Sicilian & Sardinian reds – Recommended

There is real fine fruited complexity here: fragrant cherry, plum and cranberry, with a furniture polish note too, which is very Italian. Concentrated and poised on the palate. This does have that 20/20 focus which natural wines are so often said to, with barely any tannin or extractive force.

Gloriously aromatic, with red cherries and violets. It is positively bursting with cherry fruit and is super expressive, helped by a fine grip of tannin and a long crisp finish. Still a teenager even at 2010.

Soft, raisiny fruits with a little musky grace and orange peel charm to them. The palate displays citrus peels and orange grove blossoms. I love the combination of tannins and perfumes, and there is just enough limpid, translucent cherry-plum fruit to fill in the middle palate. The only hesitation being the almost fizzy style of the wine's acidity, but I will put a short drinking window here and hope all will be well.

Unoaked, fresh red made from ungrafted, old Carignan vines grown on sandy, sun-baked soils. Aromas and flavours of wild blackberry, red berries, tea leaf, sweet spice and liquorice, complemented by a chewy, fleshy palate, with a saline touch and soft yet dry tannins.