Bibenda

Luca Currado cultivates the Brunate Cru on the La Morra side of the vineyard (opposite the Barolo side) and this wine contains fruit from new plots. It convinces with an impressive aroma of red berries, cherries, wild herbs, mint, minerals and rose petals, rounded off by a hint of blood orange. On the palate we find a terrific softness and textural silkiness, this continues with hints of mint, liquorice and camphor ash for many minutes. Polished tannins round off this masterpiece into an extremely elegant Brunate. SUPERIORE.DE

Vietti's Ravera is one of the great stars of Piedmont in its precision and structure. It uses fruit from Novello, from a site that looks out over the castle of the same name on the hill in the distance. This wine offers an impeccable balance between nose and mouth, showing immense purity and power in one package. Rose petals, chalk, pepper and a hint of pomegranate make this Barolo one of the most sought-after in the appellation every year. With some ageing, the powerful tannins give way to an elegant impression that does not deviate one millimetre from the coveted style of this great vineyard. A monument of Barolo, which only a few other winemakers in Piedmont besides Vietti and also Giacosa bottle with such consistency! SUPERIORE.DE

"An expression of elegance in Serralunga", Luca Currado underlines at the tasting of Lazzarito, and we already agree with him on the nose. Gravel, pebbles, red fruits, rose petals, lavender and sage permeate this plastic and very lively Serralunga Barolo. Baroli from Serralunga d'Alba are often in a category of their own thanks to their richness and sheer abundance of fruit. The balsamic symphony opens the doors to a sip that is undoubtedly powerful, but at the same time refreshing and rich in vitamins. With added aeration, Lazzarito delivers mint and balsamic herbs. Lazzarito sets the pace and never loses its rhythm, the great texture of the tannins flanks this palate spectacle in an ideal way and we will discover much more about this great Barolo in the years to come. SUPERIORE.DE

The supremely potent Rocche di Castiglione is often referred to as the first "official" cru in the history of Langa (along with Bussia di Prunotto, both of which were released with the 1961 vintage). It confirms itself once again as the great classic of the house with the 2018 edition. Dark fruits, pressed lilac, blood orange, powdered liquorice, balsamic herbs, spices, iron ore and aniseed fit together perfectly like pieces of a puzzle. Then lush and racy on the palate, with silky tannins and a great depth and resonance that will continue to develop with time. SUPERIORE.DE

Vintage 2018 marks Vietti's exciting Barolo debut from one of Piedmont's most famous vineyards, characterised by exuberant aromas and bright, red-tinged fruit. The bouquet is enormously opulent with ripe fruit aromas ranging from wild cherry to red currant. This is joined by original tones of jam, plum and a hint of ragout. The palate is nuanced and very deep, with enormous complexity, volume and character. Vietti's Cerequio is stunning right off the bat! SUPERIORE.DE

The name says it all. This wine is a reminiscence of a bygone era. It is a Gewürztraminer vinified in the traditional style with clearly perceptible residual sugar. The grapes come from two of the oldest Gewürztraminer vineyards near the Nußbaumerhof in Tramin from soils with calcareous gravel and porphyry rock.

2019 was a gift to Nebbiolo in the Barbaresco DOCG - and Vanotu has accepted it. This Barbaresco from the historic Basarin cru vineyard in Neive bears the signature of a great vintage with quiet naturalness: nothing is overdrawn, nothing loud - everything is in its place with quiet precision. The vines stand on sparse limestone marl, interspersed with sandy veins, with optimal south-west exposure. This site produces wines with depth and tension, but also airiness - a play of power and transparency that is exemplified in Vanotu 2019. The wine was matured for 20 months in French barriques, sensitively dosed, only to frame the wine, not to mould it.

Enrico Serafino's classic opens in a medium-dark colour with fragrant aromas of dark fruits, plums, spices, iron ore and freshly ploughed earth. Medium-bodied on the palate, rather slender, which is not a flaw, but emphasises the elegance and class of the Nebbiolo grape very nicely. The tannins are present but pleasantly tame, with peppery nuances on the finish, a salty mineral aftertaste and delicate nougat on the final. SUPERIORE.DE

Mazon is not silent. If you listen carefully, you can hear something different in every vintage – sometimes warmth, sometimes coolness, sometimes the Alpine downdraughts that sweep across the plateau in the evening and sharpen the flavours of the grapes. The 2020 is a vintage that listens and responds: fresh, transparent, with a precision in the fruit that only emerges in calm conditions. The Barthenau estate, built 150 years ago by Ludwig Barth von Barthenau, has belonged to the Foradori-Hofstätter family for decades. The single vineyard Vigna San Urbano – south Tyrol's first officially classified single-vineyard wine, declared a "Vigna" by Paolo Foradori in 1987 – lies at the heart of this estate. Clay-limestone over the Werfen formation, vines over 65 years old, a site that gives the Pinot Nero what it needs: mineral subsoil, cool nights and the time it deserves. Harvested entirely by hand, completely destemmed. Fermentation in concrete vats, ten days of skin contact with remontage. Then twelve months in barrique, eight months in large cask, eight months in bottle – always in the cellars of Barthenau, where the temperature remains constant and the wine finds its own peace.

