Formats

Grattamacco is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese, the latter grape variety certainly contributing to the fresh style of this wine. However, the overall picture is only complete when you realise that the vineyards used for this blend are among the best in the appellation. The Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore is characterised by its typical aromas of leaves and Mediterranean forest, with subtle flavours of kiwi peel, cassis, paprika and chocolate. Velvety, youthful and firm on the attack, less light than the Alberello, but more tightly woven and of great elegance. Its length is astonishing, great potential! SUPERIORE.DE

1997 saw the birth of Bradisismo, named after the geological event that led to the formation of the Colli Berici. It is a successful symbiosis of the intense, concentrated flavour of ripe Cabernet cherries and the lively, spicy notes of Carménère. With its bouquet of small dark berries, spices, pepper and chocolate, it is a wonderfully inexpensive alternative to the great Bordeaux blends or Supertuscans. On the palate, it has a velvety texture, with a mix of dark fruits, cherries, floral notes and fine tannins that glide seamlessly over the palate. Deep, long finish and very good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Pajana - the most modern wine in the entire Clerico range - presents itself as a closed, compact wine with great potential. Rich ruby colour with a slight garnet rim. Compact nose, with rich notes of blackberry, dark cherries and a hint of cinchona bark in the background. Literally explodes on the palate, lots of ripe, present fruit, then opens up with lots of fine-meshed tannins, savoury depth, full-bodied pressure. SUPERIORE.DE

The extremely complex Barbera d'Asti La Crena comes from vines up to 90 years old in the heart of the Nizza Monferrato region and smells of ripe red fruits, hay and pastries. The full-bodied, warm taste lingers long with plenty of dark fruit, well-proportioned acidity and fine cocoa tones. SUPERIORE.DE

"In 2012, I bought the small vineyard Le Gonnare and began to cultivate it. It represents the excellence of the Bolgheri terroir. The soil is clayey and rich in skeleton, which allows for very gradual ripening, a particularly important aspect for Merlot. The character of the wine is therefore Mediterranean, but balanced." Fabio Motta

Siepi has always been more than just a vineyard – it was a vision waiting to become reality. Owned by the Mazzei family since 1435, this mystical place lies amidst dense oak forests near Castellina in Chianti: ten hectares of pure magic on Alberese soils, which even the ancient Romans knew how to appreciate. Paradoxically, the story of Siepi 2023 begins with one of the most challenging vintages of recent times. A mild winter with scant rainfall, followed by a rainy spring that pushed the Mazzei winemakers to their limits. And yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, a wine emerged that impressively embodies the estate's philosophy: "Great vineyards shine in difficult vintages."

Boscarelli's Il Nocio, a Nobile di Montepulciano from a single vineyard, impressively demonstrates the true essence of the Sangiovese grape and has also been one of the region's quality leaders for years.

Montalcino has many faces. In the south, where the soil is deeper and warmer, Brunelli are produced with lush vigour and Mediterranean richness. In the north, in the Montosoli area, a different voice speaks: cooler, more mineral, characterised by a tension that defines classic vintages. Here lies Valdicava – in the Val di Cava, the valley of the quarries, at 350 metres, with a soil of galestro, limestone and clay that has given Sangiovese Grosso its characteristic structure for three generations. Bramante Abbruzzese bought the estate in 1953 and his grandson Vincenzo took over in the 1980s, turning Valdicava into what Robert Parker described as one of the three or four best Brunello addresses in Italy.

Here comes the third vintage of Stefano Frascolla's heart project from the Alta Maremma. Just 2,500 bottles of this 100% Syrah are bottled, aged (on the skins) for half a year in amphorae, then filtered and matured in small French oak barrels.

In the summer of 1983, Elio Altare picked up a chainsaw and cut up his father's old Slavonian barrels. An act of rebellion, a break with tradition and the start of a revolution in Barolo. His father subsequently disinherited him, but Elio remained true to his path: Burgundian vinification, French barriques, shorter maceration and ageing periods. The Langhe traditionalists were appalled. But what of the wines? They sold out immediately. Today, Elio Altare is regarded as one of the "Barolo Boys", a pioneer of the modern Barolo style – and Arborina is his most famous flagship wine.

Cresasso - an exquisite, pure Corvina. Intense aromas of dark fruit, rose petals and spices. Rich, concentrated fruit on the palate, silky, with a remarkable inner sweetness. Distinctive and sensual. SUPERIORE.DE

In 2007, Franz Haas planted a single vineyard at an altitude of 750 metres, which was intended to encapsulate his understanding of Pinot Nero in the Dolomites. The name "Pònkler" refers to this exceptional parcel, where French clones thrive in extreme planting density on weathered porphyry soil. South-south-west facing, very low yields of between 25 and 30 hectolitres per hectare, only 2,500 to 3,500 bottles per year – these are the sobering facts behind a wine that culminates Franz Haas' three-decade-long obsession with Pinot Nero. Franz has vinified and meticulously documented 592 (!) different Pinot Nero versions in his lifetime. Every clone, every vinification method, every ageing process has been meticulously recorded – the search for the perfect Pinot Nero, which he demanded of himself but never thought he had achieved. Pònkler represents this tirelessness: the altitude gives the wine those ripe notes that only develop in the cool alpine climate, where the grapes have time to develop phenolic ripeness and freshness at the same time.

Luce is the iconic wine of the estate of the same name and symbolises the harmonious balance between the elegant structure of Sangiovese and the richness of Merlot. The wine marries the tradition and terroir of the Montalcino region with a personal interpretation of this extraordinary land.

