1.5 liters | Magnum

The grapes for UnoPerUno come from the cru sites Arborina in La Morra, Cannubi in Barolo, Pernanno in Castiglione Falletto, Sarmassa in Barolo and Cerretta in Serralunga d'Alba and are individually destemmed. As a result of this intensive manual labour, just 1,300 bottles of this exceptional wine are sold in the well-stocked specialist shops, and only in the best vintages. Due to the manual destemming, no green overtones from the stems get into the mash, making the tannins silkier and creamier than with the conventional method. The result is something to savour: UnoPerUno has a high fruit intensity, incredible depth and structure and is a benchmark of the appellation every year in its purity and clarity on the nose and palate. SUPERIORE.DE

Le Potazzines Riserva from the dream vintage 2019 is an absolute eye-catcher, vibrantly fruity yet refined. It is a prime example of purity. Ripe black cherry, exotic spices, liquorice, rose petals, cedar wood and sage can all be detected in the glass. This is one of the most harmonious wines of the vintage, with a deep, silky texture and an abundance of red fruit complemented by a hint of clove, crisp minerals and a core of vibrant acidity. Then dramatically long and powerful but still fresh on the final, ending with a cascade of spices, flowers over a complex web of graphite-like tannins. One of the most perfect wines of the vintage in Riserva quality! SUPERIORE.DE

There was no Montosoli for two years due to quality reasons, but now it is back in its peak year and for the first time in a 0.Liters bottle. Irresistible bouquet of orange peel, cherries and herbs, plus floral undergrowth, white smoke and wild berries. The attack is fascinatingly soft and pure, infused with salty minerals, while sweet notes of cherry and raspberry slowly emerge and increase the pressure. The whole is flanked and completed in its complexity by tannins that still have a youthful grip. What could be more high-class than a perfectly proportioned (and extremely limited) Brunello from one of Montalcino's most famous vineyards? SUPERIORE.DE

Sugarille 2019 is certainly one of the greats of its vintage. A crescendo of dark berries, Amarena cherries, tar, liquorice and smoky notes on the nose. The intensity continues on the palate: Sugarille is uncompromisingly powerful, with multi-layered fruit, striking tannins and wonderful acid wire. With increasing aeration, the impressiveness and opulence give way to a wonderful finesse that will continue to refine and develop with further years of bottle ageing. A wine as beautiful today as it is today - and guaranteed to be even better tomorrow! SUPERIORE.DE

It was spring 2010, a family lunch at Altare. Elio opens a bottle of Larigi 1986 – a Barbera from a notoriously difficult vintage, characterised by hail and rain, one of the last bottles from the family library. The expectations? Low. The result? Spectacular. Antonio Galloni later said of this wine: "The fruit remains lively and incredibly pure right through to the long, polished final. The balance is simply superb." Why was this wine so exceptional? Because in 1986, in a vintage destroyed by hail, Elio decided to destem every single berry by hand – only the few perfect berries went into the mash. Two barriques, 600 bottles, one great Barbera. Silvia Altare remembers this lunch and the idea that came from it: "Why don't we try this with Nebbiolo? And why not with our historic family vineyard Arborina?" The 2010 harvest was imminent and the grapes were perfectly ripe. The goal? Maximum purity of the fruit – no stems, no leaves, no unwanted berries, no insects. Because Nebbiolo is difficult to destem completely: The stems are fragile, even the most expensive machines cannot work as precisely as the human hand. 26 days of work, three barriques, 900 bottles – the first UnoPerUno was born. 2010 was never released, it was the first attempt ...

Rare, exceptional Merlot from the west of Tuscany: deep ruby red with violet reflections. The bouquet is multi-layered with hints of wild berries and blackberries, ripe cherries, but also liquorice and tobacco notes. Very structured and lively on the palate. The silky tannins emphasise the delicate minerality right through to the almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that become legends before they are even drunk – and then there is Madonna del Piano 2019. In the small votive chapel that gave this mythical vineyard its name, the faithful of centuries past could hardly have guessed that one of the most monumental Brunelli in wine history would one day be born here. But that is exactly what happened in 2019, when the stars aligned perfectly over Montalcino. The 2019 vintage is already being described by connoisseurs as a dream vintage – a year in which nature did everything right. A cold, rainy winter replenished the water reserves, a balanced spring ensured even budding and a moderately warm summer without extreme heat or heavy rain created ideal conditions. In September, mild temperatures and large temperature fluctuations between day and night brought the perfect ripening that only exceptional vintages achieve.

