2018 Grignano Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina 375ML

Grignano sits at the confluence of the Sieve and Arno rivers east of Florence, in the heart of Chianti Rufina—one of Tuscany's most underrated appellations. The estate's 600 hectares were once the personal property of Caterina De Medici in the 16th century. Since the 1970s, the Inghirami family has transformed it into a serious wine and olive oil operation, with 50 hectares of vineyards planted at modern high densities to extract the kind of quality you'd expect to pay double for.

This Vin Santo is the patience play. Loose bunches of Trebbiano and Malvasia are hand-selected from south-facing vineyards in Pontassieve, then hung in a well-ventilated room for three months of natural air-drying. The shriveled grapes are gently pressed, fermented in small oak barrels, then aged five years in caratelli—tiny wooden barrels ranging from 50 to 225 liters. The oxidative aging gives the wine its brilliant amber color and the kind of complexity most producers can't afford to wait for.

In the glass: dried apricot, toasted nuts, honey, aged cheese, toffee, and a dusting of orange zest. Wine Enthusiast called out the "salty, umami nose" and "very persistent" palate, scoring it 90 points. That's the score you'd see on bottles retailing north of $50. This is $34.98.

Vin Santo is the wine Tuscans pour for guests who matter. Pull the cork after dinner with biscotti, aged pecorino, or nothing at all—it's built to be sipped slowly while the room empties out.