Chat with Vinny

There’s a remarkable true story behind this world-conquering red ... and you played a star role!

30 years ago an energetic young Italian winemaker named Valentino was sipping a coffee in the sun as tractors hauled grapes every which way at harvest time. Caught up in the mayhem, he spotted a husband and wife in a little Fiat, trailer overflowing with tiny, dark, raisined grapes.

Valentino knew these were from seriously old vines, so he flagged the Fiat down. He promised to take the lot and sign a twenty-year contract to share the profits. “Oh, and tell your friends,” he said as they drove away. A few months later Valentino had tapped in to a network of talented, seriously dedicated local growers. Then came a rush of major acclaim ...

“Wine to buy by the car load” said fine wine guru Robert Parker.

• WINE OF THE YEAR at London’s biggest show in the early 2000s.

• Four times Italy’s Winery of the Year.

As you’d expect, prices for their wines rocketed. But Valentino is a family man who remembers his winery’s first friends. So for our 50th birthday he’s offered us his top wine at HALF the PRICE.

Just £50 reserves your case of 12 now. When the wine arrives mid-April, a second instalment of £105.88 will be automatically deducted. Which means it’s yours for just £12.99 a bottle.

SENSATIONAL DRINKING ... WORTH TWICE THE PRICE: Billowing aromas of black fruits, cherry and plum with a luxurious, chocolatey mouthful that’s both rich and sustained. Calls for slow-cooked lamb, hearty stews or the butcher’s best sausages. Magnificent!