cult wines

Andrea Franchetti began positioning Palazzi as an equal red alongside his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro in the 1990s, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines that evoke the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

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

Some wines have to fight for their recognition over years, while others are in the limelight from birth. For a long time, Barolo Le Vigne was the "second" Barolo in the Sandrone family, standing in the shadow of the iconic Cannubi Boschi – until connoisseurs and critics gradually realised that there was no hierarchy here, but rather equality. Today, after more than three decades since the first vintage in 1990, Le Vigne is no longer a complement to Aleste, but its congenial partner – a wine that perfects the ancient Piedmontese art of blending several vineyard sites and increasingly holds a candle to Aleste.

Barolo Brunate is a powerful and vertical wine, endowed with enormous explosive energy and intensity. Crushed flowers, mint, spices and dried flowers open up in the glass, but it is the energy of the wine that really lifts it into the stratosphere. In the glass, the 2019 is dark, almost sombre, and full of the sepia-coloured nuances that are so typical of this great Barolo vineyard. 2019 is an outstanding vintage for Brunate and the first with organic certification. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Cerequio comes from vines over 35 years old and is characterised by exuberant aromas and bright, red-coloured fruit. The bouquet is enormously opulent with ripe fruit flavours ranging from wild cherry to redcurrant. There are also original notes of jam, plum and a hint of ragout. The palate is nuanced and very deep, with enormous complexity, volume and plenty of character. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Percristina is a wine that shines like a legacy in the history of Domenico Clerico. Grown in the renowned Mosconi cru vineyard in Monforte d'Alba between 390 and 410 metres above sea level, the Nebbiolo vines here are rooted in a soil consisting of calcareous marl with fossil deposits, silt, clay and a hint of sand. The location gives the wine a vein that is both powerful and precise – a terroir that promotes depth and longevity. Named after Clerico's daughter Cristina, Percristina is not just a wine, but a very personal dedication and the flagship of the house. It is only vinified in the best years.

Those with less patience can open now. Those with foresight should wait. The PS Riserva 2019 is at one of those points where a great Brunello shows what it has in store for the first time – and at the same time makes it clear that not everything has worked out yet. 2019 is considered one of the most substantial vintages in recent Montalcino history: complex, structured, with a concentration resulting from excellent seasonal conditions and perfect tannin maturity. For the one and a half hectares of the oldest parcels in Pelagrilli – whose vines are now over fifty years old – this meant a harvest of rare intensity. Giancarlo's uncompromising selection, optical sorter, double hand-picking, fermentation in steel, 24 months in small French oak barrels: everything serves a single purpose.

Andrea Franchetti began in the 1990s to position Palazzi as an equal red alongside his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines reminiscent of the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

The Biserno project began in 2001 with a hunch: Piero and Lodovico Antinori, their nephew Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi and Umberto Mannoni recognised the potential of the hills north of Bolgheri. For over twenty years, they worked meticulously on a plot-by-plot basis, defining three distinct estates – biserno, Campo di Sasso and Collemezzano – and gained an ever-deeper understanding of the region. Today, Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi runs the estate on his own. Colle Mezzano is his most personal wine.

Verduno is a different side of Barolo. The northernmost municipality of the appellation lies on the Tanaro, in the immediate neighbourhood of the hills of Barbaresco – and the Monvigliero, the village's crowning amphitheatre, creates a mystery out of pleasure: Marne di Sant'Agata soils, 55% clay, 30% sand, 15% limestone, the slopes open to the south and south-west, 240 metres. A terroir with elements of Tortonian and Serravalian, which is geologically unique and produces Nebbiolo – and produces Nebbiolo that is more perfume than structure, more elegance than mass. Vietti adopts whole-cluster fermentation for this – a rare decision for Barolo, which gives Monvigliero the airy, herb-scented profile for which the vineyard is famous. The 44-year-old vines – dense, low-yielding, deeply rooted – were harvested at the end of September. Then three to four days of cold maceration, 20 days of maceration, malolactic fermentation in used barriques, 24 months in large wooden barrels.

