Formats

Luigi and Fiorina Baudana ran their small winery in Serralunga d'Alba for three decades, with no heirs to take over the business. Rather than accepting offers from major wine houses for their 'golden mile', in 2008 they set out to find a successor themselves who would preserve their legacy, and to this end visited G.D. Vajra incognito. Aldo Vaira took over the management of the estate, whilst Luigi and Fiorina remained on board; production continues to this day in the same cellar.

In 1967, Sergio Manetti, a Milanese industrialist and passionate art collector, bought an abandoned estate in the hills of Radda in Chianti. He knew little about wine. He knew a great deal about quality. And he decided early on that his wine would make no compromises – not even those demanded of him by the appellation. When the Chianti Classico DOCG stipulated that white grape varieties must be blended in, Manetti refused. From then on, his wine was known as Toscana IGT. Not out of a lack of pride in Chianti – but because he had too much of it. What grows at Montevertine are the three indigenous red grape varieties of Chianti: Sangiovese as the soul, Canaiolo for elegance, and Colorino for colour and structure. No additions, no international compromises. Martino Manetti, Sergio's son, runs the estate with the same conviction: "Simplicity, respect, care for every detail and savoir-faire" – this is how the estate itself describes its philosophy. Words that sound simple, yet are so difficult to put into practice.

Now in its 30th vintage, it has long been an icon of modern Sicilian winemaking: Planeta's Chardonnay combines the French tradition of grape varieties with the sun-drenched terroir of the south, producing, year after year, one of Italy's most distinctive white wines. The grapes come from two different altitudes: Ulmo at 250 m and Maroccoli at 415 m above sea level. In the glass, it is a radiant golden yellow with slightly greenish highlights. The aroma is intense and refined: yellow tropical fruits, toasted almonds, citrus blossom, vanilla, wet stone and a hint of salty butter. On the palate, it is dense and full-bodied, with ripe fruit, a perfect balance between freshness and creaminess, subtle spice and a long, elegant finish. A cult wine that combines Mediterranean richness with Burgundian nobility. Ideal with lobster, pan-fried fish, poultry in a butter sauce, or even on its own as a great white wine with real character. SUPERIORE.DE

The famous Castello della Sala stands on a hill above Orvieto – a medieval stronghold, surrounded by woodland and olive groves, deep in the tranquillity of Umbria. The Marchesi Antinori have owned it for generations; but what made it a wine legend was the first Cervaro della Sala in 1985: a white wine conceived like a red – barrique fermentation, malolactic fermentation, and a long ageing process. Producing a white wine capable of ageing for decades was by no means a given in Italy at that time. But it became one. The winemaking process follows a principle once formulated by Renzo Cotarella and which still applies today: as little intervention as possible. The Castello's winery operates using gravity – no mechanical pumps, no unnecessary stress on the grapes. The harvest begins in the early hours of the morning, when temperatures are still cool. The Chardonnay macerates on the skins for four hours at 10 degrees, then ferments in barriques and matures with partial malolactic fermentation. The Grechetto remains exclusively in stainless steel – it brings the tension that the Chardonnay alone cannot provide. In February, the two are blended together.

Deep, bright ruby red in colour. This 100% Nero d'Avola is a captivating wine with its full-bodied, fruity and spicy aroma of blackcurrants, cherries, undergrowth, liquorice and dark chocolate. The soft but firm, multi-layered and warm flavour of ripe berries, the fine spice and the fine tannins are very appealing. SUPERIORE.DE

Perlé Zero is a purist Trento Doc, which is concentrated on the essentials without any dosage. It embodies the essence of Chardonnay from the foothills of the Alps like no other sparkling wine in Trentino. Refined perlage with golden, luminous reflections. Clean, straightforward aroma of grapefruit, ginger and fresh pineapple, with hints of cumin and delicate herbs as it progresses. Dry, racy mouthfeel, very precise, then opens up with a fine spectrum of aromas, leading into a never-ending finish. The essence of a dry noble spumante and great Ferrari cinema from the first to the last glass! SUPERIORE.DE

At the centre of the Via Bolgherese, that legendary wine route where the Tuscan dream and the Bordeaux vision merge into an indelible myth, lies a small kingdom of just 5.5 hectares. Here, nestled between the giants Ornellaia to the right and Sassicaia to the left, Antonio Moretti Cuseri and his sons Alberto and Amedeo tell a story of unbridled passion, a story called Orma. Orma means footprint. And this 2021 truly leaves one in the soul of the taster. The purest expression of an exceptional vintage, this organically certified Bordeaux blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc unfolds like a symphony in purple and garnet. The Mediterranean sun of Bolgheri, tempered by the salty breezes of the Tyrrhenian Sea, gave the grapes that unique ripeness that only a few terroirs in the world are capable of producing.

Deep dark ruby-purple colour. On the nose, cassis, blackcurrants and a strong herbal spice with a good dose of pipe tobacco, tar and crushed gravel. On the palate, dark berries, chocolate and a cornucopia of herbs define the full-bodied palate. This juicy wine monument has precisely integrated tannins, an enormous silkiness and an almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Helichrysum is a selection of the best grapes from the highest parcel of the estate, where the soils are both clayey and of volcanic origin.