Between stone and altitude. The name already reveals where this wine gets its soul from: from the highest parcels of the Tenuta Costalunga in Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella, where the ground gives way to bare rock at 300 to 350 metres. Cresasso – a word that describes precisely this encounter in the local dialect: where earth meets stone, where the Corvina must put down its deepest roots in the barren, calcareous moraine soil with its high proportion of skeleton and chalky white inclusions. Sergio Zenato's vision was to create a wine that celebrates Corvina Veronese in its purest form – without the accompaniment of Rondinella or Corvinone, without the appassimento technique of Amarone. Instead, a slight over-ripening on the vine, hand-picked in the second half of October, when the grapes have reached their maximum concentration. Vinification follows the rhythm of the fruit: 15 days of maceration at 25-26°C, then 24 months of ageing in French tonneaux, followed by at least a further year of bottle ageing. Time as an ally, not an adversary.

Four grape varieties, one principle: uncompromising. While other winegrowers compose their cuvées according to formulas, Enzo Pontoni decides anew each year what proportions the vintage requires. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and the autochthonous Refosco (Tazzelenghe) – are combined in varying proportions, but always with the same signature. The vinification follows the rhythm of the decades. Merlot provides the dark fruit, Cabernet Sauvignon the structure, Cabernet Franc the vegetal finesse – and Refosco the indomitable acidity that gives the wine its backbone. The components rest for twenty-four months in French barriques before Enzo marries them to create a cuvée that is more than the sum of its parts.

It was the wine journalist Francesco Arrigoni who managed to extract a promise from Franz Haas. He had seen the beauty of these high-altitude vineyards, surrounded by meadows and woods in the municipality of Aldein, where only wild game roams, and recognised the quality that grew from this one plot: the Pònkler. Arrigoni's request was that it should be bottled separately. A promise the estate kept – even though, at first, it was impossible to know how the wine from the grapes of such a young vineyard would develop.

Pònkler is the house's top wine and at the same time the essence of Franz Haas' decades of experience with the undemanding Pinot Nero grape. The vines, planted in 2007, grow on soils of weathered porphyry in a single vineyard at an altitude of 750 metres. The selection of French clones, which have proven to be particularly suitable for high altitudes, the high density of vines and the low yields guarantee a very high quality of grapes.

Wine Solidarity. The term was coined by Elio Altare and six of his colleagues from the Langhe themselves in 1997, when they turned an idea into a structure that continues to function to this day. The seven founders – Altare, Giovanni Corino, Federico Grasso, the Revello brothers and Mauro Veglio from La Morra, Gianfranco Alessandria from Monforte d’Alba, and La Morandina from Castiglione Tinella – formed a pact: each would produce their own wine under the shared name L’Insieme, up to 5,000 bottles per year. And each would pay 5 euros per bottle produced into the shared fund. Not per bottle sold – per bottle produced.

Zottorinoto is not just any contrada – it is a legend among connoisseurs of Etna. Embedded in the historic parcel landscape around Castiglione di Sicilia, this single vineyard rests at 750 metres above sea level, characterised by ancient, barren lava flows rich in basalt, ash and volcanic sand. Wines with a crystal-clear mineral identity are produced here, in which the fire of Mount Etna meets the cool elegance of high altitudes. Only a small proportion of the vines – exclusively Nerello Mascalese – is earmarked for this exceptional Riserva. The vines are deeply rooted in the dark soils, many of them over half a century old, cultivated in the traditional Alberello way. Vinification is carried out with the utmost care: manual harvest in small crates, spontaneous fermentation on the skins for around 30 days, gentle pumping over, long maceration. The wine then matures for 24 months in French tonneaux (partly new), followed by a further 24 months in the bottle. The 2019 vintage was balanced and cool – with long vegetation cycles, ideal ripeness and striking freshness. A year for long-lasting, precisely structured wines.

Plot ten is the exception in the Bertinga vineyard: the only one facing north, and the one with the highest clay content. There, a Merlot is grown for Volta di Bertinga at altitude in Gaiole in Chianti, where Sangiovese otherwise reigns supreme. The soil is the same as that of the entire vineyard: Alberese, a calcareous marl that has been in place for around 50 million years, with compact stones, and is shallow to medium in depth. In this north-facing slope, it combines with a low pH level, which is the ideal combination for early-ripening varieties such as this: lively acidity coupled with fully ripe tannins. Harvested by hand, the grapes are taken to the sorting table and fermented in stainless steel. The wine is then aged for 18 months in French barriques, 30% of which are new, followed by at least one and a half years in the bottle before it is released. The year 2019 began cool and dry; growth was slightly behind schedule. The summer remained consistently warm without any extreme temperatures or heavy rain, and in September, warm days and cool nights ensured the grapes ripened fully right up to the very end.

Of the four Gulfi-Cru, this is the vineyard closest to the sea, less than 700 metres away and only 10-15 metres above sea level. With vines that grow on sandy soils. A beautiful, multi-layered wine that shows the elegant side of Nero d'Avola that few producers are ever able to present. Precise aromas of ripe red cherries, flint, orange peel, lavender and violets. Silky and juicy on the palate, with a refined but very concentrated extract that almost crushes the taste buds, yet remains lively and not at all heavy, giving the flavours of red cherries, raspberries, flowers and minerals beautiful definition and lift. The finish is very deep and long, with very soft tannins, a beguiling aroma and extreme finesse; very Barolo-like. SUPERIORE.DE

Luigi Veronelli would have turned one hundred years old on 2 February 2026. This is no ordinary anniversary for Castellare di Castellina, because without Veronelli, this wine would not exist. It was 1976 when he was walking through the vineyards of Castellare with Paolo Panerai and stopped at the descent to the estate's most beautiful parcel. "Paolo, call it I Sodi di S. Niccolò," he said. And then, even before Panerai could explain the choice of grape variety, he haunting: "Forget the French varieties. Sangioveto and Malvasia Nera – they are better." It was exactly what Panerai himself thought. The first harvest followed in 1977.