Formats

Pinzon. A vineyard site that has long been regarded by connoisseurs as synonymous with top-quality South Tyrolean Pinot Noir. This small wine-growing village on the eastern side of the Adige Valley, first mentioned in records in 1230, lies amidst the vineyards that, along the Pinot Noir Trail, are counted amongst Italy’s finest Pinot Noir terroirs. Here, at an altitude of around 550 metres in the municipality of Montan, Peter Zemmer cultivates his vines on porphyry soils with deposits of dolomite carbonate rock – —a geological combination that lends the wine its characteristic minerality. The microclimate of the site is shaped by its elevation above the Adige floodplain and its north-westerly aspect, which grants the vineyards long hours of evening sunshine. The ‘Ora’, that famous valley wind which rises from Lake Garda through the Adige Valley, cools the vines in the afternoon and regulates humidity – ideal conditions for this demanding Burgundian variety.

Bruno Giacosa was convinced that great wines begin in the vineyard – and the best way to access the vineyard is through trust in experienced farmers. Whilst other estates bought land, Giacosa spent decades building up a network of reliable grape suppliers whom he knew better than their own accountants. From these relationships emerged the Barbaresco and Barolo wines that are now among Italy’s most iconic. And from the same relationships comes the Dolcetto. The grapes come from selected vineyards in Neive, Neviglie, Treiso and Alba – the heart of the Langhe, which Giacosa had known since his youth at the family estate. Since Bruno’s death in January 2018, his daughter Bruna has been running the estate, guided by the same conviction: no intervention that obscures the grape’s identity. The Dolcetto is produced entirely without the use of wood: 7 to 10 days of maceration in steel, full malolactic fermentation, 6 months in steel, one month in bottle.

Taurasi, undisputedly the great red wine of the South, rightly described as the "Barolo of the South", reveals its full power and nobility in Feudi di San Gregorio's interpretation. This single-varietal Aglianico comes from vineyards at altitudes of up to 700 metres, on volcanic soils comprising basalt, clay and tuff. The result is a brooding, long-lived red wine with distinct regional character and sophistication.

A Pinot Grigio with ambition and from one of the estate's best vineyards. The wine comes from the eponymous Zuc di Volpe hill in Togliano, whose clay and limestone soils, combined with consistent manual harvesting and low yields, provide the basis for this cru-worthy Pinot Grigio. Matured in stainless steel with extended maturation on the fine lees, the wine is light golden yellow in colour with a slightly coppery sheen in the glass – a subtle hint of the natural pigmentation of the grape variety. Yellow pear, some ripe quince, white almonds and a hint of hay flower on the nose. Surprisingly structured on the palate, with mineral tension, good depth and a fine salty vein. A delicate phenolic note on the finish gives the wine grip and length.

At Podere le Ripi, the grapes for the Rosso di Montalcino are given more time in the cellar than elsewhere, making the wine more similar to a Brunello than a Rosso. Deep ruby red in colour with orange reflections. A captivating symphony of aromas on the nose, ranging from cherry, strawberry and violet to fresh balsamic herbs. On the palate, an impressive, broad structure, beautifully interwoven primary and secondary flavours, a fine minerality and a remarkably long finish. The longer ageing period really pays off! SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Paesi Tuoi is more than just a designation of origin. The name – borrowed from the novel "Among Peasants" by Cesare Pavese – evokes Piedmont not just as a landscape, but as a cultural space: rural, archaic, full of inner tensions. And so this Barolo is not an expression of a single cru, but a synthesis of the villages, hills and soils that together form the essence of this appellation. The grapes come from different, characterful vineyards around Barolo, Monforte and Serralunga, carefully selected and vinified separately. Long maceration periods, followed by around two years of ageing in traditional, large oak barrels – the result is a classic style with depth.

