Maculan 1984 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – From 375 ml. Very, very dark brown, and absent most of the wine’s expected character aside from a straightforward sweetness. It’s still just a bit spicy, but this has traveled well past any stage in which I find much appeal. (10/07)

Maculan 2002 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – From 375 ml. Shy, to the extent that I wonder if there might not be some very minor cork taint (but over the course of three days, nothing obvious develops, so perhaps not). There’s peach, cream, spice, and crystal as one expects, but it’s all muted. Even in a volume-limited state, this is still nice wine, but I’d hoped for better. (12/09)

Maculan 2003 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – 375 ml. Very, very sweet peach and ambered pear, a little metal, a lot of baking spice, and the finishing impression of ultra-filtered maple syrup (that is, clearer than grade A light amber). Perhaps not as crisp as one would want, but still very appealing. (4/09)

Maculan 2003 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – 375 ml. See above, re: organoleptics. The wine’s a bit fat, or perhaps blowsy, which I suppose is a vintage artifact, and thus it lacks the nerve that, for me, has always set it slightly apart from and above the typical flaws of Sauternes-style wines (most specifically, Sauternes itself). This is not a wine to age…not that Maculan Torcolato benefits all that much from more than a few years’ aging in even the best vintages. (4/09)

Maculan 2003 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – 375 ml. Better than the previous two. The aromas are identical, but the structure is ever so slightly firmer, which really helps the wine’s form. Still, it will never be a great Torcolato. It will have to settle for being very good. (4/09)

Maculan 1998 Breganze Torcolato (Veneto) – Takes a while to get going, but when it does, it shows metal-sheathed peach, pear, apricot, and pineapple doused with sweet, spicy syrup. The minerality and spice come ever more to the fore as the fruit recedes, there’s fine acidity, and the finish is very, very long. Perfectly mature, I’d say, though my individual preferences are for this wine with just a bit more cream, and thus a year or two younger. It’s very hard to deny in its present form, however, and it is far better than all but the best Sauternes at parallel stages in their development. (8/08)