Decanter

Wine has been produced here since 1051 – initially by monks, and since 1846 by the Stucchi Prinetti family, now in its seventh generation. Badia a Coltibuono, the "Abbey of the Good Harvest", was the first leading winery in Chianti to switch entirely to organic cultivation. The Riserva is made from massalblend of Sangiovese and historic complementary varieties such as Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo, grown on the highest hills near Gaiole. Spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, three weeks' contact with the skins, followed by 24 months in French and Austrian oak barrels. The 2021 vintage benefited from a cool year with late frosts – lower yields, but concentrated quality.

Furggl is a field name that sticks in the memory. In the municipality of Auer, in the heart of South Tyrol’s Unterland region, this single vineyard is situated on alluvial soils composed of limestone and porphyry gravel, interspersed with sand and loam. A terroir that offers the late-ripening Lagrein exactly what it needs: warmth, depth and the soil moisture that ensures a consistent supply of water even in dry years. The vines, grafted onto low-vigor rootstocks and trained using the Guyot system, yield concentrated harvests of just 45 hectolitres per hectare. Following the hand-harvest in early October, the destemmed grapes first undergo a one-day cold maceration before fermentation takes place at 28–30 °C over ten days. Regular pumping over and gentle submersion keep the must in contact with the skins – , allowing colour pigments and fruit aromas to permeate the heart of the wine. After two careful rackings, the long ageing process begins: 12 months in French barriques, followed by 6 months in stainless steel, then a further 6 months of bottle ageing. Only after a total of 24 months’ ageing does this wine reach the customer – ready to drink, yet with the potential to age for a decade or more.

In 1090, while Leif Erikson was discovering America and the first universities in Europe were being established, two friends of Abbot Rolando paid "two capons, three loaves of bread and six silver denarii from Lucca" for the annual lease of a vineyard in the divine valley of Dievole. Nine hundred (Novecento) years later, in 1990, this wine was created as a reminiscence of the incredible journey through the centuries. The grapes thrive between 300 and 420 metres above sea level on stony soils of marl, limestone and galestro. The vines, which are on average 15 years old and cultivated organically as in the early days of this domain, undergo a 14-day spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts in cement vats before maturing for 18 months in large, unroasted French Allier oak barrels.

It was Luigi Veronelli, the Italian wine revolutionary of the 1960s and 1970s, who convinced Francesco Giuntini that exceptional single-vineyard wines deserve a voice of their own. Of all the old poderi from the mezzadria era, Bucerchiale has always been the finest – a south-west-facing amphitheatre in the cooler heights of Rufina, where Tuscany meets the final foothills of the Apennines. In 1979, Francesco dared to break new ground. Whilst the law still mandated Trebbiano in every Chianti and the wine world prioritised quantity, he produced a defiant challenge made from 100% Sangiovese. A 100% Sangiovese from a single vineyard – a revolutionary act at the time, marking the beginning of the Tuscan Renaissance. In 2022, Vigneto Bucerchiale celebrates its 43rd year and embodies a vision brought to perfection. Spontaneous fermentation in steel tanks at 30–32°C, with 30 days' maceration, allows every nuance of the terroir to unfold before the wine is aged 50% in 25-hl French oak casks and 50% in barriques – only 15% of which are new.

The organically certified Sangiovese grapes for this Chianti Classico are grown in the legendary Conca d'Oro south of Panzano, that amphitheatrical Golden Valley with its unique microclimate of warm days and cool nights. Giovanni Manetti, president of the Consorzio Chianti Classico, vinifies exclusively hand-picked grapes in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts on the chalky Galestro soils of his 170-hectare Tenuta. After three weeks of maceration, the wine matures for 18 months in French oak barrels of various sizes.

High above San Casciano dei Bagni, at an altitude of 650 metres, where Carlo Franchetti once discovered a forgotten Pinot Noir vineyard and began his Sancaba project, Grechetto now also grows – an indigenous Tuscan grape variety that develops a surprising complexity here in the cooler microclimate. Carlo, the cousin of the late Andrea Franchetti, is pursuing his vision with Sancaba Bianco: to create elegant, broodingwhite wines that express the terroir just as precisely as his celebrated Pinot Nero. Grechetto is an underestimated grape variety, but in the perfect terroir, vinified with the right flair, it produces wines of impressive structure and freshness.

