2019 Bollina Cosmo Rosso Terre Siciliane IGP

Picture this: blazing Mediterranean sun, electric-blue waters, delicious seafood pasta, and this insane Sicilian red lighting up your taste buds. That's straight-up liquid vacation in a glass — the perfect escape for anyone stuck dreaming of Italian coastlines.

This wine is crushing it. Legendary critic Luca Maroni gave it 99 points, naming it one of Italy's best wines of the year. When Italy's most prolific wine judge loses it over a bottle, you know you're holding a real gem.

The fruit is pure Sicily — native Nero d'Avola blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, grown in volcanic soil under relentless sun. Rich vanilla, coffee, and chocolate flavors burst across your palate while smooth tannins deliver that warm Mediterranean finish. The wine itself is Sicilian through and through — it's the hands behind it that tell a different story: La Bollina, a modern, innovative estate 500 miles north in Piedmont, sources exceptional Sicilian fruit and applies its own winemaking artistry to bring out the best of the terroir.

La Bollina is one to watch. Based in Serravalle Scrivia, Alessandria — about 62 miles southeast of Turin, on a 300-acre estate once home to the Marchioness Figari of Genoa — the winery pairs 70 acres of vineyards with some of the most advanced equipment in modern Italian winemaking. Consulting winemaker Andrea Bernardini, a 2007 Pisa enology graduate with experience at Poggio Bonelli and Ruffino in Tuscany and stints in South Africa, Romania, and Greece, works alongside export manager Alex Sciutto to bring wines like this one to life. Thanks to its consistency and quality, La Bollina has become one of Luca Maroni's favorite producers, earning strong scores year after year.