0.75 liter

Bibi Graetz: "Monumental, there is no better word to characterise this vintage of roundness in every single aspect of the wine. Colore has elegance, freshness and an incredible acidity that is surprisingly noticeable on the nose and at the first sip."

The lily is the flower of all flowers in Valpolicella and this exceptional Riserva is dedicated to the best of them. The grapes for this new flagship of the winery, produced in very small quantities, grow on 300-metre-high soils of mainly limestone with some sandy silt in the Monti Garbi district of the municipality of Mezzane di Sotto. The vines have an average age of 40 years and produce only small yields. After harvest, the grapes are selected twice by hand. The Lilium Est is aged for three years in new Bordeaux barriques, the laths of which have been dried outdoors for 36 months. Before it goes on sale, it remains in the bottle for at least another four years.

Deep dark, almost impenetrable red colour. A whole range of ripe wild berries on the nose, delicately accompanied by nuances of tobacco, leather, cedar and lavender. The palate is also full of fruit, powerful, yet silky and elegant. Traces of dark chocolate on the endlessly long final. SUPERIORE.DE

This is more than just a sparkling wine. It is the vinified legacy of a visionary. In 1902, Giulio Ferrari dreamt of Italian sparkling wines that could rival the French greats in his small cellar in Via Belenzani. In 1980, the Lunelli family dedicated the house's most precious label to him – the Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore. 100% Chardonnay. No compromise, no cuvée, just the purest essence of the white king grape variety of Trentino. The grapes come exclusively from the highest sites of the Lunelli family vineyards, where the mountains frame Trento and where drastic day-night temperature fluctuations guarantee the acidity that makes world-class sparkling wines possible in the first place. So subtle and nuanced that there is really no doubt that "Giulio" is the most elegant label in the Italian sparkling wine world.

The name Scrio comes from a Tuscan expression for "pure, sincere, unadulterated" – qualities that Eugenio Campolmi's (†2002) favourite Syrah has embodied since 1994. The 2019 vintage tells of a year of slow ripening without extreme heat. A dry winter with a late cold snap at the end of March was followed by a cool, rainy May, which slowed down the vegetation. The intensive foliage work in summer finally led to a late but excellent harvest between the second and third week of September. The glass reveals a deep black Syrah with a Mediterranean richness that clearly stands out from its French counterparts. 25 days of maceration in steel and concrete, followed by 18 months in tonneau and conical wooden barrels with a proportion of ceramic vessels, result in a wine of exceptional purity and depth. A rare treasure from only a few thousand bottles. SUPERIORE.DE

LUX VITIS comes from Cabernet Sauvignon vines over 12 years old and contains a small amount of Sangiovese. The 2019 vintage is rich and powerful, with full intensity. A core of dark cherries and blackberries on the palate, framed by sweet spices, bitter chocolate and campfire embers. As with the other wines in the Tenuta Luce portfolio, oak spice and tannins play an important role in the basic style expressed here. Only 6,600 bottles were produced. LUX VITIS will reveal its true treasure only with years of ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

Dark cherry red. Complex nose with aromas of wild berries, fine spices and dried meat, combined with cedar wood and earthy notes. In the drink then powerfully after black cherry, blackberry, plum, red rose blossoms and a tender toast note. Wonderful in the long finish with hints of pepper and exotic spices. A great Riserva from a great vintage with cult potential! SUPERIORE.DE

Colonnello. The name recalls a French colonel from Napoleon's time who settled up here, directly above the large Bussia amphitheatre. Only three producers own plots in this single vineyard: Aldo Conterno, Prunotto and Bussia Soprana. One hectare of exclusive terrain, where 35 to 45-year-old vines at an altitude of up to 400 metres face west and south-west. The microclimate is cooler than down in the Bussia. And the soil? Predominantly sand, magnesium, clay – similar to La Morra. The result: wines with a brisker, more floral, more playful character than the powerful Bussia from lower vineyards. Fermentation in steel tanks with wild yeasts, then 30 months in 25-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels, followed by almost a year in steel for natural clarification. Unfiltered bottling – the Conterno method for generations.

At the end of the 19th century, Ludwig Barth, a university professor with a love of wine, built the estate of the same name in Mazon and planted the Pinot Noir grape there for the first time, with success, as it turned out. The year 2016 was very good for Pinot Noir and for the Roccolo vineyard at Ansitz Barthenau on the Mazon plateau. Particularly rich grapes from vines that are more than 70 years old and tend to grow on the traditional pergola were to be reserved for a new top wine. They were harvested separately, pressed separately and matured in small oak barrels and are only made into the single-vineyard wine "Roccolo" in the best vintages.

