2016 Petrolo Torrione Val d’Arno di Sopra Tuscany 750 ml

Our table seemed like it was going to start sagging under the weight of all we’d ordered: Between the massive bistecca alla fiorentina, the pappardelle with wild-boar ragù, and the mountain of prosciutto, we wouldn’t have been surprised if the ancient wood slab we were seated at started to groan. We took comfort in the fact that nearly every other table at the century-old ristorante in Florence that evening—think ancient stucco walls and moody frescos throughout—was piled just as high as ours.

But we apparently knew something that none of the other guests did: While there were enough bottles of Ornellaia, Sassicaia, and Tignanello to put a down payment on a villa in the Sienese hills, we were downright giddy in the knowledge that our 95-point bottle of Petrolo Torrione Val d’Arno di Sopra 2016 was every bit as profound as those more famous ones, and at a fraction of the price.

That’s what has always set this gem apart from its marquee counterparts: It delivers all the pleasure and high-scoring critical praise vintage after vintage, but for substantially less money. And the 2016—which former Wine Spectator European Bureau Chief James Suckling called perhaps “one of the best ever” for its “aromas of dried flowers, dried berries, cherries and hints of stones”—accomplishes all of that and then some, for $30. When’s the last time you had a Napa Cab or Brunello that could boast the same? 

Wine Access members are notorious for snapping up the Petrolo Torrione year after year, and we recommend taking this member's 5-star advice: “If folks did not buy this the first time around don't miss the next offering. Would buy again in a minute.”  

The 2016 is a voluptuous Sangiovese-dominant blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot revealing loads of black cherry, cassis, and blackberry compote. Rich and compact, infused with silken waves of crushed-blackberry compote, black cherry, and classic dusty Tuscan tannins, atop sweet spices.

We first visited Petrolo in the fall of 2013. Located in the Valdarno Superiore, in the center of a triangle made by Florence to the north, Siena to the southwest, and Arezzo to the southeast, this is the only notable estate in the neighborhood. 

The estate is a sprawling and hilly 672 acres, just 11 percent of which is planted to Sangiovese and Bordeaux varieties. The vines—often shrouded by fog as thick as pea soup—are planted between forests and olive trees. The Torrione is aged in oak casks of varying sizes for up to 18 months, and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, and then racked carefully to produce a clear, beautiful wine.  

And while Petrolo also produces other incredibly delicious wines—their Galatrona bottling regularly scores in the high 90s—it’s the Torrione that has our heart. It is a classic Super Tuscan that explodes from the glass with the kind of fruit you cannot help but adore right away, but that is still structured by the kind of tannins and acidity that promise another five to seven years of evolution in the cellar. Don’t miss it.