Doctor Wine

From the oldest Merlot parcel in the Le Sondraie vineyards comes Bell'Aja's flagship wine – a wine that impressively demonstrates the ambition of the San Felice project in Bolgheri. Since 2016, this Tenuta has completed the Tuscan wine interpretation of the historic group: from the hills of Chianti Classico to the prestigious vineyards of Montalcino to this radiant jewel on the Etruscan Coast. Bell'Aja Superiore embodies the pure essence of a unique terroir: 95% Merlot from the Tenuta's most venerable vines is combined with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon to create a wine of impressive power and opulence. The sandy-loamy soils of the Le Sondraie zone, just five kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea, give this Bordeaux-inspired blend the maritime minerality that makes Bolgheri one of the most fascinating terroirs in the wine world.

Poggio Valente comes from a single vineyard of the same name at an altitude of around 300 metres. Opulent floral and small-fruited Sangiovese nose with optimally nuanced hints of tobacco, cedar and mint. Precise on the palate with plenty of pressure and power, then towards the end the furious resolution of all the well-dosed components in a fine, silky texture and an unforgettable, long final. SUPERIORE.DE

Deep, dark Riserva with a powerful berry bouquet and intense spicy notes and hints of damp forest floor. Taut on the palate, crisp fruit, solid tannins, good length. Lots of energy, nice spice and great potential! SUPERIORE.DE

Elegant, delicate Chianti Classico and one of the best of its appellation every year: light red colour, aromas of strawberry and elderberry, fresh fruit on the palate, beautifully juicy and balanced, enormously supple in the finish. Possesses polish, elegance and, despite its visually high price, a very good value. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes come from family-owned plots in Serralunga d'Alba, La Morra, Grinzane Cavour, Monforte and Mosconi. Each vineyard is harvested separately by hand and fermented in stainless steel; long maceration times with gentle remontages ensure a fine, complete extraction. For ageing, the winery predominantly uses large Slavonian oak barrels (botti), supplemented by a smaller proportion of French oak, which adds lustre to the texture without masking the origin. Thanks to a stable summer and cool nights in autumn, 2020 produced ripe, healthy harvestwith a clear acidity line and precise aromas.

The Vigna del Sorbo vineyard is located directly in front of the winery. The south-west facing vineyard with Galestro soils covers 8 hectares at an altitude of 450 metres. The Riserva was first produced in 1985 and has been labelled Gran Selezione since the 2010 vintage.

Here comes the most opulent and friendly Barbaresco of Sottimano's overall highly impressive line-up of single vineyards. Bright garnet red with a copper rim. Lavish scent of black fruits, orange peel, rounded off with a fine nutty note. Fine-grained tannin even at a young age coats the firm structure and reinforces the easily recognisable highly individual character. SUPERIORE.DE

Contrada Arrigo is located on the northern slope of Mount Etna at 610 metres above sea level, facing north-east with a view of the sea. Wine has been grown on this ancient soil since time immemorial. It is rich in organic substances and consists mainly of volcanic sand and lava stones from a volcanic eruption in 1180. Significant temperature fluctuations during the day and night lead to a slow ripening process that preserves freshness and minerality.

Here comes the third vintage of Zerbina's single-vineyard Sangiovese, with which the winery once again proves in a very small edition (< 1,000 bottles) once again proves what great Sangiovese Romagna can produce. Dark fruity, full nose with a cornucopia of dark berries and hints of forest floor, tar and white ash. Firm on the palate, enormously complex, the concentrated fruit gradually opens up with further air and a Sangiovese work of art is revealed that could not be more typical, pure and at the same time more complex. A great compliment! SUPERIORE.DE

It goes without saying, but this is "only" the Altare family's entry-level Barolo from four different vineyards, enhanced this year by the best grapes from Cerretta Vigna Bricco, which was not produced in 2020. Racy and supple, with terrificpurity and fine balance, the 2020 is downright galactic. Red berries, flowers, mint, liquorice and rose petals on the nose. A highly linear personality on the palate with flavours of sour cherry, aniseed, crushed rock and blue flowers. A captivating Barolo as it is written in the book and for us one of the greatest of the vintage! SUPERIORE.DE

Montegrossi's delicious Vin Santo del Chianti Classico matures for seven years in traditional Caratelli barrels made from oak, cherry and mulberry wood. It shows a marvellous concentration with thick glycerine that slowly runs down the rim of the glass with thick streaks of amber colour. The flavours are of astonishing intensity with explosive notes of candied fruit, brown sugar, maple syrup, caramel, toffee, butterscotch and dried apricots. With its pleasant and very balanced sweetness, it is a wonderful accompaniment to desserts, foie gras or soft cheeses. SUPERIORE.DE

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

The 2022 marks a significant transition: it is the last vintage that Paolo de Marchi characterised before Emanuele Reolon took over as technical director. But the signature remains unmistakable. Since the 1980s, de Marchi was one of the first in Chianti Classico to plant high-density vineyards with low-yielding Sangiovese clones on poor Galestro soils at an altitude of 400 metres – a revolution in quality. The cuvée of 90% Sangiovese, supplemented by 10% Canaiolo, ferments for twelve days in stainless steel using the characteristic délestage method, which de Marchi has been refining since 1996. Seven months of ageing in barriques of different sizes give the wine complexity without dominance.

