Deep ruby. Powerful aromas of ripe dark plum, cherry-cola, graphite, sandalwood and spicy cocoa, with a sexy violet topnote. At once juicy and deeply pitched, offering rich red berry and dark cherry flavors complicated by smoky minerality and a hint of cocoa. Opens slowly and builds well with air, which bodes well for this wine's future. The long finish features chewy, mounting tannins and a floral quality. This wine should offer earlier accessibility than some past vintages of Terre di Lavoro, and the Aglianico also seems to shine through more here. Ian D'Agata

Complex aromas of blackberry, stones, cracked black pepper and tar. Full body with soft, round tannins and a juicy, fruity finish. Soulful and refined from this estate. This is a magical wine from Southern Italy.

There's drive to this well-meshed, sanguine red, offering flavors of herbs, dried currant, iron and black olive that are deftly layered with sinewy tannins and balancing acidity. AN

From a hot vintage, the 2011 Roccamonfina Terra di Lavoro is a soft, round wine with a large presence of dark cherry fruit and blackberry. This wine has broader shoulders compared to 2010 and 2012. Dark fruit, prune, plum and dried cherry lift heavily from the bouquet. Those more obvious aromas are followed by ethereal touches of ash, licorice and plenty of balsam herb. The wine's volcanic personality shines through, although with slightly less intensity. This edition of Terra di Lavoro shows soft tannins and a long finish. It's a beautiful wine that reflects the warm year.

Aglianico, Piedirosso. Almost impenetrable crimson. The obvious sweet vanilla of oak. Quite a lot of oak on the palate too. Dry finish. (WS)