Bibenda

Two hands, one dream: When Elena Celli and Luca D'Attoma discovered the wild hills of Riparbella in 2000 – unploughed, stony and overgrown with macchia – they recognised the potential of this rugged terroir, situated at an altitude of between 250 and 300 metres. Here, where the salty breeze from the Tyrrhenian Sea meets Mediterranean wilderness, one of Italy's most extraordinary Cabernet Francs has been produced for over two decades. Luca D'Attoma, legendary Oenologist and creator of iconic wines such as Le Macchioles Messorio, is committed to radical purity: biodynamic cultivation in accordance with Demeter guidelines, spontaneous fermentation in conical oak barrels, and 20 months' ageing in barriques comprising 80% new oak.

In 1958, Bertani produced his first Amarone. The category was virtually non-existent, and "Amarone" is a new term for an age-old practice, yet most producers were still unsure whether this dry Appassimento wine had a future. Bertani, however, had no doubts at the time. Since then, the estate has been one of the leading voices behind a wine that is now considered one of the world's longest-lived reds. The key is patience. Corvina and Rondinella from the Tenuta Novare in Arbizzano di Negrar – vineyards dedicated exclusively to Amarone grapes – hand-harvested from the second week of September.

While the Barbaresco Costa Russi expresses itself more discreetly with purity and grace, the Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo struts in the front row. It has a firmer texture and is not as timid or restrained as the Costa Russi. The Sorì San Lorenzo site is closest to the warm air currents that flow down the Tanaro river valley, and this vineyard site is always the first to ripen and be harvested. A stronger mineral note can be found here, with iron rust, pencil shavings and potting soil mingling with the primary fruit, revealing an astonishing complexity and depth. SUPERIORE.DE

Cerretalto 2018 is an expressive, exuberant and impressive wine that opens with a dark ruby red colour and a rich texture. The bouquet is endlessly intense, closely followed by finely tuned aromas of black cherries, spices, grilled herbs, cloves, tobacco, damp earth and white truffle. Over time, elegant mineral tones unfold, and later these flavours transition into cola, liquorice and tar. The mouthfeel is silky and supple, and there is enough power to move the wine seamlessly across the palate. Cerretalto continues to develop endlessly over 24 hours in the glass. Clear case: this is a bottle for the back of your cellar. SUPERIORE.DE

This dazzling wine is something for Sangiovese purists and lovers of extreme finesse. It literally vibrates with electric energy and charm. Opening with enticing aromas of roses, violets, berries, ploughed earth and new leather, it is youthfully intense but already a classic at this stage. With its velvety texture, it envelops everything it touches with masses of dark red fruit, liquid violet blossom, notes of lavender and sage, plus a subtle savoury note. Taut, refined tannins and bright acidity ensure a perfect balance and a promising, long ageing potential! SUPERIORE.DE

Beguiling aroma of sweet, dark berries with a hint of cassis, cedar wood and antique leather. Very balanced on the palate, beautifully viscous with an elegant melt. Fine-meshed tannins, restrained mineral tones and wonderfully polished fruit accompany a remarkable finish. For all its elegance, it shows pressure and power and, with the right dose of acidity, promises a long life and almost reaches the level of its famous big brother. 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

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

Three years after the Annata, Romano and his sons launch a small edition of the same vintage in large formats. Dark and dense, it reveals an intense bouquet with marmalade-like aromas of red and dark fruits, alongside which spices and wood, tobacco and chocolate echo. At the same time, the youthful, stormy taste is an overwhelming demonstration of power. SUPERIORE.DE

Guado al Tasso presents itself with a warm-toned bouquet and an abundance of fruit that is just as convincing as its harmonious structure. Deep, dark, rich ruby-purple colour. Very clear and intense nose, with aromas of blackberries, cassis and dark cherries, underpinned by fine, spicy notes with hints of white pepper and leather. Very juicy on the attack and on the palate, with plenty of sweet flavour, elegant tannins and a very long finish. A finesse-rich red that offers maximum drinking pleasure and great ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

There are a handful of wines in Italy that make us nervous every year before the first tasting because the expectations are huge. Cerretalto is undoubtedly one of them. What's more, as in this case from an exceptional year like 2019, it didn't disappoint our expectations - how could it have been otherwise?

Tenuta Tignanello is situated in the heart of Chianti Classico, on the rolling hills between the valleys of the rivers Greve and Pesa, and covers 319 hectares of land, of which around 130 are planted with vines. The estate's vineyards include two jewels: Tignanello and Solaia, which lie on the same hill, on marl soils of marine origin from the Pliocene period, rich in limestone and slate, and which benefit from warm days and cool nights during the growing season. These vineyards produce two wines which, many years ago, were set to become the starting point for the renaissance of Italian wine. Nothing has changed in that regard to this day.

