Falstaff | 95–100 Points

In the quiet hollow above Söll, where the Gewürztraminer vines escape the warm south wind from Lake Garda, a mystery of rare beauty takes place every year. Here, protected in this natural arena between 400 and 500 metres above sea level, the eagerly awaited Botrytis cinerea – the noble rot – finds its perfect conditions. While other vineyards have long since been emptied, the Terminum grapes remain on the vine until the first months of winter. December is their time of perfection, when they have become golden treasure troves of pure flavour, marked and concentrated by botrytis. Each berry is selected individually, each bearing the promise of exceptional complexity. Twelve hours of maceration, gentle pressing at a maximum of 1.8 bar, then the must is transferred to French barriques. Fermentation begins there, which lasts six to nine months. A further seven to ten months of ageing in wood, followed by at least three months of bottle ageing complete the deceleration process.

The dark, seductive Cabernet Franc Poggio de' Colli takes its time in the glass and slowly awakens with a blend of redcurrants, peppery roses, exotic curries and a slight hint of musk that lends it gravitas. Velvety soft yet refined. Aristocratic and cool on the palate, with a powerful wave of tart raspberry fruit that feeds the palate with savoury spices and mineral notes. Leaves a layer of fine tannins and a hint of berry concentration on the final, which tapers off savoury, long and perfectly balanced. A radiant wine that will only reveal its full beauty in a few years. SUPERIORE.DE

Pelagrilli is the origin – the name of the hillside north-east of Montalcino, which Siro Pacenti acquired in 1970, and at the same time the name of the flagship Brunello that his son Giancarlo has been vinifying since 1988. On sandy-loamy soils, channelling the cooling westerly winds, between 25 and 40-year-old vines, a Brunello is created here that combines Giancarlo's mathematical precision and his Bordeaux experience: fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature, 24 months in small French barriques – not for flavour, but for purity. 2020 was a warm, dry summer – sangiovese under pressure, which, where well managed, turned into concentrated, supple fruit. The northern slope of Pelagrilli absorbed the heat better than the southern sites; the harvest began in mid-September under good conditions.

In 1994, whilst Lodovico Antinori was searching for suitable land to expand his Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, he discovered, almost by chance, the hills of Bibbona that were to reshape his destiny as a winemaker. What he found there was not just land – it was a revelation. The soils, a complex symphony of clay and the legendary Bolgheri conglomerate, the orientation of the slopes, the salty breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea – everything spoke a different language to the familiar Ornellaia terroir. Too different, too wild, too full of character to be a mere extension. And yet too fascinating to let go of.

In Friulian, "Dut'un" means "all in one" – and this name is not a modest claim, but a precise description of what is contained in this bottle. Gianfranco Gallo regards the Dut'un as the distillation of his entire estate: equal parts Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from the finest plots of the Vie di Romans and Vieris vineyards – thirty-year-old vines on glacial gravel soils with a silt component, facing east-west and north-south. What he seeks is not the character of the grape variety, but the character of the place. The Isonzo, the Bora, the gravel, the light – these are the ingredients. Chardonnay and Sauvignon are the tools.

It was in December 1998 when a customer knocked on Giuseppe Bisci's door and asked for "vino d'annata" – a young wine, ready to drink straight away. Yet Bisci, as a matter of principle, only sold his Verdicchio after at least two years' ageing. Giuseppe turned the customer away, but the encounter stayed with him. The high-altitude calcareous clay soils of Matelica, where the Apennines rise majestically into the sky, did not produce simple everyday wines – they were capable of so much more! The continental climate, with sun-drenched days and freezing mountain nights, gave the Verdicchio an intensity, minerality and a backbone of acidity that allowed for decades of ageing – something almost unheard of in Italian white wine. That very same day, Giuseppe turned to his cellar master, Aroldo Bellelli: "Let's make a wine for the next person who asks for a young wine – so that we can tell him: "We make Riserva, and that won't be released for another seven years!""

The first vintage was released in 2001. A wine that had no history yet, only a conviction: that the Maremma, with Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, could express something that Tuscany had not yet heard. Twenty years on, with the 2021 vintage, Brancaia takes stock in silence – and has given this particular release the suffix ‘20 anni’. Over two decades, the vines have driven their roots deep into the sandy loam soil of the Maremma. No artificial water – only what the soil stores in winter and releases in summer. The vines have learnt to cope with the heat. The grapes are becoming more concentrated, the tannins finer, the character more distinctive. This is the promise made in 2001 – and which the 2021 vintage fulfils.