The Pecorari family's passion for single-varietal wines is best represented by the Pinot Grigio Gris, which is matured for 11 months on the fine lees with bâtonnage. This Pinot Grigio fermented in oak offers an exciting and complex bouquet of white peach, citrus, flint, crushed oyster shells, white rose petals and notes of acacia honey. The well-proportioned acidity, the fresh flavour and the wonderful depth and tension make it easy to see that the Pinot Grigio at Lis Neris occupies an absolutely special position every year. SUPERIORE.DE"Firm, somewhat nutty, planty to herbaceous and hints of mushroomy aromas of yellow fruit with slightly smoky and vanilla wood notes and nuances reminiscent of mussel shells. Polished, firm fruit with melting and some light wood notes, fine acidity, has a grip of ripe tannin, good substance and persistence, certain depth, salty minerality, tobacco, butter and hints of crab meat in the background, very good, animating finish with bite." Wein-Plus"Bright straw yellow colour. Fine reduction on the nose, subtle flint, precious wood and stone fruit. Full-bodied and radiant on the palate, with great juiciness and salinity, powerful, savoury, lingers for a long time, great Pinot Grigio!" Falstaff"It is fresh and mineral with notes of white peaches, flowers and stones. Crisp and juicy with a medium body and a polished, mineral backbone. Tasty finish." James Suckling"The 2021 Pinot Grigio Gris tantalises the senses with an opulent blend of vanilla pods, sweet spices and whole butter complementing ripe apples and pears. It is pleasantly round and silky in flavour, with a core of juicy acidity that balances it out and ripe fruit that plays around it. The balance on the inside is fantastic. The 2021 rejuvenates with a saline mineral note and sour citrus, leaving a youthful inner tension. The oak will need to be integrated a little over the coming years, but I expect that with a little patience an absolutely stunning interpretation will develop." Vinous

With his Sancaba, Carlo Franchetti has proven that Tuscany has great Pinot Noir terroir – cool, mineral, Burgundian in elegance. But great Pinot Nero requires patience and a high price. With Petit Sancaba, Carlo created the little brother in 2022: an accessible, fairly priced entry into his Pinot world, vinified from the youngest vines of the vineyard planted in 2018 and from the second selection of the older plots. 25 per cent whole-cluster fermentation gives the wine structure and complexity, while ageing partly in concrete and partly in used tonneaux preserves the clarity of the fruit.

From the white earth of Noto, between stone walls, olive trees and orange blossom, rises Doppiozeta, a wine that doesn't illustrate south-eastern Sicily, but condenses it. It is one of the two flagships of the Mazzei family's Zisola project - a deep, finely constructed red that gives Nero d'Avola a voice that is rarely heard: concentrated, serious, supple. The vines grow on calcareous soil on a gentle slope just a few kilometres from the sea. Nero d'Avola is clearly in the foreground here, complemented by Syrah and Cabernet Franc - a precisely placed tension between fruit, flavour and structure. The grapes are harvested by hand with the utmost care, fermented in conical stainless steel tanks, after which the wine matures for around 16 months in French oak, with a small proportion in new wood.

While the Chianti Classico Ruspoli Annata shows the accessible, fresh side of Lilliano, the Riserva reveals the depth and maturity that lie dormant in the estate's best parcels. Selected only in outstanding years and from the Tenuta's best vineyards, it represents the potential of the Sangiovese grape on the chalky Alberese soils of Castellina in Chianti. The 2020 vintage is considered exceptional in Tuscany: balanced temperatures, moderate rainfall and a long, warm autumn allowed the grapes to ripen perfectly. The cuvée of 95 per cent Sangiovese and five per cent Merlot is fermented in small stainless steel and cement tanks after selective hand-picking before the wine matures for 14 to 15 months in large French oak barrels – a conscious decision in favour of traditional ageing, which gives the Sangiovese structure without dominating it. A further six months of bottle ageing round off the development.

A vineyard like a time capsule: Replanted around 1900 after the phylloxera epidemic, the oldest vines have been growing here for 120 years on calcareous sandy loam soils between 290 and 320 metres above sea level. With MAX XIX, Alois Lageder is preserving one of these rare South Tyrolean treasures – an authentic "mixed set" of different Vernatsch varieties such as Tschaggelevernatsch, Edelvernatsch and Grauvernatsch, complemented by Lagrein, Teroldego and other indigenous varieties. The special thing about this heterogeneity: at harvest time, some grapes are perfectly ripe, others are already overripe and others are still unripe – a natural interplay between sugar and acidity that gives each vintage its own tension.

Syrah in Sicily - this is no longer a surprise. But Achilles, Zisola's top single-varietal wine, gives the grape variety on the chalky hills near Noto a new expressiveness: powerful, deep and at the same time controlled, with that polished precision that does not seek to imitate, but to shape independently. The grapes come from small plots with a high proportion of limestone in the soil, close to the coast. The warm climate is tempered by constant air circulation - ideal conditions for even ripening. After selective manual harvesting, spontaneous fermentation takes place in conical tanks, followed by ageing for around 16 months in French barriques.

