Formats

Zanna comes from old vineyards in the best locations around Controguerra. Temperature-controlled fermentation is followed by around two years of ageing in large oak barrels and barriques. Deep ruby red colour in the glass. Black cherry, dried plums, liquorice, leather, tobacco and spices on the nose. Dense on the palate, with ripe fruit, grippy tannins and a long, slightly balsamic finish. A Riserva with a classic style and great development potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Mattia Vezzola's top wine demonstrates the heights that the indigenous Groppello grape variety can reach. Sweet dark cherries, herbs, liquorice and tar are just some of the nuances that emerge from this plush, deep red wine. Maim impresses with its extraordinary intensity and richness - from the first sip to the end of the bottle. And it is not only because of its exceptionally fine texture and almost endless finish that it is without question a jewel of a wine and a flagship of the appellation. SUPERIORE.DE

High above San Casciano dei Bagni, at an altitude of 650 metres, where Carlo Franchetti once discovered a forgotten Pinot Noir vineyard and began his Sancaba project, Grechetto now also grows – an indigenous Tuscan grape variety that develops a surprising complexity here in the cooler microclimate. Carlo, the cousin of the late Andrea Franchetti, is pursuing his vision with Sancaba Bianco: to create elegant, broodingwhite wines that express the terroir just as precisely as his celebrated Pinot Nero. Grechetto is an underestimated grape variety, but in the perfect terroir, vinified with the right flair, it produces wines of impressive structure and freshness.

Gauggiole comes from a single vineyard in the north-east of the Castiglion del Bosco estate and is vinified exclusively in concrete barrels. Bright, lively red. On the nose, fresh red berry fruits with delicate herbal notes. Well structured in the mouth with cool red fruit flavours like cherry, floral nuances of violet and peppery notes on the finish. Well balanced on the palate with fine tannins and good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

A rare white wine from the heart of Chianti Classico: Il Bianco is the remarkable exception in a terroir dominated by red wine. The white grape varieties used in this exceptional cuvée have been thriving for over 45 years on the historic dry-stone terraces of Castellina in Chianti, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. The blend, comprising 60% Procanico (a local Trebbiano clone), 30% Viognier and 10% Malvasia Bianca, embodies the visionary style of the Swiss Bär-Bettschart family.

Punggl is a word from the dialect of the South Tyrolean lowlands that refers to a small hill. But this inconspicuous name stands for one of the region's most renowned vineyards: at the foot of the Fennberg, south of Margreid, rises the eponymous hill with its precious alluvial soils of fine sand, silt and clay deposits. Here, where the Mediterranean climate of the warm valley floor meets the thermals of the Alps, the Merlot finds ideal conditions for a ripeness that combines vigour and finesse. From April to October, constant air currents characterise the microclimate of the site. The warm afternoon wind that rises from Lake Garda through the Adige Valley and the cool morning breeze from the north create an interplay that allows the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly. The vines, grafted onto low-growing rootstock and trained using the Guyot system, are tended with the utmost care.

Nearco was unbeatable. 14 starts, 14 wins – the Derby Italiano, the Grand Prix de Paris, and everything in between. The Piedmontese breeder Federico Tesio had bred him in 1935 and knew he had something extraordinary on his hands. As the war drew near, Tesio sold the horse to England for £60,000 – a sum that was a potential world record at the time. The British were so enthusiastic that they built Nearco a bomb-proof bunker. Today, he is the genetic progenitor of almost all modern thoroughbreds – from Northern Dancer to Secretariat, from Frankel to Sea the Stars.

Medium golden yellow in colour with bright reflections. The Chardonnay grapes come from selected plots in the Langhe, whose later harvest gives the wine aromatic depth and a fine melting flavour. In the cellar, the wine is carefully matured according to the Burgundian school: temperature-controlled fermentation, long maturation on the fine lees, a targeted proportion in wood to promote complexity and structure without overpowering the freshness.

The single-varietal Croatina Pertichetta presents itself in a medium-deep ruby garnet. In the full bouquet we discover fleshy notes, clove, untanned leather and dark chocolate tones. On the palate, initially with a nice balance, crisp tannins take over in the middle course (when young), before the long finish with present, ripe sour cherry tones and a beguiling depth. Not a wine for everyday entertainment, but a complex, powerful and extremely serious red, which should ideally be treated with the necessary seriousness only in a few years - reward guaranteed! SUPERIORE.DE

Pale pink with orange reflections. Elegant, fine aroma of flowers and roses, small red berries and herbs and the typical bread and yeast flavour. Very supple on the palate, fresh and forward, the acidity is agile and the mousse is soft and fine. A mouthful of red berries and a very broad range of herb and spice flavours are wonderfully enveloped by a fresh acidity that finishes this very long wine with a fruity, tart and salty note. SUPERIORE.DE

Oudeis – nobody. When the cunning Odysseus outwitted the Cyclops Polyphemus, he gave it this name. Enrico Serafino's Alta Langa bears this name out of humility: no one is responsible for the complexity of this wine – only the terroir. A philosophical bow to the high altitudes of the Alta Langa, the Piedmontese plateau that Enrico Serafino has pioneered the Metodo Classico since 1991. The grapes – 85% Pinot Nero, 15% Chardonnay – come from vineyards between 300 and 550 metres above sea level in the municipalities of Mango, Trezza Tinella, Loazzolo, San Giorgio and Bubbio. After manual harvesting and gentle whole-cluster pressing, the must ferments in stainless steel, followed by six months of bâtonnage. The second fermentation and ageing on the lees takes place over 36 months in the historic underground cellars – protected from light, temperature-controlled, timeless.

