San Giusto 2011 Vin San Giusto Bianco Passito 375ml

This is an iconic wine with an iconic lineage. The 2011 Vin San Giusto (presented in a 375-milliliter bottle with a 9.5% alcohol content) pours forth with extra thick density and richness. You could almost stick a fork in there and expect it to stand straight. The bouquet is seemingly infinite, starting off with dried fruit and brown sugar and then moving toward earthy aromas with button mushroom. The wine's sweetness is so delicate but powerful at the same time. I suppose that is the magic of this 90-10 blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano: something so simple can in fact be so divine. This vintage shows a little less activity on the bouquet, but a wine this precious can perform differently bottle to bottle. Brown sugar and maple syrup linger on the long finish. The wine is aged in chestnut wood barrels force years. A precious few 2,024 bottles were made.

Score: 96 points -- Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate, 2019