The beginning of the new year in Italy transforms the sleepy, wintry hills of Tuscany into a hotbed of activity. Traditionally this is the time of the anteprima, when the new vintages are presented – not as cask samples as in the en primeur French model, but these wines are, crucially, already bottled and ready to go on the market. Many wines in Italy, certainly the most prestigious ones, are obliged by law to undergo lengthy ageing, and may be sold only after a certain number of years, as determined by these ageing requirements. Early vintage assessments are as tempting...