Palaces

Pilastri 2006 Faleria Palazzi (Marches) – Shattered-glass intensity, with sharp fruit and biting acids ripping and tearing at the palate. There’s lemon verbena and other pleasantly herbed green melons somewhere in the lime green explosion, but this wine is dominated by its structure and its sheer presence. Really, really fabulous. (12/07)

Saladini course

Pilastri 2006 “Consenso” Rosato (Marche) – Beautiful strawberry notes dusted with the spice rack (more the dried herbs than the ground pods), with a fine, appealing balance and something on the finish that tastes like albino walnuts, if that makes any sense. There’s light complexity in its mix of fruit and spice, but it’s so juicy and drinkable that resisting a hearty quaff will be difficult. (7/07)