Cicala is the most masculine vineyard in the Conterno portfolio. Anyone familiar with the elegant, floral Colonnello from the same Bussia hilltop will be surprised here. Less sand, more clay. Less playfulness, more pressure. The calcareous clay soil is enriched with iron and limestone – minerals that give the wine the structural strength that distinguishes it from its siblings. The vines are 40 to 45 years old, facing south to south-west, and what grows here is mainly Nebbiolo Lampia on Rupestris du Lot rootstock. Only three producers own plots in this part of Bussia: Conterno, Prunotto and Bussia Soprana. Six hectares in total, around 800 crates per vintage. A rarity. Fermentation in steel tanks at 28°C, five to six weeks of maceration, then 29 months in 25-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels – no barrique, never. Aldo Conterno once said: "Vanilla, toast and spice do not belong in Barolo." The barrels are scraped every two years and used for a maximum of eight years. After ageing, the wine spends a few months in steel before being bottled unfiltered.

Scrio - a great Tuscan Syrah from Le Macchiole - is a real beauty. The persistent bouquet offers aromas of dark berries and cured meat, warm and balsamic on the palate with great intensity and dynamism, rich in extract and long. SUPERIORE.DE

LUX VITIS comes from Cabernet Sauvignon vines over 12 years old and contains a small amount of Sangiovese. Intense, full bouquet of sweet blackberries. A core of dark cherries and dark berries on the palate, framed by sweet spices, bitter chocolate and campfire embers. As with the other wines in the Tenuta Luce portfolio, oak spice and tannins play an important role in the basic style expressed here. LUX VITIS will reveal its true treasure only with years of maturity. SUPERIORE.DE

This is a special Riserva from Michele Chiarlo that is late to the market. The Barolo Riserva Cerequio is a great wine, with particularly taut tannins and a concentrated richness that permeates its substantial textile fibre. The flavours of dark fruits such as blackberries and dried cherries are accompanied by spices, leather, tar and ashes from the bonfire. The wine shows the concentration and density of long oak ageing with tannins that definitely need more ageing before this exceptional wine will fully convince its connoisseurs! SUPERIORE.DE

Schiena d'Asino is a small vineyard from which this fabulous Brunello is produced exclusively in excellent years. Schiena captivates with its richness and overall intensity and is endowed with a lot of energy and varietal purity. Sage, rosemary and a host of Mediterranean herbs open up first, followed by graphite, smoke, incense, dark spices and black stone fruits. Wild, intensely mineral notes underpin the fruit and capture the essence of the great site. For an exceptional wine, this Brunello remains remarkably light on its feet, yet it is an introspective, brooding wine that will need at least a few years to show all it has to offer. SUPERIORE.DE

What does a name mean? In the Piedmontese dialect, "Pajè" once simply referred to the various vineyard parcels – an everyday word for everyday things. The fact that this name now stands for one of the most legendary crus of Barbaresco is one of the beautiful ironies of wine history. The Roagna family has been cultivating 1.83 hectares here in the heart of the municipality since 1953, and anyone who asks Luca Roagna about the core of his work will inevitably end up here. The vineyard is a natural amphitheatre: gently sloping to the south and south-west, protected from the wind by hills and open to the Tanaro valley. The soil tells of 70 million years of – marine sediments from the Tertiary period, interspersed with active limestone in a concentration that is exceptional even for the Langhe. The vines, on average over 50 years old, are deeply rooted in this history. After the harvest, the must ferments with its own yeasts and macerates for up to two months with a submerged cap. Five years in large wooden barrels and concrete complete the maturation process.

On the steep slopes of Sorano, where the ancient Serravallian soils of Serralunga d'Alba unleash their full geological power, lies Matteo Ascheri's most precious secret: two tiny parcels that together produce no more than 2,800 bottles per vintage and yet embody the essence of what makes a great Barolo. Vigna Coste and Vigna Bricco – the slopes and the summit – are two faces of the same extraordinary medal, united in a wine that only sees the light of day in the very greatest years. Coste & Bricco is Matteo's ultimate homage to the diversity of the Sorano terroir. While Vigna Coste on the slopes delivers the minerality and structure for which Serralunga is famous, Vigna Bricco from the hilltop brings the concentration and aromatic intensity that only the most exposed sites can produce. This combination of two micro-terroirs within a single MGA creates a Barolo of exceptional complexity – a wine that combines both the power and finesse of Serralunga.