Concerto was born in 1981, a time when Italian viticulture was undergoing dynamic change. The potential that had hitherto gone untapped was recognised, and new viticultural practices were introduced, with successful experiments carried out for the first time with international grape varieties. It was Marchesa Carla Mazzei who, in 1981, after the first tasting of just fifteen barriques, spontaneously chose the name Concerto – a symphony had unfolded in her glass. As one of the first ten Super Tuscans, this wine made history and revolutionised the understanding of Tuscan wine. The Sangiovese comes from the Scassi vineyard in the western part of Fonterutoli, surrounded by oak forests at an altitude of 350 metres, and is sourced from mass selections in an experimental vineyard dating back to the 1930s. And the small proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon has, over four decades, developed a character entirely of its own here, far removed from the international style it takes on elsewhere. The 18-month ageing in French barriques subsequently lends the wine its refined structure, without overshadowing its original elegance.

The fruit for this Brunello comes from a 14.4 hectare south-facing vineyard with loamy soils and lots of boulders. Complex, dark and earthy bouquet of ripe black cherries, enriched with notes of dried flowers, spices, crushed stones and a hint of animal musk. The palate reveals silky textures and pure Sangiovese fruit, underpinned by earthy tones supported by a network of minerals and tannins. The mouthfeel is always lean, tangy and soft, although you can feel the wine's full body and great appeal at all times. The final is polished and refined and lasts for several minutes. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that tell stories even before you've tasted them. This is one of them. Its name – the Hill of the Magpies – refers to that special vineyard where these elegant birds build their nests and from where the view sweeps unobstructed across the Tyrrhenian Sea. Here, where the salty Mediterranean breeze meets volcanic soil, one of Tuscany's most innovative white wines has been produced for more than two decades. It embodies a refreshing spirit which, to quote: "is as delicate as a breeze, yet at the same time lush and self-assured". This poetic description hits the nail on the head: Poggio alle Gazze is Ornellaia's answer to the question of what a white wine from Bolgheri might be like if it possessed the elegance and depth of the great reds. Six months' ageing on the fine lees with regular bâtonnage, followed by the assembly of the final blend and a further 12 months' ageing in the bottle, complete this masterpiece of white wine artistry.

The self as an extension of consciousness – this is how Gianfranco Fino understands the name of this wine. The place where creativity awakens and the future emerges. A philosophy that suits the man his friends once called "Geriatra del Primitivo": The geriatrician who saves old vines where others uproot them. The adventure began in 2004, when the former olive consultant discovered an overgrown vineyard in Manduria. Fino planted a new vineyard for the Sé, following an ancient pattern: Alberello pugliese, the "rabbit ears" of Salento, with 12,000 vines per hectare. Each vine bears only 400 grams of grapes – concentrated essence instead of mass. The chalky-clay soils and the breeze from the Ionian Sea do the rest. After manual harvest and two to three weeks of maceration, the wine matures for nine months in wood, unfiltered and unfined.

The Riecine vineyard in Gaiole in Chianti has a history dating back to the 11th century. Today's vineyards grow between 430 and 600 metres above sea level on stony, alluvial limestone soils over a subsoil of pure limestone - rock that was once washed here from the Monterossi hill by the ancient Massellone river (once called "Clante", the origin of the name "Chianti"). Since 2006, La Gioia has been a pure Sangiovese, a decision that perfectly reflects the philosophy of the estate: absolute concentration on the noblest of all Tuscan grape varieties.

In 1978, the first bottle of Brunello from Casanova di Neri found its way onto the market – then still called "Vino Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello", five years after the first harvest. Giovanni Neri had found his dream and his son Giacomo began to realise it. The white label was there from the very beginning – and still is today. The Brunello White Label comes from specially designated vineyards around Podere Fiesole to the east of Montalcino – the same vineyards from which the estate has been making its Brunello for over four decades. After a cool, slow spring, 2021 brought a balancing, dry summer and even ripening into September.

In the early decades of the 19th century, one man shaped the landscape of Bolgheri like no other: Guidalberto della Gherardesca, an ancestor of the Incisa family, who commissioned the construction of the area's first mills and churches, laid out fields and designed the Viale dei Cipressi – that famous avenue of cypress trees immortalised by Carducci and which still marks the entrance to Tenuta San Guido today. This wine is dedicated to the pioneer of this landscape. Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, who had long maintained that he wished to produce just one wine, recognised in the mid-1990s the potential of new plots along the Viale dei Cipressi, on clay-loam soils that proved particularly well-suited to Merlot. The first harvest was in 2000. Today: 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, from vines with an average age of 18 years. Hand-harvested, short maceration, indigenous yeasts, malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, followed by 12 months in French barriques, approx. 40% of which are new.

