2021 Petrolo Torrione Toscana 750 ml

Our table seemed like it was sagging under the weight of all we’d ordered: Between the massive bistecca alla fiorentina, the pappardelle with wild-boar ragu, 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, we were thrilled to know that our bottle of Petrolo was every bit as profound as those more famous ones, and at a fraction of the price.

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, it’s is the only notable estate in the neighborhood. But as you pull into the property and begin climbing, you quickly get a sense of the passion and resolve that went—and goes—into the planting and upkeep of this world-class vineyard. 

The estate is sprawling, a 672-acre mix of forest and hills, of which only 11 percent is planted to vines. And while Petrolo also produces other explosively delicious wines—their Galatrona bottling regularly scores in the high 90s—it’s the Torrione that has our heart for the absolutely outrageous value it packs into the bottle.