Formats

On 17 March 1981, a lava flow swept down the northern flank of Mount Etna. It buried what generations of farmers had built up. The Contrada Bocca d'Orzo – , long celebrated as one of the most significant vineyards on the entire volcano, together with the neighbouring San Lorenzo – , vanished beneath the lava. And because no one had bottled Bocca d’Orzo separately before 1981, its history vanished with it. There are no bottles, no notes, no reference material. Only the memory – and the eyes of old farmers, which light up when you ask them. What the wines from there must have been like can be gauged from a single fact: as the lava cooled, half a dozen winegrowers, whose plots had been buried, covered the solidified lava flow with tonnes of earth and replanted – in the hope of regaining their lost greatness. That is not a rational act. That is faith.

The ruins of a castle tower above the entrance to the village of Terlan. First mentioned in a document in 1206. Much has changed since then – — the languages, the borders, the owners. What has remained are the porphyry rock, the northern foehn wind and the determination to produce wine here that does justice to the village. Nova Domus – new House. Founded in 1893 by 24 winegrowers, with the simple aim of being better together than alone.

A fruity and graceful Barbaresco. The loamy soils give it a firm backbone and strong tannins.

This is a wine where the label speaks its own language. Filo di Seta is adorned with an oil painting by Sandro Chia from the early 1980s – now in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It shows an androgynous figure leaping backwards into the Grotta Azzurra on Capri: weightless, suspended between sky and water. Below it, Chia's verse: "In strange, dark water – when a white dot shines, when a doll jumps – i fly by her side." Wine, the winemaker tells us, is supposed to be just that: a sensation that overcomes the obvious.

"Mature wines can be compared to a person who impresses not through strength, but through the wisdom of age. These wines have a tremendous personality, a very special charisma." (Alois Lageder)

Pinot Noir, which originates from France, has been cultivated in South Tyrol since 1850. The best sites, low yields, meticulous care and perfectionism in the cellar guarantee a fine, extremely sensual Pinot Noir with considerable ageing potential. In his constant search for perfection, cellar master Hans Terzer presents the fourth edition of the Pinot Noir Riserva "The Wine Collection" this year.

When Eugenio Palumbo, cellar master at Vietti, described the summer of 2022, he found a phrase that has echoed through the Langhe ever since: "Barolo grapes are usually harvested in wellies, not Crocs." A hot, dry year – the grapes were harvested 15 days earlier than usual, and the decisions made in the vineyard made all the difference. As in every year, grapes from around twenty different parcels flow into the Barolo – those portions that remain after selection for the single-vineyard wines. In 2022, a rare twist was added: this time, the Brunate, Cerequio and Villero vineyards were not released as independent MGA wines. Not the second selection, but their entire harvest was therefore channelled into this wine. Palumbo himself calls the result "a kind of super single vineyard" – and he is right.

Rocca Rubia is an archetypal Carignano del Sulcis – powerful, Mediterranean and at the same time of astonishing elegance. The grapes come from old, partly ungrafted vines in the sandy, coastal vineyards of the lower Sulcis region in south-west Sardinia. Fermentation took place at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks and the wine was matured for around 10 months in French oak barriques with a successful balance of wood character and fruit expression.

It is reported that the hermit Alemanno chose the hill of Rosazzo as his spiritual retreat in the year 800. Around 200 years later, the Augustinians taught the local population the principles of agriculture here. The Pignolo grape variety can also be traced back to this place until the end of the 18th century. Sensitive and low-yielding, it had almost disappeared by the end of the 19th century and was rediscovered and re-cultivated in Rosazzo.

From 1546 to 1800, Villa Cigliano was the family seat of the Antinori family in the province of Florence, the place where they first planted vineyards and pressed wine. The estate was then sold. Piero Antinori bought it back in 2011. What sounds like a sentimental gesture was actually a strategic decision: Villa Cigliano is located in the San Casciano UGA, the northernmost part of the Chianti Classico region, right on the outskirts of Florence. A terroir that gives the Sangiovese an accessibility and expressiveness that distinguishes it from the more structured sites to the south. In 2014, Antinori returned to the Chianti Classico consortium after almost four decades. Villa Cigliano is one of the most visible proofs of this commitment: 100% Sangiovese from a site that the family chose over five centuries ago as the first vineyard in the history of the house. Gran Selezione – the highest category of the appellation. 5,000 to 6,000 bottles.

Bricco di Treiso 2021 comes from the single vineyard of the same name, one of the highest parcels in the appellation, where the vines are rooted on calcareous marl soils in a cool microclimate. The 2021 vintage brought ideal conditions: a cool spring, followed by a balanced summer and a long, dry autumn – perfect for the slow ripening of the Nebbiolo. After a long maceration period, the wine matured in large oak barrels and a small proportion of barriques. In the glass, it is garnet-red in colour with delicate orange reflections and notes of rose, sour cherry, liquorice and light spice on the nose. On the palate, it is powerful yet finely characterised, with precise acidity, cool fruit and saline depth. The tannins are present but silky and interwoven – a Barbaresco of austere beauty, great transparency and with long ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

The Castellina in Chianti UGA is located in the western heart of the appellation, a municipality on a ridge between the Arbia and Elsa valleys, with soils of silt, clay and sandstone that give the Sangiovese fullness and warmth. The slopes are sunny and the microclimate is warm. Anyone who works in Castellina knows that Sangiovese matures differently here than elsewhere in Chianti Classico. Antinori acquired the Buiano estate in 2017 – a relatively recent decision within the long-term Gran Selezione project, which comprises four individual vineyards from four different UGAs. No other Chianti Classico estate has such a broad territorial representation. Buiano is the most powerful, full-bodied expression of these four. 100% Sangiovese, 5,000 to 6,000 bottles.

