The 2019 Minchia Montepulciano tastes far better than it smells in my opinion, with aromas of dry leather boots, bulrushes, cranberry and pomegranates. In the mouth, the leather character fades into the background of the fruit and gives a complexing note to the wine. It is tannic, fierce, dark and charry. A big wine. Overt. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2018 Minchia Montepulciano leads with a meaty, rustic nose, peppered with ferrous/blood, char/resin, peppercorns, asphalt and black olive tapenade. In the mouth, the wine is plummy, jammy and ripe, with a dead-feeling finish. Morte. There is plenty going on, but I far prefer the nose to the palate. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2016 Minchia Montepulciano is a burly, meaty iteration of Monte, and it shows a cascade of rose petals, pastrami, resin, charry oak and cigar box, all of it shaped by grippy, almost sticky tannins. It's a little chunky and dense for my liking, a touch reductive too.

The 2015 Minchia Montepulciano (rude) is dried out and leathery, and on the nose it shows plums, mulberries and a hint of prune. It's past its best, this wine, and that's a shame.