Until 2012, this wine bore the name of the estate itself – passopisciaro. However, when Andrea Franchetti began to vinify his best individual vineyards separately in 2008, he renamed the basic Etna Rosso: Passorosso. A blend from different altitudes and contrade – from Malpasso to Guardiola and Santo Spirito –which shows the full range of what Nerello Mascalese can achieve on Mount Etna. The higher vineyards lie on coarse-grained lava gravel, the lower ones on finer, oxidised lava powder: each layer contributes to the complexity of this wine. 80 to 110-year-old vines, fermented in steel tanks, matured for 18 months in large neutral wooden barrels and concrete tanks, bottled unfiltered.

It was no coincidence, but opportunity, that Roberto Voerzio embarked on a new adventure in Monferrato a few years ago. As the latest addition to his exquisite collection, he put himself to the test as a passionate Barbera lover by acquiring some plots of land near Canelli and Nizza Monferrato. These are vineyards that are around 35 years old with clay and limestone soil, which gives the wine complexity and minerality. The old planting was then greatly reduced according to his modus operandi: to 3,500 to 8,000 vines per hectare with a production of less than 1 kg (!) per plant. Fermentation and maceration take place in steel tanks using indigenous yeasts, malolactic fermentation and ageing take place in barriques (70% used) for 12 months and then in steel tanks for a few months before bottling without filtration.

Pinot Grigio Unterebner is an exceptional wine: golden yellow in colour, with elegant aromas of blossom honey, lavender and tropical fruits. Delicate, buttery notes; very well-balanced and charismatic, with a long and full-bodied finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Leonia is named after a woman who was a century ahead of her time in Tuscany: Leonia, Lamberto Frescobaldi's great-great-grandmother, planted French grape varieties in Pomino in the 19th century and pressed them in Italy's first gravity-fed cellar – a pioneering feat that was honoured with a gold medal in Paris in 1878. Today, her name stands for the estate's first Metodo Classico, made from Chardonnay and Pinot Nero. The grapes come from the high-altitude vineyards of Pomino, reaching up to around 700 metres above sea level. Harvested by hand, gently pressed and cold-settled for twelve hours, the must ferments in stainless steel tanks, with part of it in wood, before the classic bottle fermentation – involving a long period of ageing on the lees, riddling and disgorging – completes the wine.

The organically grown Etna Rosso Reseca is made from 100% Nerello Mascalese from a 1.5 hectare vineyard located at 800 metres above sea level on the blackened cone of the volcano. The wine offers both power and grace, the two contrasting qualities that characterise the great wines of Etna.

There are grape varieties that have to wait decades for a visionary to recognise their true potential. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo was one such forgotten variety until Gianni Masciarelli started a revolution in 1981 that changed the face of Abruzzo viticulture forever. He was the first producer in the region to introduce the Guyot training system and French barriques, driven by a philosophy he called "innovazione continua" – continuous innovation in the service of tradition. Today, the vineyards surrounding the historic Castello di Semivicoli combine the fruits of this vision with the poetry of a place that has itself experienced a rebirth. Here, between Gran Sasso and Majella at an altitude of 380 metres, two very special Trebbiano vineyards take root: one with vines over forty years old that still embody the original vigour of the variety, and a younger one that Gianni planted at the end of the 1990s using the modern Guyot system – a symbiosis of grown wisdom and innovative spirit.

In 1898, Christian Schrott, parish priest of Termeno and a member of the Austrian Parliament, founded a cooperative intended to bring together the winegrowers of his village. What began back then as a community based on farmers’ solidarity is now one of South Tyrol’s most renowned wine-growers’ cooperatives: 160 member families, 250 hectares of vineyards, and a commitment to quality that is unrivalled in the region. The name ‘Stoan’ is the brainchild of cellar master Willi Stürz – and is self-explanatory: ‘Stoan’ is the dialect word for ‘stone’, and the stony, limestone-rich subsoil at altitudes of up to 600 metres is what gives this wine its identity.

1976 was Paolo De Marchis's first year at Isole e Olena. He was 25; at that time, Chianti Classico was a wine that hardly anyone thought had a future, and the two medieval hamlets – Isole and Olena – were what his father Francesco had bought in 1956: two dilapidated farmsteads in the hills west of Castellina. Paolo stayed. For almost fifty years. What he made of this estate changed the history of Chianti Classico. He was one of the first to vinify Sangiovese separately, one of the first to bring the hillside terraces back into cultivation, and one of the first to take Sangiovese seriously as a single-varietal wine. His Cepparello – first bottled in 1980 – became one of Italy's benchmark wines. Emanuele Reolon, the new technical director at Isole e Olena, sums it up as follows: "Paolo brought the Piedmontese style to Tuscany. He treated Sangiovese like Nebbiolo." At the time, that was revolutionary. Today, it is dogma.