Its multi-layered bouquet of spices, black olive, rosemary, plum and cherry opens slowly. On the palate, firm, compact and initially introverted, then mint, spices, dark red fruit, plus cassis and graphite. The taste experiences come to light in small slices; with this outstanding red wine, it is worth waiting as hardly anywhere else to be able to fully discover the depth and complexity of this Tuscan jewel. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Roberto's "entry-level Barolo" come from four of his best vineyards, which are harvested a few weeks earlier than those reserved for his Grand Crus. It is also the most balanced of his Barolo wines, even if the fruit and acidity are anything but restrained, but the proportions are just right here. The structure is great, its length and elegance inspiring - the refined layered components such as raspberry, cherry and its subtle salty vein make it without doubt one of the most serious wines of the entire appellation - a real Voerzio for comparatively little money. SUPERIORE.DE

La Morra is the softest, most flowery municipality in the Barolo region – that's not a cliché, it's geology. The calcareous and marl soils of this high altitude give the Nebbiolo a fineness of tannin and a floral aroma that is not found in the sandier sites of Serralunga or Castiglione Falletto. Roberto Voerzio has understood these characteristics better than almost anyone else – and has built up his entire business on La Morra since 1986. The Barolo del Comune di La Morra brings together four of his most important single vineyards in one wine: Cerequio, La Serra, Fossati and Case Nere. None of these parcels stands back – each brings its own character, its own texture, its own flavour. The assemblage is not created to hide imperfections, but to fully reveal the image of the commune. 12 months in tonneaux, then bottle ageing. Natural yeasts, no filtration, no intervention.

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.

In the autumn of 1988, the owners of two Tuscan wineries sat together over a convivial dinner and began to compare their wines. What began as a friendly gesture led to a discovery: the blending of Capannelle's Sangiovese from Gaiole in Chianti with Avignonesi's Merlot from Montepulciano resulted in an extraordinary harmony. This is how the 50 & 50 – a legend that has endured for over three decades. The two grape varieties are vinified separately: The Merlot undergoes a 20-day maceration at a controlled temperature, while the Sangiovese macerates on the skins for ten days. Both then mature for 18 months each in French barriques before being blended into a perfect unit.

Chiara Boschi's Cannubi 2020 beguiles on the nose with layers of fragrant fruit. A sensual Barolo and yet quite typical in its vineyard character. Soft, silky tannins frame the long finish. A wonderful wine, characterised by its balance and above all by the sweetness of its tannins. Very full-bodied, focussed and with great length. SUPERIORE.DE

After a year's break, the new edition of the long-awaited Brunello Annata comes onto the market with the outstanding 2019 vintage. Initially restrained on the nose, with a little coaxing in the glass it reveals a beautiful blend of fragrant black cherries, mentholated spices, wild herbs, white smoke and a hint of leather. On the palate, silky, enveloping textures, contrasted by cool red and black fruits, plus lively acids that emphasise the spicier and sweeter side of the wine and glide endlessly on the final with fine tannins and minerals. We can already recognise a harmony here that makes us eagerly anticipate the further development of this wonderful wine. SUPERIORE.DE

As always, the stunning Vigneti del Versante offers a spicy and seductive fruit of black cherries and plums, along with flowers, tobacco, minerals and undergrowth. The wine shows great fibre and density, with much of this power coming from the heavier soils of the selected vineyard sites. The overall impression is captivating with its intensity, yet luxurious and mysteriously dark. SUPERIORE.DE

Eucalyptus and red berries on the nose. Energetic, deep and elegant Barbaresco with a cornucopia of fruit, plus some rose petals and spices. Wonderfully polished style, one of Pelissero's great wines. SUPERIORE.DE

The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has selected and worked the Sangiovese with passion over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, stands out from all other vineyards for its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-easterly exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi pursued and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s. It is a wine with an intense and persistent character, ruby red colour, fine and elegant tannins. After maturing in tonneaux for at least 24 months, it is bottled until it is released onto the market. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that you like to drink. And there are wines that make you fall silent. Two vineyards engage in a silent dialogue here: Buri in Buttrio and Filip in Rosazzo – vineyards that are bottled separately in great years but combine their voices here in the 2022 vintage. Buri brings structure and those smoky, creamy notes of cocoa and coffee reduction that Antonio Galloni once praised as "one of the most profound expressions of Merlot on the planet". Filip responds with immediacy and flinty-fresh elegance, with violets and delicate finesse. The result is more than just addition: it is synthesis. The vinification follows Enzo's credo of consistent restraint. Spontaneous fermentation without temperature control, ageing in French barriques – only a quarter of them new so as not to mask the fruit. No filtration. The wine decides for itself when it is ready.

The Palafreno was no warhorse. In the parades and processions of the Middle Ages, it carried the knight into the public eye – with nobility and dignity. Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni chose this name for his Merlot because it describes exactly what he hoped for from this grape variety: not power for power’s sake, but character with poise. Querciabella was founded in 1974 by Sebastiano’s father Giuseppe in Greve in Chianti. Organically farmed since 1988, long since biodynamic, and vinified using vegan methods – the estate articulated its commitment to integrity earlier than most others. The Palafreno is Sebastiano’s personal project: pure Merlot, from the finest vines in Ruffoli, the Cipresso and Marrone plots, on galestro-rich soil amidst olive groves and oak forests. Produced not to serve the market, but to demonstrate what Merlot is capable of in the heart of Chianti Classico when taken seriously.