1.5 liters | Magnum

The annual production of this boutique winery on Etna is just 9,000 bottles. At an altitude of 950 metres above sea level, the one and a half hectares of vines are divided into eight tiny plots and have been gradually bought up by the well-known Oenologist. The area is planted with Nerello Mascalese bush vines, which have been spared the phylloxera phylloxera and make their way through the lava-covered terraces.

Produced in small quantities, Vallocchio clearly stands out from pure Brunello di Montalcino. Darker, deeper and more mystical, it shows notes of ripe blackberries and plums, complemented by exotic brown spices and a hint of lemon confit. Its texture is like velvet stretching across the palate, black-fruited and ripe, underpinned by minerals and cooling herbal notes. It is youthfully monolithic and dense, revealing its austere tannin core only towards the end, where notes of black tea, liquorice and a hint of cocoa emerge. SUPERIORE.DE

On the estate stands a 19th-century railway station – silent, out of step with the times, no longer in use. The wine produced here has something of this image about it: it does not rush; it waits. And the 2021 vintage arrived quietly anyway – no record-breaking summer, no headlines, just a cool spring, moderate heat and day-night temperature fluctuations that gave the Sangiovese exactly what it needs: space to mature. Tenuta Pian delle Vigne lies six kilometres south-west of Montalcino, on calcareous loam with a fine gravel content, facing south-west, at around 130 metres above sea level. Owned by Antinori since 1995 – and steadfastly committed to the same principle ever since: large wooden casks ranging from 30 to 80 hectolitres, which preserve rather than dominate the Sangiovese fruit. No barrique dictates, no trendy embellishments. Just conviction.

Medium, radiant ruby red. Complex nose of sweet and cedar wood, paired with Mediterranean maquis and delicate sweet cherry. In the mouth, balsamic notes, very finely woven tannins and a wonderful complexity that envelops the juicy fruit core and gives the wine an impressive depth and length. The elegance is also very impressive and will certainly increase with further maturity. SUPERIORE.DE

As a result of extensive soil research, Francesco Ricasoli was able to identify three micro-vineyards, 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.

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.

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.

A classically composed and perfect introduction to Altare Nebbiolo from its own vineyards in Barolo, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba. With its modern character (use of barriques), the Elio Altare winery has always been one of those producers whose Barolo wines appear less hard and brittle when young and rarely beg for more than 10 years of further ageing in the bottle.

The "25 Anni" from Caprai has been THE ambassador for Umbria's top wines for many years. It captivates with a beguiling bouquet that combines black fruits with citrus fruits, exotic spices, a hint of oregano, menthol and a hint of cocoa. The texture is more like pure silk, delicately lapping the palate, leaving a satisfying mix of intense dark fruits, minerals and fine-grained tannin. There is so much depth and concentration to work with that even when it finishes youthfully structured and dry, it lingers for well over a minute with notes of redcurrant, sage and dark chocolate. This exceptional Sagrantino is undisputedly not only Caprai's top wine, but also one of Italy's most characterful wines, which, with a little more ageing, is an incredible pleasure and should therefore definitely be aerated for 3-4 hours when young. SUPERIORE.DE

2019 was a gift to Nebbiolo in the Barbaresco DOCG - and Vanotu has accepted it. This Barbaresco from the historic Basarin cru vineyard in Neive bears the signature of a great vintage with quiet naturalness: nothing is overdrawn, nothing loud - everything is in its place with quiet precision. The vines stand on sparse limestone marl, interspersed with sandy veins, with optimal south-west exposure. This site produces wines with depth and tension, but also airiness - a play of power and transparency that is exemplified in Vanotu 2019. The wine was matured for 20 months in French barriques, sensitively dosed, only to frame the wine, not to mould it.

There are wines that not only tell of earth, climate and grapes - they also tell of light and space. Vistamare is undoubtedly one of these rare creatures. Named after the expansive view that Bolgheri offers as far as the sea on a clear day, this wine is a Mediterranean promise, realised with the care and elegance with which Angelo Gaja has been setting standards for decades - only this time not in Piedmont, but on the Tuscan coast.