Castello di Volpaia made wine history in 1983: In the midst of the Supertuscan revolution, when visionary winegrowers rebelled against the restrictive DOC regulations, Balifico was born – named after the villa of the same name in the heart of the fortified village. What began as Vino da Tavola became the manifesto of a new era that combined international grape varieties with Tuscan soils to create an extraordinary synthesis. The grapes for this exceptional wine thrive at the highest altitudes in Tuscany, at over 600 metres above sea level, where the air is already cool like the Alps and the vines are bathed in sunlight all day long. Sangiovese vines, old Tuscan clones of exceptional purity, are rooted in the same sandstone soils that have been producing great wines since 1172 – while Cabernet Sauvignon, with its international nobility, interprets the mountainous personality of this unique terroir in a new way.

The estate's top wine, named after the owner, is the result of many years of work in the vineyard and dates back to the year 2000, when the winery began to replant many of its own plots with Sangiovese. To this day, Sergio Zingarelli pursues the goal of interpreting his existing terroir as authentically as possible. The result is the highest classification Gran Selezione, which is confirmed every year by the consortium and is only awarded to the best wines in the appellation.Rich ruby colour. Concentrated nose of herbs, black cherry, chocolate, earthy notes and oak spice. Juicy and soft fruit on the palate, refined tannins, glides dynamically and spicy into a respectable finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Count Giuseppe Tasca d'Almerita created the first expression of the highest quality and longevity in Sicilian viticulture in 1970 with the Rosso del Conte – a wine that changed the oenological future of the island forever. The grapes come from the Vigna San Lucio, Regaleali's first large vineyard, born in 1959 at an altitude of 480 metres with a south-south-easterly exposure, where Nero d'Avola and Perricone have thrived in harmonious symbiosis for generations. The vines grow in the Alberello system, the oldest form of cultivation in the Mediterranean, on yellow-brown, loamy-sandy soils with calcareous inclusions. A philosophy of perfection that has developed over five decades through various ageing methods: from the original chestnut barrels to Slavonian oak and today's French barriques.

Galatrona is a pure Merlot in a class of its own. Black-red ruby in the glass. On the nose, black berries, fine wood spice and some leather. Very generous fruit aromas and extremely complex on the palate, it glides elegantly into the depths until it is caught by a finely woven tannin and passes into a long and finesse-rich finish. A wine that does not have to hide behind Masseto & Co., on the contrary, for us it has been Italy's Merlot benchmark for years. SUPERIORE.DE

"This is one of the 50 wines that have changed Italian wine culture." Gambero Rosso

Livio Felluga has three wines that bear witness to the estate – wines that are not only among the best in his portfolio, but also part of Friuli’s history: Terre Alte, Picolit and the Sossò. The word comes from the Friulian language and refers to the slow, deliberate sipping – the opposite of drinking. A hint as to how this wine is intended to be enjoyed. Sossò brings together three characters from old vines in Rosazzo: Merlot provides the fullness and the smooth integration. Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso – — named after its red stalk, documented in writing in Friuli as early as 1390, then the favourite drink of Livia, wife of Augustus – brings darkness, tannin and the wild side of this landscape. And Pignolo, the ‘pine cone’ – one of Italy’s rarest grape varieties, saved from extinction in the 1970s, with compact, pine-cone-shaped grapes and a naturally high tannin content – lends a complexity and longevity that no other vine in this region can match. Matured in small French oak barrels. Then bottle ageing in climate-controlled rooms.

1993 – marco Caprai stood in his vineyards and looked back on a quarter of a century that his father Arnaldo had begun in 1971 with a dream: to create a world wine from a forgotten Umbrian vine. Ten years of research lay behind him: collaboration with the University of Milan, clone selection, the risk of vinifying the Sagrantino dry instead of sweet. For the 25th anniversary, he wanted to make a statement: the ultimate Sagrantino, the essence of everything he and his father had learnt. The 25 Anni was born – and the wine world held its breath. What followed is legend. In 2000, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones chose this wine for their wedding. Luigi Veronelli proclaimed Sagrantino as one of Italy's greatest red wines. Montefalco was transformed from a sleepy village into a Mecca for wine tourism. And the 25 Anni remained – year after year, vintage after vintage – the flagship of this Umbrian revolution. It comes from the best vineyards in the Val di Maggio, a meticulous clone selection of pure Sagrantino from vines rooted with six to eight thousand plants per hectare.