Rare, exceptional Merlot from the west of Tuscany: deep ruby red with violet reflections. The bouquet is multi-layered with hints of wild berries and blackberries, ripe cherries, but also liquorice and tobacco notes. Very structured and lively on the palate. The silky tannins emphasise the delicate minerality right through to the almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Terlano I (pronounced Primo) Grande Cuvée is the name of the white flagship of Cantina Terlano. In recent years, the winery has made a name for itself worldwide with its long-lasting, mineral white wines. Even years later, the wines still present themselves with top freshness and great complexity. With this long history of white wines, since the 2011 vintage there is now a wine in which the essence of Terlan is expressed in an even more focussed way. Terlaner I Grande Cuvée combines the Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon grape varieties from the Winkl, Kreuth and Vorberg vineyards to create a masterpiece which, due to its limited and exclusive nature, will only be available from hand-picked retailers and in selected top restaurants.

Cellar master Rudi Kofler once put it this way: he was searching for a wine that embodied the very essence and authentic character of the Cantina Terlan. A wine that brings together the greatness of the finest vines and vineyard sites. The result is the Terlaner I Grande Cuvée – which, since 1893, has been the quiet flagship of a cooperative that has proven that depth and time are not a matter of ownership. Terlan lies in the Adige Valley, sheltered in the shadow of the Tschöggelberg, on the southern foothills of the Alps. What distinguishes the soil beneath the vines from all other soils in South Tyrol is a geological phenomenon: beneath Terlan lies a sub-volcanic rock formation whose composition differs fundamentally from that of classic volcanic rock. Over millions of years, a unique crystalline conglomerate formed within it – —an unusually high concentration of minerals that the soil passes on to the roots. No calcium carbonate, a slightly acidic pH, sandy porphyry weathering soils: stress-induced minerality as the principle, salinity as the result.

Terlano I (pronounced Primo) Grande Cuvée is the name of the white flagship of Cantina Terlano. In recent years, the winery has made a name for itself worldwide with its long-lasting, mineral white wines. Even years later, the wines still present themselves with top freshness and great complexity. With this long history of white wines, since the 2011 vintage there is now a wine in which the essence of Terlan is expressed in an even more focussed way. Terlaner I Grande Cuvée combines the Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon grape varieties from the Winkl, Kreuth and Vorberg vineyards to create a masterpiece which, due to its limited and exclusive nature, will only be available from hand-picked retailers and in selected top restaurants.

Montosoli is a plateau to the north of Montalcino – one of the few sites in the appellation to which producers from different houses refer when they want to name the best of their terroir. A name like a silent agreement among those who know: This is where the soil speaks most clearly. The high proportion of silt in this special subsoil gives the Sangiovese Grosso a minerality, transparency and freshness that can hardly be found in this form in any other part of Montalcino. And at the heart of this plateau lies the Vigna Montosoli of Valdicava. Vincenzo Abbruzzese has treated this parcel differently from the very beginning – harvested separately, vinified separately, vinified separately. Vigna Montosoli is Valdicava's youngest single vineyard and also its flagship: the 2019 first vintage immediately received 100 points from James Suckling, one of only two perfect Brunellos from this exceptional vintage. The message was clear.

The grapes come from the single vineyard MGA Rabajà in the municipality of Barbaresco. 2019 is a retro vintage, so to speak, as it marks a return for Vietti, who vinified Rabajà back in the 1980s. The soils are calcareous and clayey, with a south/south-west exposure and an altitude of around 235-315 metres above sea level. The average age of the vines is 51 years and they are cultivated according to the Guyot system. Intense garnet red colour. Opulent and delicate on the nose with floral scents of rosehips and violets and ripe black cherry. Amazingly fresh and enveloping for a mature Riserva from the very first sip. The tannins are ripe, soft, silky and wonderfully integrated, giving the wine a great structure and elegance. What completely won us over during the tasting was the almost immeasurable length of the wine, which is still resonating as we write this. Complimenti! SUPERIORE.DE

Messorio has been undisputedly one of the best and rarest Merlots in Italy since the mid-1990s. It was named after the Tuscan wheat harvest, the most fundamental moment in the agricultural year – was created in 1994 from Eugenio Campolmi's (†2002) personal challenge to Merlot. It was not to be a tame, predictable wine, but a spirited thoroughbred, ready to make a grand entrance. The 2019 vintage epitomises the elegance of slow ripening without extreme heat. A mild winter with little rainfall, followed by cool March days and gradually rising temperatures in April, led to cautious development. The rainy, cool May slowed down the vegetation, while the hot start to June required intensive foliage work.

