Falstaff

"This is our flagship wine, a Barolo recognised the world over, which we have always nourished and cared for with greatest respect. Nothing will change. This is why I will dedicate this special wine to my grandchildren Alessia and Stefano. From now on, it will carry their names." Luciano Sandrone on his intention to rename his world-famous Barolo Cannubi Boschis "Aleste" with the 2013 vintage. This Barolo is a masterpiece from Luciano Sandrone in every respect. Not only a historic product but also the only cru of the house from the renowned Cannubi area in Barolo. Rich ruby colour, balsamic bouquet, ripe and sweet. Great suppleness on the palate, lots of fruit, dense tannins, very persistent final with Burgundian elegance. SUPERIORE.DE

Anno Domini 1474: The name Serra della Contessa appears for the first time in a Latin notarial deed: the ridge of the Countess. Over half a millennium later, this place has become the epitome of what is possible on the volcanic soils of Etna: a red wine of timeless elegance that pours the soul of this unique terroir into liquid form. Particella No. 587 is located in the Contrada Monte Serra on the south-eastern slope of the volcano, where the great-grandfather of the current owners Antonio and Salvino Benanti began making wine in the late 19th century. At just 500 metres above sea level, Monte Serra is the lowest of the extinct side craters of Etna – and also the place where the family's story began. Since the first bottling in 1998, the knowledge of this special vineyard matured here until Benanti decided in 2015 to vinify the small parcel with its pre-phylloxera, ungrafted century-old vines separately and to subject it to an extraordinary 60-month ageing programme.

Aristocratic! The whole world regards Picolit as "la Regina delle Grappe" due to its character, harmony and the emotions it evokes with every sip. Pure and crystalline, its nose is reminiscent of full honeycombs, acacia flowers, ripe quinces, fresh Moscato and freshly picked figs. In the mouth, the sensations of the nose are confirmed with the additional flavour of bread crust. Very persistent aftertaste. SUPERIORE.DE

La Gioia is the pure expression of Sangiovese with fruit from the estate's best vineyards. It is a big, expressive wine every year, retaining its crisp, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Tones of cherries, wild berries, violets and spices make for an elegant and very pure bouquet. The finish is characterised by fresh acidity in the typical and very refined Riecine style. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1994, when Lodovico Antinori was looking for suitable land for the expansion of his Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, he discovered the hills of Bibbona almost by chance, which were to rewrite 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 of the Tyrrhenian Sea – everything spoke a different language to the familiar Ornellaia terroir. Too different, too wild, too full of character for a simple extension. And yet too fascinating to let go.

The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has selected and worked the Sangiovese with passion over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, is distinguished from all other vineyards by its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-eastern exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi followed and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s. It is a wine with intense and persistent character, ruby colour, fine and elegant tannins. After ageing in tonneaux for at least 24 months, it is bottled until it is released to the market. SUPERIORE.DE

Pònkler is the house's top wine and at the same time the essence of Franz Haas' decades of experience with the undemanding Pinot Nero grape. The vines, planted in 2007, grow on soils of weathered porphyry in a single vineyard at an altitude of 750 metres. The selection of French clones, which have proven to be particularly suitable for high altitudes, the high density of vines and the low yields guarantee a very high quality of grapes.

A farewell and a new beginning at the same time. Cepparello 2021 marks Paolo De Marchi's final vintage as master of his life's work before the winery was transferred to the French EPI Group. After more than four decades of tireless work, the maestro from Piedmont completed his testament with this wine – a Sangiovese of paradoxical brilliance that retains an astonishing freshness and elegance despite its powerful fifteen per cent alcohol. The name Cepparello, which originates from the small stream at the highest point of the vineyards, has carried the revolutionary vision of one hundred per cent Sangiovese since 1980. What began as a rebellion against the Chianti Classico regulations – the absurd rule of adding white grapes – developed into an icon of pure Sangiovese expression.