Alfredo Currado made history in 1961. Together with Prunotto's Bussia, Vietti released the first single-vineyard Barolo of the modern era – rocche di Castiglione. Since then, this vineyard has been inextricably linked with the name Vietti. Rocche is located in Castiglione Falletto directly opposite the winery, on the most exposed ridge in the municipality: soils from both geological eras – tortonian and Serravalian – in rare stratification on top of each other, exposed to the south to south-west, 250 to 320 metres. A transitional location between the elegance of the western communes and the vigour of the Serralunga style. The result is a Barolo with an aristocratic bearing – superbly structured without ever boasting about it. Maceration for 20 days, malolactic fermentation in used barriques, 24 months in large wooden barrels. In 2022, Vietti harvested earlier than usual – the Rocche holds heat differently than the lower-lying vineyards and required different decisions.

Siepi has always been more than just a vineyard – it was a vision waiting to become reality. Owned by the Mazzei family since 1435, this mystical place lies amidst dense oak forests near Castellina in Chianti: ten hectares of pure magic on Alberese soils, which even the ancient Romans knew how to appreciate. Paradoxically, the story of Siepi 2023 begins with one of the most challenging vintages of recent times. A mild winter with scant rainfall, followed by a rainy spring that pushed the Mazzei winemakers to their limits. And yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, a wine emerged that impressively embodies the estate's philosophy: "Great vineyards shine in difficult vintages."

Around 60% of the grapes for the Monvigliero are not destemmed, which enhances the aromatic nuances of the wine. The utterly enchanting 2021 Monvigliero is delicate and supple with aromas of cherries, boysenberries, violets and spices, with an excellent balance and a lingering aftertaste that reflects the main flavour themes. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that have invented a category. Madonna del Piano was one of the very first single-vineyard Brunelli ever produced – long before the appellation had a formal language for the concept of cru, long before other houses started bottling their best parcels separately. Vincenzo Abbruzzese's grandfather had bought the estate in 1953; Vincenzo himself turned a small vineyard parcel in Montosoli into what James Suckling described as "one of the great wines of Tuscany, if not Italy". The Madonna del Piano parcel is located in the heart of the Valdicava vineyards, at 350 metres in the northern Montosoli zone, on soil rich in galestro and limestone, which gives the Sangiovese Grosso a mineral austerity and floral depth that is not found in warmer locations in Montalcino. Organic cultivation without chemical intervention for generations. Yield reduced to the absolute minimum. Every berry counts.

The second novelty of the 2018 vintage is Vietti's Barolo Monvigliero. The special feature: Approx. 60% of the grapes are not destemmed, which enhances the aromatic nuances of the wine. Youthful notes of raspberry and blueberry are flanked by black pepper, gentian, porcelain and black olives. The palate has a beguilingly soft texture, fine and creamy, underpinned by wonderful laurel and floral aromas. Monvigliero impresses with its purity, its serenity and its class. Excellent. SUPERIORE.DE

Since its debut in 1988, Il Blu has been the result of constant striving for perfection. With ultra-fine tannins and a smooth and full finish, this full-bodied wine captivates with its complexity and elegance. Il Blu is made from only the best hand-picked and selected grapes from the two vineyards in the Chianti region. Although Sangiovese plays a leading role in the blend, its influence and signature contribute significantly to the overall identity of this special wine.

