The Torrevento 2015 Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva Ottagono comes in a huge, heavy bottle. Let's just say this is not a wine you will pack in your suitcase unless you are ready to pay the overweight charges. It's hard to pour the bottle with one hand. I was expecting a very ripe bouquet, but this is Nero di Troia after all, which tends to maintain a more reserved posture. You get dark fruit and scorched earth with slightly sour notes in the mouth. I'd keep it around for my next Korean barbecue takeout of galbi short ribs and kimchi. Some 50,000 bottles were released.

This is Torrevento's top shelf wine and it affords for winemaking creativity and precision. The message brought forth by the 2013 Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva Ottagono hammers home the concepts of thick, juicy extraction and dark fruit richness. There is a clear note of sweetness that cuts straight through this wine, with ambitious layers of black cherry and tangy cinnamon, all the way to the palate. In the mouth, the wine is softly layered and supple. The octagon design depicted on the front label is an ode to the eight-sided Castel del Monte that is featured on the backside of the Italian one Euro cent coin.