressing tannins. Drink now. 10,000 cases made. -JS