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

1983 was the first year. Luca Martini di Cigala, who was in the process of taking over an estate that was still selling its wine in bulk to Antinori and Ruffino, decided to do the opposite of what many of his contemporaries were doing: no international grape varieties, no modernisation of the label, no barriques full of vanilla. A single wine, from a single vineyard, from a single grape variety. Sangiovese. San Giusto a Rentennano. – Percarlo made its debut with the 1983 vintage – and immediately began to rewrite the history of Chianti Classico. The wine's philosophy is that of its maker: the vineyard comes before the cellar. The grapes for Percarlo are not selected by plot; instead, every bunch of grapes is inspected, every vine, every plot. The yield is one kilogram per vine. This has been the approach since 2001, because Martini di Cigala realised just how inconsistent Sangiovese can be from vine to vine, even within the same plot. The soils that give Percarlo its character date predominantly from the Pliocene – layers of sand and stones, two to five metres deep, resting on a bed of clay. Mineral-rich, well-drained, with the ability to influence the Sangiovese over the years.

It was 1988 when Bruno and Brigitte Widmer ventured a bold dream that would change the Tuscan wine world forever. Their Il Blu – named after the timeless blue label with orange capsule – became the icon of an entire generation of Supertuscans, a manifesto of modernity in the midst of centuries-old traditions. Today, after more than three decades of perfection, the organically certified Il Blu 2022 epitomises Barbara Widmer's visionary continuity. What once began as a Sangiovese-dominated cuvée has developed into an 80% Merlot blend with 10% each of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon thanks to the ever-growing complexity of the Merlot vines from Radda, now over thirty years old. Only the finest, hand-picked grapes for this exceptional wine come from the two Chianti estates in Castellina and Radda. The clay and galestro soils at an altitude of 230 to 400 metres, characterised by a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters, give the grapes their characteristic intensity. The vinification follows a ritual of precision: each parcel, each grape variety matures individually for 18 months in French barriques – two thirds new, one third used barrels. Only then is the final blend made, followed by three months of refinement in uncoated concrete tanks and at least one year of ageing in the bottle.

Vietti's Brunate parcels are located on the La Morra side of the cru site. It was fermented in stainless steel and then transferred directly to large oak barrels for ageing. Barolo Brunate is a powerful and vertical wine, endowed with enormous explosive energy and intensity. It offers engaging and penetrating aromas of cedar wood, red cherry, blood orange, sage flowers and rose. On the palate, its austere personality is evident and any connoisseur will realise that it needs a few more years in the bottle to develop. Dense and multi-layered, with great depth, chewy tannins and lingering red berries, this is already a fantastically complete wine. SUPERIORE.DE

This wine monument from three of the best wineries in the region (Caiarossa, Duemani and Tenuta Prima Pietra) is a tribute to the Tuscan coastal town of Riparbella. Caiarossa contributed the Cabernet Sauvignon, Duemani the Cabernet Franc and Prima Pietra the Merlot. Intense and inky in the glass, initially restrained nose. Lots of meatiness and juiciness on the palate and a ripe, very complex flavour that is softened by the spicy French oak. Round and very polished tannins lead into a flavourful finish. Celebrate this wine (only 3,000 bottles are produced each year) and the province of Pisa with a wild boar in red wine sauce, typical of the region! SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Testamatta are selected and sourced from the winery's 6 best vineyards: Vincigliata, Londa, Lamole, Montefili and Siena. Each vineyard, which is divided into plots, is harvested up to 8 times to ensure that all the grapes are picked at the perfect point of ripeness. These five vineyards (up to 80 years old) are located in different areas of Tuscany: Lamole and Montefili in the heart of Chianti Classico at 600 and 400 metres above sea level, Vincigliata near Florence at 280 metres above sea level, Londa north of Florence towards the Rufina Valley and Siena, in the south of Tuscany, at 250 metres above sea level.

The vines for Sant'Andrea are rooted at an altitude of around 900 metres in the Contrada of the same name north-east of Solicchiata – one of the highest and coolest wine villages on Etna. It is a place with dramatic vegetation, fog banks, ancient lava layers and unpredictable temperature changes. Here, Carricante develops a completely independent, almost ascetic character. The grapes come from a tiny parcel of old vines, which Pietradolce cultivates with painstaking manual labour. The wine is matured with calm consistency: spontaneous fermentation in large oak barrels, followed by maturation on the fine lees for 12 months in tonneau, then bottle ageing.