A mistake made history. Generations of wine lovers translated "Negroamaro" as "black and bitter" – but the name tells a different story: Greek "mavros" and Latin "niger" both mean "black". Black like the berries, black like the night over the Ionian Sea, which has washed this grape variety onto Puglia's coasts since the 8th century BC. So it is no wonder that Gianfranco Fino calls his Negroamaro Jo – after the sea that washes Manduria and whose salty breeze caresses his vineyards. While the Primitivo is Fino's "loud" masterpiece, the Jo whispers. But if you listen carefully, you can hear the whole soul of Salento. The vines, forty years old, grown in classic Alberello bush training, are rooted just a few kilometres from the Ionian Sea in chalky, loamy soil. Each vine bears barely 800 grams of grapes, concentrated essence instead of southern abundance. harvest begins by hand in mid-September, when the berries are already slightly dry. Two to three weeks of maceration, then nine months of ageing in French barriques, half new and half used. No filtration, no fining – fino leaves the wine its integrity.

Deep, dark yellow colour. Rich, almost opulent impressions of candied apricots, orange zest and traces of fine yellow flowers on the nose. Fabulously viscous texture on the palate, multi-layered, very concentrated flavour of candied fruit with a wonderfully polished sweetness. One of Italy's greatest Vin Santo with a long, persistent finish and made to last. 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

Anyone looking for the truth in Sangiovese will find it here: Laura Brunelli's Montalcino has been a stunning wine full of vitality, life and energy for years. It displays an almost outrageous degree of clarity and openness. It unfolds brightly and radiantly with lasting purity, elegance and length. This Brunello shows extreme precision and focus, both on the nose and in the mouthfeel. Wild berries, blue flowers and liquorice come together in perfection, and it is impossible to surpass this quality at this price. SUPERIORE.DE

When Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti bought a farmstead in the village of Notri, south of the medieval town of Suvereto in the Colline Metallifere, in 1984, they had no wine plan. They wanted nature, peace and quiet, a piece of land. The passion for wine changed that – slowly, inevitably, as it always does. The first vintage of Giusto di Notri was produced in 1992, named after San Giusto, the patron saint of Suvereto, and after the location of the estate itself. Eight years later, her Redigaffi was the first Italian wine ever to receive 100 points from Robert Parker. Tua Rita had redrawn the wine map of the Maremma.

The Sottimano winery has five vineyard sites, with the Pajorè site near Treiso having the poorest soils of all. These wines are therefore more elegant and ripe. The current 2018 vintage is a super-classic, explosive wine, with tremendous depth and character. Although it has a lot of breadth and texture, it remains light on its feet. Lavender, mint, liquorice and purple berry fruit are beguiling and wonderfully vibrant in the glass. Pajorè is a spicy, elegant and sweet Nebbiolo that is fine yet covers the mouth well - and we are always impressed by its lovely salty mouthfeel. SUPERIORE.DE

A Negroamaro with a grand gesture and deep expression: Gianfranco Fino's Jo comes from over 50-year-old Alberello vines, rooted in calcareous and clayey soils not far from the Ionian coast. The 2022 vintage was characterised by heat and drought, but the deep roots of the old vines ensured balance and ripeness. The meticulously selected grapes are fermented spontaneously and matured in French barriques – with the aim of achieving maximum origin and texture.

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.

Neromàccarj is the broodingwine from Gulfi's high-quality Nero d'Avola range. The vines are rooted in the single vineyard Màccari, a barren hilly landscape near Pachino, where calcareous clay, volcanic rock and sea breezes create a powerful, yet always balanced microclimate. The vines are ungrafted, some are over 50 years old and yields are low. The harvest by hand and the wine is matured in the traditional way: a long maceration period followed by two years of ageing in used barriques and large wooden barrels. All this with organic care – and a firm determination to bring the best of the variety into the glass.

Serralunga d'Alba is not a place for compromises. The soil here – calcareous marl soils, millions of years old, compacted and rich in minerals – forms Barolos with a structure and depth that simply cannot be found elsewhere. The MGA Cerretta is located on the south-eastern slope of the municipal area, at an altitude of 350 to 365 metres, in the zone that winegrowers and critics have appreciated for generations for its extraordinary combination of power and finesse. The Rosso family has been cultivating these vineyards since the 1890s – first Giovanni, then his son Davide, who took over responsibility in 2001 at the age of 27 and since then has made a single sentence the guiding principle of his work: Wine should be a perfect reflection of its terroir.

Directly in front of the cantina, at an altitude of 450 metres and facing south-west, lies the vineyard that has defined Fontodi's claim to Sangiovese since 1985. Three plots, planted between 1963 and 1973, are united by a special geological feature: slaty Galestro soils that break up into characteristic platelets on the surface. Giovanni Manetti recognised early on that this soil structure gives the Sangiovese the dark fruit and volume on the mid-palate that distinguishes it from the limestone-dominated sites. The name "Sorbo" refers to a local Tuscan fruit – dry, tannic, almost like grapes themselves. What began as a Riserva in 1985 was elevated to Gran Selezione in the 2011 vintage, when the new classification was introduced in Chianti Classico. Since 2012, 100% Sangiovese, previously blended with small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon.