Formats

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.

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

Just 500x sets of 3 of these three exceptional site wines go on sale worldwide with each vintage. We are pleased to present this strictly limited wine journey through the volcanic terroir of the Soave Classico area exclusively in Germany:

In 1958, Bertani produced his first Amarone. The category was virtually non-existent, and "Amarone" is a new term for an age-old practice, yet most producers were still unsure whether this dry Appassimento wine had a future. Bertani, however, had no doubts at the time. Since then, the estate has been one of the leading voices behind a wine that is now considered one of the world's longest-lived reds. The key is patience. Corvina and Rondinella from the Tenuta Novare in Arbizzano di Negrar – vineyards dedicated exclusively to Amarone grapes – hand-harvested from the second week of September.

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.

The exposed location of the estate on the Fennberg at around 1,000 m above sea level, with late autumn morning dew and high humidity, provides the ideal conditions for the development of noble rot (botrytis cinerea), which naturally leads to an additional concentration of grape sugar. The raisin-like dried grapes are harvested from mid to late December. After gentle pressing of the grapes, alcoholic fermentation takes place in small steel tanks, where the young wine rests on the fine yeast for around six months. The bottled wine matures in the cellar for another five years.

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.

Around 300 bottles. No more. Anyone who knows the Etichetta Nera knows: you don't just buy it like that – you get it if you're lucky. The Syrah on the black label grows on a single hectare in Blera, 380 metres above sea level, exposed to the south-east, on heavy clay with rock inclusions. The same vineyard from which Emanuele Pangrazi and Marco Casolanetti have always distilled their Syrah fraction for the Habemus blend – the part that Pangrazi once described as the "mouth of Habemus": the fleshy, the dark, the substantial. What used to carry the body of the blend stands alone here for the first time.

Bricco – is what the Piedmontese call the top of a hill, the highest point where the wind blows the strongest and the sun lingers the longest. The Briccolina in Serralunga d'Alba is just such a place: a steep, south-facing slope of just one hectare, which is one of the most important Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (MGA) in the municipality. Here, where calcareous clay soils are criss-crossed by veins of sand, there are vines with stories to tell – more than half of them were planted in 1955 and are still cultivated today using the traditional Catena Vecchia, the old chain training system.

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.

Back in 2007, the winery embarked on the cru project with the aim of emphasising the natural elegance and vitality of Sangiovese and the essential value of what the Latins call the "genius loci". What began as an experiment and a challenge evolved into years of constant but calculated work to identify the best vineyards in Chianti Classico. The best winemaking and ageing methods were then applied to enhance the particular influence of the origin on the texture, flavour and character of the wine.

Until the regulations were changed in 2016, 600 metres was the upper limit for Brunello di Montalcino. The grapes for Passo del Lume Spento come from a single vineyard located on a sandstone plateau at 621 metres above sea level. It displays fresh aromas of lavender and fennel with warm, fragrant earth and a subtle smoky note. The medium-bodied, crisp and sinewy wine tastes of red berries pressed from rocky earth, accompanied by tangy acidity and remarkable freshness. The finish is still primary and mineral, with crisp tannins that give this single-vineyard cru a remarkable bite and great ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

One of Italy's finest Merlots: its inviting bouquet is almost reminiscent of a Burgundy, with notes of raspberries and, as the wine opens up, the typical black forest berries and a delicate peppery spice. On the palate, too, there is a generous variety of flavours, combining power and depth with finesse and elegance. Not at all coarse, but harmonious, beautifully rounded by ripe, silky tannins and very long on the finish. A true rarity – not least because only around 5,000 bottles were produced, meaning it is virtually impossible to come across it for a tasting. SUPERIORE.DE

Ceretto's Barolo Bussia comes from one of the most famous cru sites bordering the municipalities of Monforte d'Alba and Barolo, it draws its Nebbiolo fruit from a 7,000 sqm parcel in Bussia Soprana in Monforte d'Alba. Just 3,500 1/1 bottles and 200 magnums are bottled.

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

A Brunello Riserva that is only born in years that the winery considers exceptional. Not every great harvest produces a Caterina and certainly not a Riserva. It is the promise that Giuseppe Bianchini made to himself when he unexpectedly inherited an entire vineyard in 1985: he would create a wine that would be a monument to its terroir. The name has something sacred about it, a silent reference to the spiritual tradition of this landscape between the Abbey of Sant'Antimo and the hills of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. Santa Caterina d'Oro – the golden Catherine – as if to provide the wine with a patron saint, a protector of its long journey through time.

Before the name Ester Canale graced a bottle of wine, it belonged to a woman who inherited one of Piedmont's most famous plots: a section of the Vigna Rionda in Serralunga d'Alba, from which her cousin Tommaso Canale once supplied the grapes for Bruno Giacosa's legendary Collina Rionda. Through this circuitous route, part of this vineyard came into the possession of the Rosso family, who have been cultivating vines in Serralunga for over a hundred years. With a good dozen renowned vineyards to his name, including Cerretta, Broglio and Meriame, Davide Rosso took over the estate in 2001, bringing with him a wealth of experience from Burgundy and a keen eye for precision.

This visionary wine hails from the legendary Conca d'Oro in Panzano and embodies Giampaolo Motta's radical break with the traditions of Chianti Classico. The Neapolitan, who lost his heart to the Tuscan countryside, took the bold step of declassifying his wine in 2002 – driven by a burning desire for absolute oenological freedom. The cuvée blends Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon into a Burgundian-Bordeaux dialogue that captures the mineral vigour of the Galestro and Alberese soils on south-west-facing slopes. Careful vinification in French barriques takes place for ten months "sur lie" with regular bâtonnage, allowing the wine to develop a wonderfully silky texture.

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.

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.

With the Pinot Nero Riserva Vigna Das Langefeld, the Pfitscher family has undoubtedly created an elegant top wine that perfectly reflects the identity of the terroir.

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.