Ceretto's single-vineyard Barbaresco Bernadot plays up its elegance and graceful personality. From the fruit of a 4.8-hectare, organically and biodynamically farmed site in Treiso, planted at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level, this pretty Barbaresco unfolds very specific aromas of wild berries, spices, liquorice and iron rust. These aromas are also essential components of its classic Nebbiolo game on the palate, as is its light and silky texture. Barbaresco Bernadot is very straightforward, finely spiced and with a supple personality. SUPERIORE.DE

Pinot Noir, which originates from France, has been cultivated in South Tyrol since 1850. The best sites, low yields, meticulous care and perfectionism in the cellar guarantee a fine, extremely sensual Pinot Noir with considerable ageing potential. In his constant search for perfection, cellar master Hans Terzer presents the fourth edition of the Pinot Noir Riserva "The Wine Collection" this year.

This is a wine where the label speaks its own language. Filo di Seta is adorned with an oil painting by Sandro Chia from the early 1980s – now in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It shows an androgynous figure leaping backwards into the Grotta Azzurra on Capri: weightless, suspended between sky and water. Below it, Chia's verse: "In strange, dark water – when a white dot shines, when a doll jumps – i fly by her side." Wine, the winemaker tells us, is supposed to be just that: a sensation that overcomes the obvious.

The legendary single vineyard Mosconi in Monforte d'Alba: steep, windy slopes on calcareous and ferruginous marl, predominantly south/south-west facing. The story behind it: Pio Boffa, who died far too young, acquired the Mosconi parcel a few years before his death as a strategic addition to the family estate – a late legacy that adds the powerful mineral voice of Mosconi/Monforte to the Barolo identity of the estate. Hand-picked from parcels, fermentation in stainless steel with prolonged maceration and gentle extraction. Maturation predominantly in large Slavonian barrels, finely dosed and flanked by French oak – always for texture, not opulence. The 2019 vintage: Long, balanced growing season, large day-night amplitude and late, highly selective harvest – aromatic precision, taut acidity, fine-grained tannin.

Its multi-layered bouquet of spices, black olive, rosemary, plum and cherry opens slowly. On the palate, firm, compact and initially introverted, then mint, spices, dark red fruit, plus cassis and graphite. The taste experiences come to light in small slices; with this outstanding red wine, it is worth waiting as hardly anywhere else to be able to fully discover the depth and complexity of this Tuscan jewel. SUPERIORE.DE

In 2007, Franz Haas planted a single vineyard at an altitude of 750 metres, which was intended to encapsulate his understanding of Pinot Nero in the Dolomites. The name "Pònkler" refers to this exceptional parcel, where French clones thrive in extreme planting density on weathered porphyry soil. South-south-west facing, very low yields of between 25 and 30 hectolitres per hectare, only 2,500 to 3,500 bottles per year – these are the sobering facts behind a wine that culminates Franz Haas' three-decade-long obsession with Pinot Nero. Franz has vinified and meticulously documented 592 (!) different Pinot Nero versions in his lifetime. Every clone, every vinification method, every ageing process has been meticulously recorded – the search for the perfect Pinot Nero, which he demanded of himself but never thought he had achieved. Pònkler represents this tirelessness: the altitude gives the wine those ripe notes that only develop in the cool alpine climate, where the grapes have time to develop phenolic ripeness and freshness at the same time.

In the autumn of 1988, the owners of two Tuscan wineries sat together over a convivial dinner and began to compare their wines. What began as a friendly gesture led to a discovery: the blending of Capannelle's Sangiovese from Gaiole in Chianti with Avignonesi's Merlot from Montepulciano resulted in an extraordinary harmony. This is how the 50 & 50 – a legend that has endured for over three decades. The two grape varieties are vinified separately: The Merlot undergoes a 20-day maceration at a controlled temperature, while the Sangiovese macerates on the skins for ten days. Both then mature for 18 months each in French barriques before being blended into a perfect unit.

