0.75 liter

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.

Top-class sparkling wine in the finest organic quality! Bolle di Borro – a new interpretation of Sangiovese. Il Borro has been producing a single-varietal Sangiovese sparkling wine using the so-called Champagne method (Metodo Classico) for a few years now. A fragrant, yeasty nose of small red berries and candied citrus peel. On the palate, bread, brioche, delicate Sangiovese fruit and a wonderfully creamy yet precise and crisp, very long finish. Elegance and finesse in purezza! SUPERIORE.DE

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.

As the Tuscan sun rises over the San Lorenzo Valley, it casts its golden light on the eighteen-year-old Pianigiani and Ricucci villas – the historic walls that gave this extraordinary Gran Selezione its name. It is a moment of silence before the story of a wine begins, which carries the quintessence of four legendary vineyards: Bellavista, Casuccia, San Lorenzo and Montebuoni. The 2021 vintage was a gift from nature to the winemakers of Chianti Classico. A rainy spring, which gave the vines the moisture they needed, was followed by a warm but not scorching summer. These climatic conditions gave the grapes a fullness and fleshiness that would later reveal itself in the glass as velvety opulence. Marco Pallanti, the driving force behind Castello di Ama since 1982 and former president of the Chianti Classico consortium, immediately recognised the extraordinary potential of this vintage.

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.

There are wines that change a grape variety forever. Granato is one of them. The legendary Teroldego that has been convincing the wine world since 1987 that Italy's Alpine heights can produce red wines of international calibre. Its name is both programme and poetry: Granato – the pomegranate, the ancient Mediterranean fruit that, like the vine, came to Italy thousands of years ago and whose ruby-coloured seeds remind Elisabetta Foradori of the essence of perfect grapes. In the historic Noval, Regin and Pedot vineyards of Campo Rotaliano, where Teroldego vines over seventy years old sink their roots deep into the Dolomite soil, a wine of monumental proportions is created. Here, on the alluvial sediments of prehistoric times, these ancient vines have grown in complexity decade after decade. Elisabetta's biodynamic philosophy reaches its purest form with these Methuselah vines: Not to intervene, but to guide nature to its peak.

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.

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.

"My personal challenge is to bring Amarone back to the table. It's a wonderful accompaniment to food, combining power and complexity with a crisp, smooth mouthfeel." Graziano Prà

The Spuntali vineyard is historically known as the best area of the south-west, sea-facing slope of Montalcino. Spuntali is a historic cru for Brunello di Montalcino: it is its unique terroir, it is also the sunniest and driest of the three slopes of Brunello, and the sea, just 40 kilometres away, already provides a Mediterranean climate here.

Dear Aich – the name sounds like old South Tyrolean history, and that's exactly what it is. The Tenuta Lieben Aich in Terlan, at an altitude of 300 metres, was once part of the estate with which Hieronymus Manincor was rewarded for his services to Austria in 1608 and elevated to the nobility. The family has been producing wine for over 300 years. The "Man-in-cor" coat of arms – hand on heart – still adorns the façade of the ancestral home on Lake Kaltern. The south-west facing vineyards benefit from a warm, breezy microclimate and sandy soils of volcanic origin: porphyry weathered rock that combines minerality and drainage. 2023 presented the winegrowers with challenges – wet spring, hot and dry summer, then a golden autumn that allowed for perfect ripeness. Aromas, sugar and acidity were in perfect balance by mid-September. Yield: 41 hectolitres per hectare. The destemmed grapes macerate on the skins for twelve hours – an unusual step for white wine, which extracts flavour and structure from the skins. Spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts takes place in wooden barrels, followed by ten months of ageing on the fine lees in large oak barrels.

Gulfi's top Pinò is a pure expression of Pinot Nero from Etna. When the Etna appellation began its rise about ten years ago, many producers committed themselves to growing the Burgundian grape variety on the charred slopes of this mighty volcano. Significant plantings of Pinot Nero never occurred, however, as many winemakers opted instead for the autochthonous Nerello Mascalese grape variety. Gulfi remains faithful to Pinot Nero on Etna, the grapes for Pinò come from 800 metres above sea level on the northern slope of the volcano.

After the Second World War, Felice Dal Cero moved from Verona to Lugana di Sirmione on Lake Garda, where he began making wine. His son Pietro subsequently built up Ca’ dei Frati into one of Lombardy’s most prestigious estates – and, in 1969, was one of the co-signatories of the first Lugana DOC Disciplinare, the region’s first Denomination of Controlled Origin. When Pietro died in 2012, he left his children Igino, Gian Franco and Anna Maria not only a vineyard – but also a legacy. The siblings acquired further vineyards in Pian di Castagnè, in the eastern part of Valpolicella, near the Luxinum vineyard, on calcareous-marl soils with white and red flint fragments – —a terroir with a distinctly mineral character. It marked a return to their father’s roots. They therefore dedicated the wine they produce here to him: Pietro dal Cero – the father, to whom they gave back what he himself could never see again.