The name Messorio carries the memory of the time when the wheat harvest marked the most important moment in the Tuscan agricultural year. Today, it stands for one of the most extraordinary Merlots in the world. What began in 1994 as Eugenio Campolmi's personal challenge to an often underestimated grape variety developed into the crown jewel of Le Macchiole. The 2021 vintage benefited from ideal climatic conditions in Bolgheri: a long, dry summer with cool nights allowed for homogeneous ripening and created the remarkable balance between sugar, acidity and tannins that makes Messorio an exceptional Merlot. The early manual harvest between the first and second week of September produced grapes of exceptional aromatic intensity. The 30-day fermentation in natural cement columns, followed by 16 months of ageing in new barrels, 12 hl vats and ceramic amphorae, created a texture of exceptional suppleness.

In the hot, challenging summers of the climate change era, Messorio proves its exceptional class. The 2020 vintage masterfully navigated through a difficult growing season and shows why Cinzia Merli's flagship is now one of the world's best Merlot interpretations. Only around 11,000 bottles of this rarity are produced from the Vignone (1999) and the younger Ulivino (2016) vineyards with the most rigorous yield reductions. The 18-month maturation in 100% French oak, 5% of which is in amphorae, creates an exceptional balance between power and refinement.

The Torriglione vineyard is a stone's throw away from Annunziata, and the eponymous single-vineyard Barolo is not only released two years later than the other crus of the house, but it is also exclusively filled in magnum bottles. It shows its very own character first and foremost with a noble restraint and caginess, and its density and complexity only give a taste of what awaits Barolo lovers here after a few minutes of aeration. Here, everything is in its place and there is more than enough of it: freshness, fruit, acidity, tannin, and the whole paired with a finesse that is unparalleled and that one would rather expect in Burgundy or Etna. A wine that indisputably belongs to those that you must have drunk at least once in your life! SUPERIORE.DE

Over the years, Roberto Voerzio has changed his winemaking to a gentler extraction and reduced the influence of French oak, making the purity of the fruit very expressive. What is remarkable about all his wines is his non-interventionist approach. In addition, up to two-thirds of each bunch is cut away in the vineyard to ensure even ripening of the remaining grapes. Roberto also chooses different bottle formats to present each wine as accurately as possible.

Roberto Voerzio has a clear idea of how this wine should be drunk. He produces the Torriglione exclusively in magnums – not because the production is too small for standard bottles, but because he wants it that way. His own reasoning: These wines are "made for warm celebrations with old friends and an infatuation with discovery." The Magnum is not a format, it is a programme. And the format is not without consequence: a magnum ages more slowly than a 0.Liters bottle because the ratio of surface area to wine volume is more favourable. The tertiary flavours develop more evenly, the fruit remains present for longer and the tannins have more time to interweave. Voerzio has thus given this wine a different future than all the other crus of the house.

"The dynamic vintage produced rich and structured wines, with each of the grape varieties expressing their particular qualities. We got a classic Ornellaia, combining sunny ripeness with elegance in a wine defined by harmony and proportion." Axel Heinz, Gutsdirektor

In 1977, Sergio Manetti produced his first pure Sangiovese from Radda in Chianti – without Canaiolo, without Colorino, without the white grapes that the Chianti regulations prescribed at the time. Not because he wanted to break the rules, but because he believed that this soil, these vines, this single grape variety needed no additions. From the very beginning, the wine was called Toscana IGT, not out of defiance, but out of consistency. And it bore a name rooted in the landscape itself: Le Pergole Torte – the twisted, winding pergolas of old Chianti, those wooden trellis systems up which the vines of our grandfathers’ generation climbed. A reminder of what was, before modernity straightened out the vineyards.

Giovanni Neri died in 1986, fifteen years after buying Podere Casanova. He had lived the dream – but not long enough to see what became of it. His son Giacomo and his grandsons Giovanni and Gianlorenzo continue to live his dream. And on the fiftieth anniversary of the first vineyard, they dedicated a wine to the founder that bears his name – and his attitude: the belief that Montalcino can do more than the world thought at the time. The vineyard is old and untamed, as the estate itself puts it – vines over fifty years old that have never stopped taking deep roots.

Classic Sangiovese interpretation with a wonderful balance of elegance and power. Very firm, dark fruit, fine-grained tannins and a well-dosed acid wire. As it progresses, it opens up with a wealth of aromas of forest fruits, violets and freshly ploughed earth. A magical wine from a great vintage with an already recognisable longevity and great potential. SUPERIORE.DE