On the "hill of the blackbirds" – is the poetic translation of Poggio ai Merli – has been producing one of the most impressive interpretations of the Merlot grape variety in Tuscany since 1999. Here, where Paolo Panerai expresses his vision of international grape varieties on Tuscan terroir, Merlot vines grow on calcareous soils between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, developing a personality that is rarely found even in the best international appellations thanks to their unique location. The name deliberately plays on the ambiguity between "Merli" (blackbirds) and Merlot – a play on words that emphasises the close connection between this terroir and the birdlife that Castellare has always protected and celebrated. Each bottle is labelled with a bird that nests in the estate's pesticide-free vineyards – a symbol of the estate's sustainable philosophy.

1992 was the year in which Tua Rita launched its first wine – not the legendary Redigaffi, but Giusto di Notri, named after the patron saint of Suvereto and the exact location of the estate. A tribute to the local church, to one of the oldest vineyard plots, and to the very beginnings. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates with 80 per cent, complemented by Cabernet Franc and Merlot – a blend that has evolved over the decades, moving away from Merlot towards a higher proportion of Franc, for spice and finesse. The vineyards are situated on loamy soils with a high proportion of coarse material; the higher plots are stonier, the lower ones more silty, whilst the Merlot in the middle section grows on clay. Long maceration lasting twenty-five to thirty days to achieve concentration and depth. Eighteen months in French barriques, half new and half second-use – followed by several months in the bottle before the wine leaves the estate.

The Tedeschi family purchased the Monte Olmi vineyard in Pedemonte in 1918; it gained its own status in the 1960s: Lorenzo Tedeschi recognised that this slope produced something unique, and vinified the harvestseparately. In 1964, the first Capitel Monte Olmi was produced – one of the first single-vineyard wines in Valpolicella and, to this day, the estate’s flagship wine. The vines are planted across 2.5 hectares using the Veronese pergola system, on terraces with dry stone walls, on a steep south-west-facing slope at an altitude of 180 to 200 metres. The soil, of moraine origin, is clay-limestone; calcium and clay are in balance, which the estate believes gives the wine structure and depth of colour. The slope drains away heavy rainfall, the deep, clay-rich subsoil stores water for dry spells, and the vines' modest growth yields small, concentrated harvests. Harvest takes place from mid- to late September; the grapes are then left to wither for four months in a controlled environment before being gently pressed. The wine ferments at just 15 degrees for between 40 and 60 days, followed by four years in Slavonian oak and a year's ageing in the bottle.

In sun-drenched Siebeneich, where the gentle slopes at an altitude of just 250 metres benefit from the warm climate of the Bolzano valley floor, Merlot finds its South Tyrolean perfection. This privileged location not far from Terlan, characterised by dry, hot soils of weathered quartz porphyry, gives the Bordeaux grape variety the intensity and structure that lead it to mastery. The name suffix "Praun" – from the South Tyrolean dialect for "brown" – since the 2021 vintage refers to the phenolically perfectly ripe, dark brown seeds and the woody-brownish structure of the stems, unmistakable signs of optimal physiological ripeness and exceptional grape quality.

Bright garnet red with a copper-coloured rim. Fine olfactory cinema of red fruits and sea buckthorn. In addition, forest earth paired with a hint of tobacco and bitter almond. In the glass still young, initially loud tannins, with some air then softer tones and a powerful, lasting final. An elegant, aristocratic wine that leaves a lasting impression not only on the first glass. SUPERIORE.DE

Ogrà, named after the family's grandmother, is the result of many years of experimentation and experience with the interaction of microclimate and terroir on the best possible development of the Syrah grape. Finally, the family vineyard Castiglione in Teverina was chosen, from whose volcanic soils the grapes for the just 3,000 bottles of this rare exceptional Syrah come.

The uncompromisingly selected grapes come from the estate's oldest vineyards. Dark and powerful, yet highly elegant flavours of wild cherries, spices, liquorice, cassis and leather with exceptional balance and purity. A radiant, cosmopolitan Italian. SUPERIORE.DE

Do you know the small vineyard Basarin near Neive? A bright ruby garnet awaits you and a wine from a particularly beautiful vintage: on the nose, a cornucopia of aromas of wild sour cherry, herbs, some liquorice and tobacco. Firm and very clearly structured on the palate, muscular and yet with an elegance that never loses control due to its power. Basarin is a highly energetic and precise Nebbiolo that reveals its complexity only with some patience and aeration. The neighbouring terroir Neive shows itself with distinguished elegance and marries harmoniously with the volume and weight typical of the site - and in a depth that only vines over 50 years old can produce. SUPERIORE.DE

Andrius. Here, where in 1893 courageous winegrowers laid the first foundations of South Tyrolean cooperative history, a Sauvignon Blanc of rare power and elegance is still produced today. The vines thrive on the limestone-rich slopes between 260 and 380 metres, where dolomite and Andrian porphyry shape the terroir like two old friends who complement one another. It is the Mediterranean climate that reveals its cooler side up here. At night, temperatures drop and the vines breathe a sigh of relief. By day, the South Tyrolean sun warms the stony soils – an interplay that lends the Sauvignon Bianco that special tension which defines great wines. In the hands of cellar master Rudi Kofler, selected grapes from the oldest vineyards are transformed into a wine of remarkable depth. Six months on the fine lees. Eighty% in stainless steel for freshness, twenty% in large wooden casks for structure.