The world-famous Caiarossa is an extremely exciting blend of the Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Alicante varieties, with the rich, dark fruit flavours of the Cabernet grapes taking centre stage. On the nose, a beautiful first wave of dark fruits that never appear too ripe, which greatly benefits the elegance of the wine. The palate is very balanced and focussed with blackberries, cassis and slight hints of salty or rusty minerals. Caiarossa displays a good degree of elegance, not least due to its fine and taut tannins, and despite its density and complexity never comes across as opulent or even overloaded. SUPERIORE.DE

Michele Chiarlo's Barbaresco Faset offers a high degree of intensity and balance. Its bouquet shows wild berries and cassis with sophisticated background notes of tar, smoke and dark spices. It is a silky expression of the grape variety with a long and very convincing finish. Be patient and give it another 3-5 years to give it the time it needs to integrate and balance. SUPERIORE.DE

Since the 2016 vintage, Livio Felluga's top wine Sossò has been maturing in the bottle for an extra year before being released for sale. This Riserva is a beautiful, rich and comforting red wine that is dense on the palate, imparting pretty cherry and dark fruit flavours with plenty of spice and tobacco. The extremely articulate flavour shoulders a convincing tannin portion and yet steers into an intensely fruity final with terrificlength. The wine simply glides forward with its unique feel and a dynamism that is slow and long-lasting. SUPERIORE.DE

The wolf's mouth. This is the translation of Bocca di Lupo – a name that captures the wildness of this landscape. Here, in the heart of the Alta Murgia near Minervino Murge, a dream began in 1998: the Antinori family, creators of legendary super Tuscans, recognised the dormant potential of Apulia and invested in a terrain that could not be more barren. Limestone tuff soils, karstic hills, an almost lunar panorama at an altitude of 250-300 metres. But it is precisely this barrenness that is the secret. At the centre of the project: the rediscovery of Aglianico – the noble, once underestimated grape variety that is to find an authentic Apulian voice here. The organically cultivated vines yield slightly overripe grapes that fully develop their phenolic potential. After manual harvesting, the must ferments at 25–27 °C in stainless steel, maceration takes place over 15–18 days with gentle remontages and délestages. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French barriques, where the wine matures for a further 15 months. This is followed by a full 24 months of bottle ageing – this wine is only released onto the market after a total of three years (+).

The world-famous Caiarossa is an extremely exciting blend of the Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese and Grenache varieties, with the rich, dark fruit flavours of the Cabernet grapes taking centre stage. On the nose, a beautiful first wave of dark fruits that never appear too ripe, which greatly benefits the elegance of the wine. The palate is very balanced and focussed with blackberries, cassis and slight hints of salty or rusty minerals. Caiarossa displays a good degree of elegance, not least due to its fine and taut tannins, and despite its density and complexity never comes across as opulent or even overloaded. SUPERIORE.DE

Only 2,000 numbered bottles of the 2018 debut vintage of the "Vigna del Bersagliere" Morellino di Scansano Riserva were filled. The grapes for the new top Sangiovese from Podere 414 come from a small, organically cultivated vineyard of just 1.3 hectares above the winery. It is aged for 36 months in 500 Liters and then refined for 24 months in the bottle. Bright ruby red in colour. Primary aromas of ripe, dark fruit with spicy notes in the glass. Firmly structured on the palate, again dark fruit, plus plums and earthy tones. It is still young and somewhat angular in the glass, but its exceptional style and good acidity/tannin structure already suggest very good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Named after the man who turned his film-loving father's dream into one of the most respected addresses in Tuscany, this wine represents the essence of a twenty-year project: the complete replanting of the Sangiovese vineyards on Le Macìe with the aim of capturing the soul of the terroir in its purest form. Originating from the exquisite "Le Terrazze" vineyard, where Miocene calcareous marl soils at an altitude of 265 to 360 metres create the ideal conditions, a Gran Selezione of exceptional complexity is created here from 100% Sangiovese. The hand-picked grapes undergo ten days of alcoholic fermentation, followed by 15 days of maceration, before the wine is aged for 18 months in French Troncais barriques and a further 20 months in the bottle.

A Sicilian Cabernet Franc that can only be produced by Planeta – inspired by the elegance of great Bordeaux, yet deeply rooted in the terroir of the Menfi Hills. Didacus is a tribute to the family, named after Diego Planeta, the visionary founder of the winery. The grapes come from carefully tended plots on chalky soils, where they develop their aromatic ripeness and structure under the Mediterranean sun and fresh winds from the nearby coast. After fermentation, the wine matured for 21 months in French barriques before being left to rest for two years in the bottle.