A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the Castello di Querceto 2018 Cignale ("wild boar" in Italian) offers beautiful depth and balance. This is a boldly layered Tuscan red that ages in French oak for 18 months. Sweet baking spice, dark chocolate and blackberry confit emerge from the core of this nicely concentrated red. Production is 10,000 bottles.

Made deep in the wooded hills of Greve in Chianti that is teaming with wildlife such as wild boar and roe deer, the 2017 Cignale is a nicely balanced wine with big intensity thanks to the hot vintage. The wine is never overdone, and in fact, it shows a terrific mix of dark berry nuances, textual richness, structure and soft tannins. This is a full-bodied red wine with elegant fruit.

This is a historic collaboration between Castello di Querceto and the importer Empson. The Castello di Querceto 2016 Cignale is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a tiny part Merlot to soften it up. This is a plump, rich and nicely structured wine with a dark core of dense fruit, spice, dark blackberry and dried plum. The wine is structured and firm with good support for all that rich and dense oak fruit. Compared to the slightly softer 2015 vintage, this wine is more angular and tightly wound.

A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the 2015 Cignale captures the sunshine and heat of the vintage with its tasty and succulent fruit. This wine matures in oak for 18 months. I've always liked this wine because it brings me back to a baseline taste that I associate with a super Tuscan wine, although I fully admit that claiming any single definition for that catch-all category is an impossible feat. However, despite the international and contemporary character of this wine, with its bold cherry and chocolate-like flavors, there is no doubting that special Tuscan soul.

Based on Cabernet Sauvignon (with a smaller part Merlot), the 2013 Cignale is a shapely and opulent red wine from one of the most beautiful corners of Tuscany. The wine's appearance is inky and richly saturated with a velvety black appearance. The bouquet is almost over the top with ripe and thickly extracted aromas of blackberry marmalade and prune. The finish delivers firm structure and sweet flavors of baking and exotic spice. This is the proverbial big boy wine that ages in French oak for 24 months.