The 2010 Solus is an offbeat blend of Sangiovese, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Alicante. It shows an impressive level of intensity with a motley collection of cheerfully mismatched aromas ranging from dark fruit, licorice, leather and sour cherry. The wine exhibits great concentration and depth with medium build and persistency. Give it three or four more years of bottle aging to unwind.

The 2009 Solus (Sangiovese, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Alicante aged in oak for one year) is a thick and chewy wine with rich consistency and lush fruit flavors. There is a note of bitterness that may be brought forth by the Sangiovese component of the blend. The purity of fruit is muddled but the wine delivers an immediate and easy-drinking style nonetheless.

My mini-vertical of this Sangiovese-Montepulciano d'Abruzzo-Alicante blend ended with the 2008 Solus. This was the oldest of the three wines I tasted and its age is apparent thanks to the flatter notes of spice and dry leather that emerge first on the bouquet. Dried fruit is followed by cherry liqueur and black licorice. Dusty, earth notes also add some grittiness to the texture of the wine. The 2008 Solus should be consumed within the next year or two.