In the early 1980s, André Tchelistcheff, the legendary Russian-American Oenologist, stood on a hill near Bolgheri and saw what others overlooked: blue clay. Argille blu – pressed to the surface millions of years ago by tectonic faults, so compact that the Tuscans call it masso, rock. Tchelistcheff recognised the potential for something unheard of in this soil: a Merlot that could rival Pétrus. In the middle of Italy, in the land of Sangiovese. People thought he was crazy. History proved him right. Today, Masseto has long been more than just a wine – it is a monument. Twelve perfect 100-point ratings since its debut in 1986, a name that is mentioned in the same breath as the greatest wines in the world. And a vineyard that is reluctant to reveal its secrets: seven hectares, divided into three parcels with completely different characters. Masseto Alto delivers structure and ripe fruit, Masseto Centrale – with the highest clay content, the "Grand Cru" of the vineyard – gives opulence and monumental tannins, while Masseto Junior with its younger vines contributes freshness and vibrancy. The mosaic only comes together to form the whole.

So much verve and purity, integration and harmony can be found in the Masseto 2021. Black raspberry, mulberry, a hint of toasted brioche. A beautiful natural sweetness, plus a delicacy and subtlety that is simply beautiful and tantalising. Black biros ink and more and more cedar wood with gentle aeration. Creamy. Essences of petals - with a little more lilac, lily and hyacinth than rose. Then graphite again. A wonderful texture on the finish, as soft and caressing as a million layers (milles feuilles plus!) of silk, but actually with a deeper and richer texture - so more cashmere perhaps than silk. Lively, flowing, dynamic and incredibly juicy. Radiant in its incredible dynamism and energy. Very special and above all endless on the finish. Wow! SUPERIORE.DE

The 50th harvest year of Sassicaia. It snowed in Bolgheri in February 2018. The last time this happened was in 1985 – the year that is considered the greatest Sassicaia in history. The Siberian "Burian" winter storm brought temperatures below zero for days, killed the pests on the vines and replenished the soil water reserves. A promising start. What followed was a cool, slow wine year: moderate spring, temperate summer, refreshing nights well into September. Tenuta San Guido began the harvest seven to eight days later than usual – and selected more rigorously than in most years: The vineyards in the lowlands were not included. The higher vineyards, Castiglioncello and Quercione, characterised the character.

An impressive and unforgettable Merlot from the sun-drenched vineyards of the Bolgheri zone near the Mediterranean Sea. It has received lavish praise in the trade press from all over the world. The bouquet combines dark, very ripe fruit and tobacco. Velvety tannins, an ingratiatingly alcoholic character and tremendous persistence are part of its soft taste. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Lazzarito 2019, which obtains its fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, is built like a pyramid. It stands on a thick base of robust fruit and power and rises in intensity thanks to its wonderfully elevated bouquet. It shows direct and solid lines with blackberries, plums, spices, tar, liquorice, candied orange peel and truffle-infused earth. A second wave of flavours offers dark minerals, iron ore and rust. Baroli from Serralunga d'Alba are often in a category of their own thanks to their richness and sheer abundance of fruit. With additional aeration, the Lazzarito, certified organic for the first time in this vintage, delivers mint and fine balsamic herbs and will fully inspire with further maturation in the bottle. SUPERIORE.DE

Masseto 2020 combines all the special features of the vintage. Its colour and aromas show optimal concentration both visually and olfactorily and are characterised by a constant liveliness in the glass that does not diminish over time. On the palate, the power of this wine is expressed with a beautiful length and balsamic notes. Its solid tannin structure reveals the ageing potential typical of Masseto. SUPERIORE.DE

"Sassicaia really was our house wine back then," says Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta, daughter of the president of San Guido, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta. "It was more of a wine experiment that was only tested within the family and among friends, until we went on the market for the first time with the 1968 vintage. Today, this wine is all about elegance and balance. We like this style, which is not so much about the body. Sassicaia is a good representative of what we want to convey as a style."

Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta is said to have once said that Sassicaia is always great in years with an eight at the end: 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998 and 2008. The sentence sounds like a legend – but it holds water. 2008 was a year of transition: spring began cool, the vegetation was delayed by ten days, the summer gradually warmed up and led to a concentrated, structurally rich harvest. It was also the first year in which the new oenological team worked together with the legendary Giacomo Tachis – a baton that was passed in slow motion.

There are vintages that are underestimated on release and only assert their true status over the years. The 2009 Sassicaia is one of them. When it came onto the market, critics debated 2008 and 2010, but anyone who listened carefully realised that the 2009 climate year in Bolgheri was simply perfect. A long, cold winter secured the water reserves. The spring began cautiously, the summer gifted the vineyards with warmth and pronounced day-night temperature contrasts – conditions that lead Cabernet Sauvignon to extraordinary phenolic ripeness on the gravel soils of Bolgheri. The harvest began at the beginning of September and was flawless.

When the world-famous Oenologist Carlo Ferrini makes his own wine, you can't help but be excited. Here, he has succeeded in creating an interpretation of Sangiovese that brings all his experience from decades of working with this grape variety to the fore as if through a burning glass. The moderate use of wood through ageing in 700-litre tonneaux expresses the clarity and personality of the grape and the unique terroir (there are just 1.5 hectares of the best Brunello sites) in an archetypal way.

Gambero Rosso named the Giodo Brunello 2020 "The best red wine in Italy in 2026", and the reasoning reads like a silent tribute: "The sum of his experience with Sangiovese, his first love." His daughter Bianca Ferrini added what is behind the wine: "It is the first vintage in the new cellar, the first chapter together with my father."