2018 Petra Zingari Toscana Rosso 750 ml

You might chalk up the first sell-out to the under-$20 price. The second, maybe to critical acclaim. The third, fourth, and fifth? One thing becomes clear: The juicy, spice-tinged Petra Zingari delivers. Every time. 

That’s why it’s our top-selling Italian red of the past few years, and why members return to it again and again, calling it a “perfect wine” that’s “better than many wines that cost $10 or $20 more!” However, more often than not they lament: “Wish I had bought more.”

“Year after year the wines are reliably outstanding,” said Italian-wine expert Antonio Galloni, founder of Vinous. He’s also called Petra one of his “favorite properties for intense, flavorful wines.” Intense: check. This 2018 hits the palate with the power and grace of Jim Brown busting through the line and into the open field. Flavorful: check. It draws you deeper with notes of olive, dried citrus peels, and minerals…and then the bottle is history.

The Moretti family, owners of the acclaimed Bellavista and Contadi Castaldi properties, uncovered a hidden jewel in the warmth of Maremma: 232 acres of rolling vineyards, just inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, where cool, saline breezes refresh the vines. In addition to cultivating native varieties, Vittorio Moretti and his daughter Francesca decided to use the vineyard as a testing ground for grapes from the Rhône and Bordeaux. When the results proved spectacular, Petra Zingari was born.

The 2018 vintage is made from fruit grown in the hills around Suvereto and Riotorto. The region’s warmth infuses the blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Petit Verdot with sun-drenched concentration, yet the wine is still wonderfully light on its feet.