Chiara Boschi's Cannubi 2020 beguiles on the nose with layers of fragrant fruit. A sensual Barolo and yet quite typical in its vineyard character. Soft, silky tannins frame the long finish. A wonderful wine, characterised by its balance and above all by the sweetness of its tannins. Very full-bodied, focussed and with great length. SUPERIORE.DE

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The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has selected and worked the Sangiovese with passion over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, stands out from all other vineyards for its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-easterly exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi pursued and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s. It is a wine with an intense and persistent character, ruby red colour, fine and elegant tannins. After maturing in tonneaux for at least 24 months, it is bottled until it is released onto the market. SUPERIORE.DE

The wine bears the name of its creator – and with good reason. Andrea Franchetti, the pioneer of modern Etna viticulture who sadly died far too early in 2021, dared to do the unthinkable in the early 2000s: he planted international grape varieties at extreme altitudes on a remote lava slope in Passopisciaro with the aim of producing a wine that would not adapt but set new standards. Franchetti is made from Petit Verdot and Cesanese d'Affile in one of the highest and most radiant areas of the volcano. The lava rock, the light, the altitude – everything here seems more concentrated, more intense, magical, almost supernatural.

Coltassala Gran Selezione is an impeccable representative of the royal class in Chianti Classico. The immensely fragrant bouquet shows black fruits, spices and ploughed earth. All the aromas are on the dark and spicy side, but the wine always remains fresh, dense, buoyant and very linear. Shows rich volume and a strong personality and precision. SUPERIORE.DE

When Andrea Franchetti stood on the abandoned terraces of Mount Etna in 2000, he wasn't just dreaming of the renaissance of Nerello Mascalese. He dreamed of something impossible: a wine that would capture the fire of the volcano in bottle form – deep black like cooled lava, dense like volcanic smoke, concentrated like the embers inside the earth. In the Contrada Guardiola, at an altitude of 820 metres, he planted two grape varieties in the early 2000s that never belonged there: Petit Verdot from Saint-Julien and Cesanese d'Affile from Lazio – a vine that he saved from extinction. The Sicilians thought he was crazy. The wine world was sceptical. But in 2005, when the first vintage was released, the critics fell silent. Franchetti had not only created a wine – he had materialised his vision of Etna.

Particella No. 341, a parcel number that has long since become a legend among Etna connoisseurs. Here, in the Contrada Dafara Galluzzo in the upper part of Rovittello, there are vines that have never left Europe – alberello vines that have been rooted in the volcanic sands of the northern slope for over a century. When Giuseppe Benanti began to realise his vision of modern Etna wine in 1988, the classic Rovittello was one of his first red wines. The experience matured for almost three decades – until 2015, when the winery decided to vinify this unique parcel separately and elevate it to Riserva status with an exceptional ageing programme of 60 months in total.

Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi, the 37th generation of a family that has lived in Gaiole in Chianti since the Lombard era, dedicates this wine to an ancestor of the 10th century: Ridolfo, son of Geremia, founder of the Firidolfi branch. A wine as a family memory – and an experiment. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Pugnitello. Pugnitello, an indigenous Tuscan variety that almost disappeared from the vineyards, grows on the chalky-clay hills of Gaiole, certified organic, between 340 and 510 metres. In the blend, it gives wild cherry fruit, pepper and rusticity – characteristics, which the Cabernet frames with linearity and fine herbal depth. Hand-picked, wild yeasts, 24 months in Allier barriques and tonneau, 36 months bottle ageing. Exclusively in magnum, hand-numbered.

Ten years. Appius celebrates its first decade with the 2020 – and what a decade it has been. When Hans Terzer first bottled his dream wine in 2010, he had already been harbouring the idea for a long time. During his vineyard inspections, he had noticed that certain low-yielding old vines in the historic vineyards of Eppan produced a quality that demanded its own framework. Something beyond the celebrated Sanct Valentin line. Originally, the wine was to be called "Oans" – piedmontese for "one" –but the name was taken. So it became Appius: the Roman name for Eppan, derived from Appianum, the "estate of Appius".