An organic blend of 40% Petit Verdot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc, the Brancaia 2020 Ilatraia (in the bottle with the black label) shows an inky dark appearance with lots of black and purple fruit intensity. This beautiful estate is nestled within the thick forests of Radda in Chianti, one of the wildest corners of the appellation. This vintage is slightly more accessible in terms of mouthfeel, but it still delivers ample spice, grilled herb and black pepper. Some 40,000 bottles are being released now.

The 2020 Ilartraia is a potent red that is going to need at least a few years in bottle to soten. Swaths of tannin wrap around a core of black fruit, chocolate, new leather, licorice, incense and lavender. A wine of substance and power, Ilatraia is not as forthcoming as most wines from the Tuscan coast. I suspect the high percentage of Petit Verdot in the blend has a lot to do with that. This is a superb showing, especially for a vintage that yielded generally lighter wines on the coast.

The nose is intensely spicy and warm with chili pepper and highlighting an umami meatiness. Cherries, blackberries and chocolate on the palate nonetheless give way again to pepper notes, from fresh cracked black peppercorns to chilis, through a hot finish.

Saturated with black currant, blackberry, plum, chocolate and dark spices, this red is also dense with gravelly tannins. Features flashes of medicinal herbs as this plays out on the long finish. Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2037. 3,333 cases made, 810 cases imported.