Castello di Ama, Apparita, IGT 2016

The 2016 L'Apparita, 100% Merlot, is a breathtaking, riveting wine that captures all the potential of the vintage. In this vintage, L'Apparita is especially silky and refined. Layered, perfumed and wonderfully nuanced, L'Apparita is simply epic. Lavender, mint, sage, spice, new leather and cloves develop with time, but more than anything else, L'Apparita is wonderfully complete and magnificently beautiful.

The 2016 L'Apparita is a standout wine. A true symbol of the vintage, the wine shows the classic lines and extreme precision we can expect from 2016, with the plump, ripe generosity of the Merlot grape (when farmed in the right hands of course). The wine is profound, rich and beautifully concentrated with power but no residual heaviness. I went back to this sample a few times in the 12 hours after I popped the cork, and the wine was more beautiful each time. It offers a profound sense of beauty, harmony and Merlot purity now, and it should evolve slowly and softly in the coming years.