The floral aromas are spellbinding, with aromas of violets, lilacs, orange peel, raspberries, rose petals, and some oranges. It’s medium- to full-bodied with crunchy and open-grain tannins that are creamy and caressing. It’s endless in the finish. Crunchy and energetic. A wine that is thoughtful and gives you such great pleasure. Such purity. It’s like eating perfectly ripened grape must. Pure merlot. Drinkable in many ways, but will come together beautifully. A new reference point for merlot in Italy. Drink after 2028.

A wine famously referred to as Tuscany’s Le Pin – and you can see why. So gracious and gently opulent if still a little introvert at first. Subtle spice – a mix of green Szechuan and more classical cinnamon, mace and nutmeg – slowly gives way to lavender and wild rosemary, all gently enveloping and enrobing the dark berry and lighter stone fruits. Brilliantly poised and beautifully contoured in the mouth, with a gloriously crystalline and limpid luminosity in the mid-palate that invites comparison with the other great monocépage Merlots of the world. Staggeringly beautiful and perhaps the most eloquent and articulate expression of this fabulous terroir to date. - Colin Hay

The Petrolo 2022 Val d'Arno di Sopra Galatrona is a beautiful wine with an elegantly focused and streamlined style. Proprietor Luca Sanjust describes this vintage as "the most Tuscan version of Galatrona" he has produced, and he remarks on the ability of Merlot, the grape used here, to resemble Sangiovese in the unique Valdarno territory. Winemaking has been tweaked to produce the wine in an initially more reductive style to ensure better and longer bottle evolution. The team is working with better woods, neutral oak and bigger capacities. There is more work with the lees and no racking. The wine shows a core of dark fruit with wild berries and pressed rose. This medium-plus Tuscan Merlot concludes with lasting freshness. The Galatrona site has mixed soils with sand, rocks and clay. Two geological plates meet at this spot, and the clay pan folds underground as a result. The site is surrounded by cooling forests. - Monica Larner

Petrolo's single-vineyard Merlot from the Arno Valley is a benchmark Tuscan example of the variety. Vinified in cement tanks, it then spends around 20 months in French oak barriques, one-third new. Bonfire and spiced plum aromas lead to a vibrant, tightly coiled palate full of energy. The black and red berry core is precise and generous, while there's an underlying salinity which connects the fruit and gum-tingling acidity. The tannins are ripe and round, fine and dextrous, laying in support rather than in a leading role. Very primary and with a noticeably woody finish at present, this demands time to show it at its best.

The 2022 Galatrona, 100% Merlot, is another super-attractive wine from Petrolo. It offers lovely up-front appeal to match its easygoing personality. Blue/purplish fruit, licorice, lavender, spice and mocha meld together. The 2022 naturally does not have the structure or depth of the top years, but that simply was not possible in this vintage.

This red is packed with blackberry, black cherry, plum, iron and tobacco flavors. Though vibrant and backed by a dense matrix of tannins, overall this ends with an elegant feel and excellent length. Merlot. Best from 2027 through 2040. - BS