Poggio Landis Brunello Riserva from the dream vintage 2016 is rich in fascinating floral notes. This wine is a statement of elegance and sensory freshness. Elderflower, geranium, noble magnolia and camphor on the nose. Full-bodied, powerful and lively on the palate, it is bursting with vigour and healthy tension with fine-grained, velvety tannins and a long, ethereal finish. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1997, Francesco Ricasoli planted the first vines on a 7.6-hectare plot near Gaiole as part of a project aimed at exploring Sangiovese and its diverse soils. Ten years later, in 2007, the first single-vineyard cru was bottled from these vines – the first of a total of three vineyards identified through the estate’s comprehensive soil mapping. The vines are situated at an altitude of 380 metres with a south-easterly aspect, on calcareous-clay Alberese soil – one of the most characteristic soils of Chianti Classico – which is stony and low in organic matter. A single-varietal Sangiovese, comprising three different clones, is grown here at a high density of 6,600 vines per hectare. After around two weeks of fermentation and maceration with daily punching down, the wine matures for 22 months inLiters, 30% of which are new, before being released following further bottle ageing.

Pettineo is more than just a contrada, it is a place of remembrance. Old Frappato vines, some of which are over 60 years old, take root here on sandy, slightly ferrous soil with a limestone base. The vines grow like bushes as Alberello, densely planted, deeply rooted – they yield little, but the essentials. For Arianna Occhipinti, this location is a key to the soul of Frappato: a wine that does not shine in its fruit, but in its quiet, almost floating intensity. The harvest by hand and fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts in cement tanks for around 30 days on the skins – gently, without mechanical intervention. The wine is matured traditionally and with restraint for around 20 months in cement tanks.

Every year, Fratta is a groundbreaking blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that you can't help but love. Fratta proved the Veneto's potential for winemaking when it was first produced in 1977, the year Angela Maculan (a second daughter) was born. Deep, complex fruit bouquet, rounded off with fine sweet spices, tobacco and coffee. On the palate, beautiful lines and a sharp focus with dry mineral tones framing dark fruits, dried cherries and exotic spices. Fratta is a bold and big wine and there is no doubting the broodingelegance of this highly personalised expression. SUPERIORE.DE

Chiappemacine lies below the famous Guardiola parcel, at an altitude of around 550 metres – a comparatively warm and wind-protected section by Etna standards, with broodingsoils consisting of quarried lava and ash. These conditions give the Nerello Mascalese from here a darker fruit, softer tannins and a more open character. The vines are around 80 years old and, as with all Contrada wines, the wine is aged for around 18 months in large, used wooden barrels.

The Bricco della Bigotta comes from the single vineyard of the same name and owes its name to a former resident whose strict piety became proverbial in the village. The old vines stand on a hill not far from Rocchetta Tanaro, in soils of limestone, marl and clay, which give the variety a distinctive structure. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a balanced vegetation cycle: mild spring days, a warm summer without extreme heat and cool nights in late summer, which gave the grapes freshness and aromatic depth. After selective manual harvesting, a long maceration followed by 12 months of ageing in French barriques.

Some wine projects are born out of calculation. This one was born out of one of those happy collisions between man and landscape that cannot be planned. Emanuele Pangrazi, a Roman and entrepreneur, travelled through the Tuscia hills north of Rome in 2006 and stayed. He bought land in Blera, a place whose name few people recognise, but whose history goes back to the Etruscans – the advanced civilisation that carved its necropolises into the tufa here. The winery is named San Giovenale after a nearby Etruscan ruined city. What fascinated him about this part of Lazio was the climatic tension: 300 to 400 metres above sea level, clay-rich soils with stone inclusions, dry winds from the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea. Not a location for Sangiovese, as the soils quickly made clear. But for the varieties of the southern Rhône – grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Tempranillo. Grown as Alberello with 11,000 vines per hectare. The vines fight, compete, plunge deep into the clay. Yield: 25 quintals per hectare.

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.

Rampante lies high up on the northern slope of Mount Etna, at an altitude of around 1,000 metres – one of the coolest sites in Passopisciaro's portfolio. The vines grow on young, porous lava rock, which is rich in minerals and gives the wine a striking verticality and salinity. Nerello Mascalese shows its most delicate, tautest expression here. The vinification follows the usual house style: spontaneous fermentation, long maceration and approx. 18 months maturation in large, used wooden barrels.

Fossa di Lupo is one of the most impressive contrade in the Vittoria region – an old hillside vineyard with sandy-clay soil over a deep limestone vein. Its north-easterly exposure and the cool downdraughts at night create a microclimate that is conducive to ripening. For Arianna Occhipinti, it is a real place that has accompanied her life as a winemaker since the very beginning. In this historic contrada north-west of Vittoria, her oldest Frappato vines are rooted in sandy soil interspersed with calcareous subsoil. A site with a history that Arianna has always considered to be the centrepiece of her work – powerful and delicate, quiet and expressive at the same time. The wine comes from 100% Frappato, harvested from vines over 60 years old. Fermentation with the vineyard's own yeasts, around 35 days on the skins, no fining, no filtration. Maturation takes place over 22 months in cement – a deliberate decision not to use wood in order to reveal the pure texture and vibrant character of Frappato.

In the southern Arbia Valley lies one of Brolio's rarest soils: an ancient river terrace dating from the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, shaped by water that has long since taken a different course. Francesco Ricasoli also included this site in his Cru project in 2015, through which the estate aims to reveal the character of its Sangiovese plot by plot, moving beyond any generalised narrative about Chianti. The vines are planted at an altitude of 300 metres with a south-west aspect, on silty, clay-rich soils with a low stone content, covering around 6.35 hectares with a high planting density of just under 6,000 vines per hectare, a single-varietal Sangiovese comprising three clones, each of which develops its own distinctive character on this rare terraced soil. After around two weeks of fermentation and maceration with daily punching down, the wine matures for 22 months inLiters, 30% of which are new, before being released following further bottle ageing.