As an avid fan of Vin Santo, I always get a special thrill when tasting this precious and historic wine. Pouring from a 500-milliliter bottle, the Barone Ricasoli 2012 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico Castello di Brolio was born in a difficult year that saw a very hot August with dry winds blowing up from Africa. These conditions accelerated ripening and pushed sweetness. But these are not necessarily unfavorable conditions for a Vin Santo. This wine boasts a creamy, viscous mouthfeel with caramel, chestnut, honey, resin, dried fruit, saffron and cardamom. Despite the ample ripeness, the wine still shows good freshness. It ages in small oak barrel for nine long years.

Opening to a golden amber color, the 2011 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico Castello di Brolio (packaged in a 500-milliliter bottle) shows aromas of honey, caramel, roasted nuts, vanilla and brown sugar. There is silky, seamless integration of these flavors that flow together over the palate in absolute harmony. The 2011 vintage saw a very hot summer growing season with pronounced sugars and concentration, two things that are essential when making a Vin Santo of this enormity, caliber and longevity.

The 2010 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico Castello di Brolio has a bright orange color, reminiscent of honey and baltic amber. This is an epic rendition of one of the most beautifully made dessert wines to emerge from Italy. This Vin Santo pours from the bottle with bright intensity and golden highlights. The bouquet offers multiple layers of dried apricot, toasted almond, dried rose, caramel and honeysuckle. In the mouth, this wine is viscous and rich with a thick glycerin content that wraps over the palate. I have had the good fortune of tasting back vintages of this wine all the way back to 1923 and I can vouch for its impressive aging range and enormously long drinking window. The Vin Santo is packaged in a 500-milliliter bottle with an alcohol content of 16.5%.