Ruby garnet colour, fine violet note and many spices in the bouquet. Dense and compact with taut tannin and sweet fruit melt. Given time, this already very elegant red (age of the vines: 100 years, production: 4,000 bottles) is at the beginning of a long, promising development. SUPERIORE.DE

The latest addition to Vajra's Barolo line-up comes from a 1.5-hectare plot in Coste di Rose, a small MGA (Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive) in the Barolo region. This is a steep slope at 310 metres above sea level with a high proportion of sandy soils with good drainage, whose vines and soils are cultivated close to nature. This very accessible Barolo is straightforward, forward and impresses even at a young age with its refreshing candour. A very precise bouquet of cherry, plum, liquorice, spices and menthol, followed by a broad and multi-layered fruity palate with plenty of juice and power, supportive tannins and a full, long, mineral and minty finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Pianrosso: the red field. The name refers to iron-rich soils that give the Sangiovese a mineral depth that no winery in the world can replicate. 11.7 hectares on the south-eastern edge of Montalcino, at altitudes between 240 and 360 metres, where ancient marine deposits meet galestro schist. Giuseppe Bianchini had the vineyard replanted in the 1980s, knowing that the heart of the estate lay dormant here. Pianrosso is bottled only in exceptional vintages, following a rigorous selection of the finest grapes, and spends a whole year longer in Slavonian botti than the classic Brunello. Thirty-six months in large oak, followed by further ageing in the bottle. The result is not a wine for immediate enjoyment, but a testament to patience. In 2021, Montalcino produced one of those vintages you never forget: glorious September days, cool nights, perfect phenolic ripeness.

Carnasciale Botte Grande is a fascinating expression of that Tuscan individuality which makes the small Il Carnasciale vineyard, perched high above the Arno Valley, so unique. This single-varietal Caberlot – a rare, almost unknown variety and a cross between Cabernet and Merlot – grows on barren, stony terraced slopes at altitudes of up to 520 metres above sea level. The 2022 vintage was characterised by a warm, though not extreme, summer and cool nights in September – ideal conditions for a slow, phenolically mature harvest. 

Since summer 2023, Chianti Classico producers have been allowed to include the eleven additional geographical indications (UGA = unità geografiche aggiuntive) introduced in 2021 on the labels of the top Gran Selezione category. For Chianti Classico winegrowers, it is a logical step to produce wines that reflect the area in which they were produced as authentically as possible. And customers can thus deepen their knowledge of the relationship between the wines and their region of origin - a real added value.

The Vintage Collection Extra Brut is the backbone of Ca' del Bosco – a cuvée that embodies everything that makes this style great: depth, precision and energy. No gimmicks, no overt fruitiness, but rather the archetype of a high-quality Franciacorta with a distinct character and tremendous inner tension. The cuvée is composed of Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and a small proportion of Pinot Bianco, harvested from the finest plots in Erbusco, Cazzago San Martino and Passirano. Each harvestand each batch is fermented separately – partly in small oak barrels, partly in steel – after which the wine rests on its lees, is blended, bottled and aged in the bottle for over 48 months. The dosage is kept to a minimum so as not to mask the structure of the vintage.

Vintage Collection dosage zéro is the purest expression of what Franciacorta can be – and Ca' del Bosco demonstrates just how far this ambition can be taken when precision and patience work in harmony. No dosage, no compromises – just the essence of the grape, the terroir and time. The cuvée, made from Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco, comes exclusively from vineyards selected for their expression, depth and freshness. Hand-harvested into small crates, gently pressed, with fermentation and ageing of the base wines in barriques – all under maximum protection from oxidation. This is followed by the tirage and over 50 months' ageing on the lees in the bottle. Disgorged without any added sugar – the pure backbone of the vintage.

In 1978, Ca' del Bosco launched a sparkling wine which the estate classified at the time as a Crémant, made exclusively from white grapes and designed to be smooth. Since 1990, it has been called Satèn, a name that evokes silk – the sensation it aims to create on the palate. Chardonnay from 25 vineyards across five municipalities in Franciacorta provides the backbone; the vines are on average 27 years old. 15% Pinot Bianco from two plots near Passirano, aged 32 years, adds the necessary roundness. As a vintage sparkling wine, it openly displays its vintage on the label, and 2021 proved a challenging year for the vines, with frost in April and hail in July. Twenty-seven base wines are blended, which mature for five months in small oak barrels before the wine spends an average of 53 months on the lees.

As a result of extensive soil research, Francesco Ricasoli was able to identify three microlocations, which will be vinified separately from the 2015 vintage onwards. The range of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione now includes, in addition to the famous Castello di Brolio, three cru sites (Colledilà, Roncicone and Ceniprimo), all of which are 100% planted with Sangiovese. They differ in structure and taste in close correspondence with their terroir and impressively demonstrate the complexity of the Chanti Classico region.