2022 Baracchi O'Lillo Toscana 750 ml

We had to slip past eager importers and sommeliers at Vinitaly to get our first taste of Baracchi’s O’Lillo years ago. We locked it in that day—and it’s a good thing we did, because a few weeks later, James Suckling sent cost-minded Italian collectors into a frenzy when he made O’Lillo his top-rated bargain of the fair.

Ever since our first offer, Wine Access members have made it one of the most popular Italian reds we offer, drawn to its bold, dark fruit, tobacco- and truffle-scented nose, sturdy tannins—and its price, which makes it one of the finest values in the entire Super Tuscan category. 

It’s made by one of Tuscany’s most decorated winemakers, Stefano Chioccioli, whose bottles have impressed Robert Parker and Wine Spectator to the tune of 100-point scores and earned more than 70 Tre Bicchieri awards—an honor many vintners would be thrilled to receive just once. 

On each of the Baracchi family’s parcels—the sandy soils of San Martino, the clay and chalk of Gabbiano, the mineral-rich Pietraia, and the classic limestone and clay of Montanare—owner Riccardo Baracchi planted varieties that were best suited to the specific terroir, choosing only the warmest south- and southwest-facing hillsides for his Bordeaux grapes.

From those sites, Chioccioli drew equal parts Sangiovese, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon for this O’Lillo, and the result is a bottle of generous fruit and deep spice. Aging in steel vats preserved the wine’s black-fruit purity and gave it time to develop profound aromas of tobacco and truffle.

This is one of the best Super Tuscan deals you’ll find.