Scrio is Tuscan and means: pure, sincere, whole. Since 1994, this wine has been Cinzia Merli's vision of a single-varietal Syrah that is neither French nor Californian, but Mediterranean and Tuscan at the same time. Produced in minimal quantities, this wine quickly became the reference in Bolgheri for a grape variety that is not actually native to the region. The 2021 marks a turning point: 50% of the grapes now come from new hillside vineyards, which gives the wine an elegance and delicacy that is almost reminiscent of Pinot Noir. After 20 days of fermentation and maceration in concrete tanks and earthenware amphorae, the Scrio matures for 14 months in neutral French oak, clayvers and earthenware amphorae – an ageing process that emphasises the lively fruit.

Geologists speak of erosion. Winegrowers speak of fate. Over millions of years, the rocks above Castiglione Falletto weathered and formed the soil on which Pira now thrives. When Luca Roagna acquired half a hectare on these very Rocche in 2016, a circle was completed: the mother rock returned to the child. The parcel is located in the historic heart of the site, at the top of the hill at three hundred metres, with a pure southern exposure. Calcareous clay soils, interspersed with white rock and sand, nourish Nebbiolo vines from the 1960s and 70s – planted with vines from ancient stocks. Situated right next to the new winery, this vineyard is Roagna's most intimate property: just 0.48 hectares, from which a Barolo is created that Antonio Galloni simply calls "pure sensuality".

Anyone who hears the name Albesani inevitably thinks of Bruno Giacosa and his mythical Santo Stefano. The fact that Luca Roagna has been cultivating a plot of land in the immediate neighbourhood since 2014 is one of the best-kept secrets of Barbaresco – and one of its most exciting developments. The plot is located at 240 metres at the highest point of the hill, where the area borders Santo Stefano. The terroir is characterised by chalky soils with a good proportion of sand, and fifty-year-old Nebbiolo vines are deeply rooted in this privileged soil. Albesani has held MGA certification since 2007 – late recognition for a vineyard that connoisseurs have long counted among the greatest in the region. The vinification follows the Roagna canon: maceration with a submerged cap for two months, five years of ageing in large barrels and concrete.

A handful of fresh cherries. Bite into them. Juice running down your fingers. Tasting Gallina 2020 is an immediate, sensual, irresistible experience. Among the Roagna-Barbareschi, it is the seducer, the wine that does not impress with its austere grandeur, but captivates with its open charm. The family has been cultivating a plot in Neive's most famous MGA since 2014. The calcareous clay soil with a high proportion of sand gives the Nebbiolo here the silky finesse that distinguishes Gallina from its more austere neighbours. Antonio Galloni calls the site "the source of the roundest and most accessible Barbareschi in the municipality". Wines that can be drunk early and yet mature for decades.

Centuries ago, a private road led from the Castello of the noble Falletti family down to this vineyard. Today, there is no longer a road here, but a path through a jungle-like thicket – biodiversity as Luca Roagna understands it. When the family acquired these seven hectares in Castiglione Falletto in 1989, a long-cherished dream came true: a Barolo vineyard on a par with the legendary Pajè estates in Barbaresco. Even more: a monopoly. The vineyard lies on the south-eastern slope below the Rocche di Castiglione, protected by the rock above and four hectares of forest with a stream from the Bussia di Monforte below. The soils tell the oldest story of Barolo – marine sediments from the Helvetia, the geological formation shared only by Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga and Monforte. Six micro-parcels are differentiated by alternating layers of white limestone, grey and blue marl, interspersed with iron. The oldest Nebbiolo vines date back to 1937.

At the end of the 19th century, Ludwig Barth, a university professor with a love of wine, built the estate of the same name in Mazon and planted the Pinot Noir grape there for the first time, with success, as it turned out. The year 2016 was very good for Pinot Noir and for the Roccolo vineyard at Ansitz Barthenau on the Mazon plateau. Particularly rich grapes from vines that are more than 70 years old and tend on the traditional pergola were to be reserved for a new top wine. They were harvested separately, pressed separately and matured in small oak barrels and are only made into the single-vineyard wine "Roccolo" in the best vintages.

The supremely potent Rocche di Castiglione is often referred to as the first "official" cru in the history of Langa (along with Bussia di Prunotto, both of which were released with the 1961 vintage). It confirms itself once again as the great classic of the house with the 2018 edition. Dark fruits, pressed lilac, blood orange, powdered liquorice, balsamic herbs, spices, iron ore and aniseed fit together perfectly like pieces of a puzzle. Then lush and racy on the palate, with silky tannins and a great depth and resonance that will continue to develop with time. SUPERIORE.DE