A 50-30-20 blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2008 L'Errante is a divinely decadent IGT red to pair with roast pork or succulent steak. The wine is massive, with brooding dark fruit followed by dark spice, Spanish cedar, cola, moist chewing tobacco and road tar. Its bold textural fabric is enriched by sweet spice and long smokey flavors. This wine can easily hold ten years or more.

The 2007 L’Errante is 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon that sees three months of appassimento and 18 months in new tonneaux. Before I go any further, I must warn that this is a seriously big wine that won’t appeal to all. Its sweetness is chewy and evident and the bottle label reads 16.5% alcohol. You feel every bit of that heat. The residual sugar is a whopping 17.5 grams per liter. You feel that too. In fact, there are elements of this wine that resemble Recioto more than the dry Venetian blend it is meant to be. The bouquet is massive with bold tones of campfire, barbecue sauce, dried cherry, smoke and freshly milled black pepper. I can only imagine a pairing with aged cheese or stewed game meats. Drink 2014-2022. The Bussola family has been producing top-notch Amarone for decades. In a truly touching family tradition, some of the older wines are named “BG” after uncle Giuseppe Bussola who founded the estate and adopted a traditional winemaking style. Recent expressions are named “TB” after Tommaso Bussola who is responsible for winemaking since 1983 and represents a modernist style. This flight of new releases, particularly the trio of 2007 Amarones, is exceptional. Tommaso’s sons Paolo and Giuseppe have both recently joined the winemaking efforts. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., www.rarewineco.com

The 2004 L’Errante is a Merlot/Cabernet blend made with partially dried fruit that spent 40 months in new French oak. The wine opens with an enticing bouquet of roasted coffee beans, herbs, sweet licorice and plums, all of which are woven together in a mid-weight, perfumed frame. This subtle offering reveals terrific overall balance and tons of harmony. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019. My visit with Tommaso Bussola earlier this year was thrilling, as we tasted through a number of wines from cask and bottle, culminating with extraordinary bottles of the 1999 and 2000 Amarone Vigneto Alto, both of which were drop-dead gorgeous. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

Made in an opulent, full-throttle style, the estate’s 2003 L’Errante presents a very dark color and an array of blackberries, cassis, licorice, minerals and sweet toasted oak. Today it comes across as youthful, vibrant and massively endowed, with tannins that finish a bit rough on the close. L’Errante is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon. About 80% of the fruit was air-dried for 20-30 days prior to undergoing fermentation, while the remaining 20% was harvested and then vinified with conventional methods. The wines were aged separately in 100% new oak, then were racked and the final blend was made, after which the wine was moved back into oak for an additional 16 months of aging prior to bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2018. Tommaso Bussola’s wines have received a good deal of critical acclaim over the last few years, and with good reason. These are remarkable wines of the highest level. The estate produces two lines of wines. In theory the BG wines are more traditional in spirit while the TB wines are meant to be more modern. In reality the main difference comes down to vineyard selection, as the estate’s best fruit is reserved for the TB range. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484