Brilliant purple red with a youthful glow. The 2024 is fresh and inviting on the nose: red cherry, crisp plum, a hint of redcurrant and floral hints of violets. Vinification in stainless steel preserves the primary fruit and crisp liveliness of the young vintage. Fruity on the palate, with a juicy texture, mild tannin structure and an animating freshness that favours the drinking flow. A Dolcetto with youthful charm and regional authenticity – uncomplicated, but with a precise Giacosa style. SUPERIORE.DE

Pietrabianca offers a contrast between richness and freshness and seduces with a blend of white flowers, almond paste, wet stone and crushed red pears. Silky and supple, it caresses the palate with an elegant wave of ripe peach and nectarine. Lingers long, leaving a mineral and acidic tension as notes of candied lime fade. Not only is it stunning today, but it has a bright future. SUPERIORE.DE

While Lagrein traditionally dominates rosé production in South Tyrol, Franz Haas goes his own way. As a Pinot Nero specialist who has vinified and meticulously documented 592 different Pinot Nero versions in over three decades, he devotes the same attention to his rosé. The vines for this wine grow on Guyot vines at extreme altitudes of between 700 and 750 metres – significantly higher than usual for rosé. Grapes of exceptional quality ripen on dolomite weathered rock, with a high planting density and selected clones. Only 5,000 bottles are produced annually. Vinification consistently follows the white wine method: after destemming, the grapes are pressed directly, without maceration. The must ferments at a controlled temperature in stainless steel, undergoes malolactic fermentation and matures for several months before being bottled. This purist approach preserves the freshness and elegance that can be expected from Pinot Nero at altitude.

In a plot right in the heart of the legendary Bricco Boschis grows one of Piedmont's most enigmatic grape varieties: Freisa – Nebbiolo's wild relative and, according to DNA studies, possibly even its genetic mother. Its name is derived from the Latin "fresia", meaning strawberry, which already hints at its aromatic profile. Native to the Piedmontese hills since the Middle Ages, it was long considered too rustic – until producers such as Cavallotto discovered its true elegance. The 2023 vintage undergoes traditional vinification using indigenous yeasts and 3–5 days' skin maceration, followed by 12–15 months' ageing in Slavonian oak barrels and six months' bottle ageing.

Praesulis Sauvignon Blanc unfolds in the glass with hints of aromatic herbs and lemon zest, accompanied by gooseberries, grapefruit and elderberries. Soothingly smooth and with a pleasant inner sweetness, it blends candied lemon with tart melon and lively acidity to create a robust yet juicy style on the palate. It finishes with vibrant tension and good length, leaving behind concentrated citrus fruit and lovely floral notes. Wonderfully elegant and well-balanced. SUPERIORE.DE

In Roman-medieval times, they called this sweet wine monument Acinatium – from the Latin "acinus", the grape berry. A name that encapsulates the essence of this extraordinary wine: made only from the very best and ripest individual Garganega berries, a selection of such precision that it borders on obsession. For the Tessari sisters, this rare Recioto is more than just a wine. It is the centrepiece of their family history, the wine of holidays and family gatherings, the first drop you would give a child to taste, if it were allowed and appropriate ...

One month separates the first harvest from the last: 18 September in Margreid, 18 October in the high altitudes of Teis and Sarns in the Eisack Valley. The fact that Alois Lageder harvests his Riesling over such a long period of time is methodical. The warm limestone slopes of Margreid at 230 metres ripen earlier and give the Surmont substance and fruit. The cool steep slopes in the Isarco Valley, on volcanic bedrock up to 900 metres, provide the opposite: freshness, tension and mineral depth. Both extremes need their own time. The name Surmont – "the mountain above" – is the programme. Riesling finds conditions at these altitudes that it rarely gets elsewhere: a long growing season, cool nights, slow ripening without stressful events. Temperature-controlled fermentation in steel, six months maturation on the fine lees.

Chardonnay doesn't really need an origin. The world drinks it everywhere, it adapts, it works. This is precisely its problem – and this is exactly where it so often fails. Those who grow it in the Aosta Valley, on granite moraine between 600 and 800 metres above sea level, with short summers, long winters and temperatures that drop to extremes at night, ask a different question: what happens to this variety when the mountain has the last word?

In 2017, Stefano Pola was proposed to plant a vineyard in the heart of the beautiful area of the Belluno Dolomites, more precisely about 9 hectares in the Valbelluna area on a well-exposed high plateau at about 650 metres above sea level. The soil here is medium-heavy with calcareous deposits typical of mountain regions. Some layers contain solidified sands that form sandstone, and in other areas marls, i.e. old clays, are exposed. The soil structure is very stony, which provides good drainage and aeration conditions. The high lime content gives the wines a distinct olfactory finesse.

Probably the most precise expression of Sauvignon Bianco, which Volpe Pasini vinifies year after year, comes from the privileged single vineyard Zuc di Volpe. At high altitude near Togliano, on marl and calcareous flysch soils, the grape variety achieves a rare balance of aromatic richness, vibrant freshness and elegant texture. 2023 was a challenging but ultimately harmonious vintage: a cool spring and changeable weather until July demanded a great deal of sensitivity, but the stable, mild late summer produced concentrated, expressive grapes with a perfect acid structure. The wine is aged exclusively in stainless steel tanks and matures for several months on the fine lees, which gives it additional depth and balance.

Friuli is white wine country. We know that. What is easy to forget: Schiopetto has also been making red wines since 1968 – and with a consistency that excludes any chance. Rivarossa is the name of a cadastral parcel on the company's own vineyards, whose clayey, loamy soil is fundamentally different from the Ponca hills of the whites. Different soil, different logic, different wine. 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon – separate vinification of both varieties, fermentation in wooden barrels for ten to fifteen days at 25 degrees, followed by fourteen months of ageing in barriques and Liters oak barrels.

Mal d'Afrika – this is not a romantic play on words. It is a real feeling: that homesickness for Africa that strikes anyone who has spent time in this landscape and cannot let go. In the south-easternmost tip of Sicily, where Vittoria lies between the Ippari and Dirillo rivers, this expression is immediately understood: the colours, the heat, the silence, the earth. COS has dedicated a wine to this feeling. The grape varieties behind it are surprising: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in equal parts – the most international varieties in the wine world, cultivated by a company that otherwise consistently favours indigenous varieties. The contradiction is resolved in the cellar. COS treats Merlot and Cabernet like Frappato and Nero d'Avola: spontaneous fermentation on the skins in terracotta amphorae, natural yeasts, no added sulphur. Then matured in Slavonian oak barrels. 25-year-old vines on the red Pliocene sandy soils of Contrada Fontane, 230 metres, biodynamically cultivated. 5,000 vines per hectare, hand-picked in September.

There are wines whose labels do not tell the whole truth. Bricco Ravera is labelled "Langhe Nebbiolo", but in reality it is Barolo in every respect – except for the name. The grapes come from the Ravera vineyard in Monforte d'Alba, one of the most prestigious single vineyards in the Barolo region, where Pecchenino has owned plots since the early 2000s. A complicated dispute over appellation rights meant that this wine had to be marketed under the less restrictive Langhe DOC – a bureaucratic detail that nevertheless works in the favour of the connoisseur: Barolo quality at a Langhe price. The vineyards are located in the hamlet of San Giuseppe near the Pecchenino family's Barolo winery. The chalky, clayey soils with a southern and south-western exposure offer ideal conditions for Nebbiolo, the capricious, late-ripening grape variety that develops its full aromatic complexity here. After alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine remains in contact with the skins for a prolonged post-maceration before being racked. Once malolactic fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred to oak barrels, where it develops the structure and depth that distinguishes it from simpler Langhe wines.

Trebianco is a golden yellow "natural/orange wine" made from Chardonnay, Traminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Trebbiano and matured in clay barrels. The initially reductive bouquet has hints of sweet tobacco, nutmeg, leather, honey, orange peel and spicy herbs. Fresh on the palate with vibrant acidity. Note: The wine is unsulphurised, unfiltered and fascinatingly special. An oxidative note and lees in the wine do not represent a lack of quality. SUPERIORE.DE

Copper-coloured with light brown reflections. The bouquet is floral, sweet and complex. On the palate, its typical Moscato flavours are carried by honey, dried fruit, caramel and a hint of musk. Creamy and dense on the palate with a well-balanced acidity that gives it plenty of freshness. Overall, Aestas Passito is a dessert wine for us that is hard to beat in terms of excitement and speciality and where you can feel the dedication and certain wine craziness with every sip. SUPERIORE.DE