Here is another outstanding 2019 Brunello from a winery that is still considered an insider tip given its small size and limited annual production. Medium, bright ruby red colour. Exotic aromas of minerals and citrus fruits, reminiscent of red cherries, blood oranges and Asian spices, with a floral nuance that gains strength with air. The palate is supple and expansive, with sweet flavours of red cherries and dark plums carried by a powerful acidity. Densely packed, at once fleshy and broad, but also lively and precise. On the strikingly long finish, it shows excellent power and cut, characterised by youthful, dusty tannins and a hint of candied violets. As is so often the case, this is one of the best Brunellos of the vintage and still completely under the radar of many Sangiovese lovers. SUPERIORE.DE

Guidalberto bears the name of a man who shaped the Bolgheri landscape forever in the early 19th century: Guidalberto della Gherardesca, the visionary agricultural pioneer who created the famous cypress avenue – the Viale dei Cipressi – was created. What was initially intended as a practical demarcation between different areas of cultivation became the iconic silhouette of an entire region. 2023 marks a turning point for this exceptional wine. For the first time, Tenuta San Guido is positioning its Guidalberto separately from the legendary Sassicaia – a deliberate move to demonstrate that this is not a "second wine", but an independent interpretation of the Bolgheri terroir. As Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta puts it: "You can't compare them. They are completely different worlds." The 2023 vintage is a synthesis of 55 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 45 per cent Merlot. While the Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure and depth, the Merlot brings the silky texture and accessible sweetness that makes Guidalberto so distinctive. Fifteen months in French and American barriques give the wine its characteristic balance between strength and elegance.

This exceptional Sangiovese comes exclusively from the historic "Palmina" vineyard – the oldest vines that John Dunkley and Palmina Abbagnano found back in 1971 when they acquired the small estate from the neighbouring Badia a Coltibuono monastery. A hillside vineyard with a low yield, as the purchase contract noted at the time. Since 2010, the grapes from this unique hectare at an altitude of 480 metres have been vinified separately. Today, the 60-year-old Sangiovese vines with their extremely low density of just 3x1 metres yield barely more than one kilogram of grapes per vine, but they are of incomparable concentration and purity.

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.

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

Since the 16th century, the Allegrini family has been playing a part in the history of Valpolicella. Giovanni Allegrini, the visionary, is regarded as the architect of its renaissance. A man they called "il ragno delle botti" – the cellar master spider – because he would wander restlessly amongst his barrels, always in search of perfection. His son Franco carried on the legacy, revolutionising the appassimento process with the construction of Terre di Fumane – a state-of-the-art drying facility that precisely controls temperature, humidity and air circulation. Since 2022, the winery has been in the hands of the third generation: Francesco, Giovanni, Matteo and Silvia.

La Tartufaia is the most inviting introduction to Giulia Negri's Barolo universe – and at the same time the most complex in its origin. The grapes come from two vineyards: Serradenari and Brunate. Brunate, one of the most sought-after crus in the entire appellation, straddles the border between La Morra and the village of Barolo – facing west, on tortonian clay with a high sand content and alkaline pH. This soil chemistry is crucial: an alkaline pH means fewer available minerals, more compact vegetation, grapes with thicker skins – and ultimately a Barolo that is fruitier, more accessible and rounder than its siblings. Spontaneous fermentation in 60-hectolitre wooden vats, around 40 days of maceration on the skins – somewhat shorter than the other parcels. Then 24 months in 25-hectolitre Austrian oak barrels.

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, 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 steel, followed by 12 months in French barriques, approximately 40% of which are new.

Domizio Cavazza had vineyards in Ovello. When he founded the first Cantine Sociale in Barbaresco in 1894, Ovello was already part of his plan – one of the oldest and most original vineyards in this appellation. Today, with over twenty hectares, Ovello is by far the largest of the nine Produttori del Barbaresco sites and is located at the northernmost point of the municipal area, where the hill has various exposures – west-south-west and east-south-east – on a soil that is both calcareous and rich in clay. The clay is more present here than elsewhere in Barbaresco, and it gives the wine its typical opulence: plump fruit, full body, firm tannins. The Produttori del Barbaresco also vinify Ovello according to the same principle that has been maintained for decades: 28 days of maceration, at least thirty months in large Slavonian barrels, a further year in the bottle. The Riserve are bottled exclusively in exceptional vintages – and 2021 leaves no doubt about that.

"Unlike anything you know: this single-varietal Sauvignon Blanc is wild and unspoilt. A special experience for wine lovers." Michael Graf Goëss-Enzenberg, Weingut Manincor

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.