Perfection is achieved when grape variety, terroir and microclimate come together in perfect harmony. Thalman embodies this philosophy to the highest degree. This exceptional Pinot Nero hails from carefully selected vineyards on the Ritten and in Leitach, at altitudes of between 500 and 750 metres, where warm, well-ventilated hillsides and volcanic porphyry soils create ideal conditions. The centuries-old Burgundian tradition finds its South Tyrolean interpretation here through a winemaking process that combines respect for the grape variety with state-of-the-art cellar technology.

The vines are planted where the Piedmont slopes gently at Canelli and the Barbera grape can develop its depth. The name is reminiscent of Cesare Pavese, the great son of these hills – and his most famous work "La Luna e i Falò". Like the novel, this wine also carries a quiet melancholy, paired with expression, maturity and identity. Matured in barriques and large casks for around a year, this is a Barbera full of character and at the same time modern.

Buried in the volcanic sandy soils of Passopisciaro lies a story that runs deeper than the roots of the centuries-old Nerello vines. À Rina – "sand" in the Sicilian dialect – bears not only the name of this unique soil, but also the longing of a son who wished to honour his father's memory. When Giuseppe Russo founded the winery in 2005 and dedicated it to Girolamo, he did so with the painful realisation: "My father was not fortunate enough to witness this transformation and see his name on a wine." What followed was no ordinary wine story, but the metamorphosis of a pianist into a poet of the volcano. Giuseppe, who once studied Liters, returned to the vineyards of his childhood – not out of a sense of duty, but from a deep realisation: These ancient Alberello vines, growing at altitudes between 650 and 780 metres, carry the memory of his family. Here, where black lava scoria and sand compose a symphony of minerality, he understood his true calling.

In the warm alluvial soils of Gries, where thirty visionary winegrowers laid the foundations for an extraordinary Lagrein tradition in 1908, one of the greatest wines in South Tyrol is still produced today. The Grieser Prestige embodies more than a century of accumulated experience with this indigenous grape variety, which forms the heart of Bolzano's wine culture like no other. Only the choicest grapes from the best vineyards with drastically reduced yields find their way into this Riserva – a selection that begins in the vineyard and is based on the highest quality standards.

The Donna Lisa vineyard is located in the heart of Salice Salentino. The Negroamaro vines are planted in the Pugliese Alberello – the old bush vine training style, which forces each vine to stand on its own. Around 7,000 vines per hectare, on average fifty years old. Those who have been standing in the Salento soil for so long have learnt to make a lot out of a little. Hand-picked at the end of September, maceration at a controlled temperature for at least 13 days, malolactic fermentation, then transferred to French barriques in spring – maturation for around 18 months, followed by at least six months in the bottle.

With his Sancaba, Carlo Franchetti has proven that Tuscany has great Pinot Noir terroir – cool, mineral, Burgundian in elegance. But great Pinot Nero requires patience and a high price. With Petit Sancaba, Carlo created the little brother in 2022: an accessible, fairly priced entry into his Pinot world, vinified from the youngest vines of the vineyard planted in 2018 and from the second selection of the older plots. 25 per cent whole-cluster fermentation gives the wine structure and complexity, while ageing partly in concrete and partly in used tonneaux preserves the clarity of the fruit.

From the white earth of Noto, between stone walls, olive trees and orange blossom, rises Doppiozeta, a wine that doesn't illustrate south-eastern Sicily, but condenses it. It is one of the two flagships of the Mazzei family's Zisola project - a deep, finely constructed red that gives Nero d'Avola a voice that is rarely heard: concentrated, serious, supple. The vines grow on calcareous soil on a gentle slope just a few kilometres from the sea. Nero d'Avola is clearly in the foreground here, complemented by Syrah and Cabernet Franc - a precisely placed tension between fruit, flavour and structure. The grapes are harvested by hand with the utmost care, fermented in conical stainless steel tanks, after which the wine matures for around 16 months in French oak, with a small proportion in new wood.

A white rarity from the heart of Chianti Classico: Il Bianco 30 anni by Gagliole is a remarkable exception in a terroir dominated by red wine. The white grape varieties of this exceptional cuvée have thrived for over 45 years on the historic dry-stone terraces of Castellina in Chianti, which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. The blend of 60 per cent Procanico (a local Trebbiano clone), 30 per cent Viognier and 10 per cent Malvasia Bianca embodies the visionary signature of the Swiss Bär-Bettschart family. These grapes ripen particularly slowly on the Galestro-rich soils at an altitude of 420 metres, between fragrant roses and centuries-old olive trees – they are among the last to be harvested and develop exceptionally thick skins, which give the wine its intense flavour. Vinification is carried out separately for each grape variety: Procanico and Malvasia mature for seven months sur lies in French oak barrels, while the Viognier retains its fresh fruitiness in steel tanks. After blending, a further three months of ageing in the bottle follows in a climate-controlled cellar.

A wine that breaks all conventions. Tramonto d'Oca (Goose Dawn) is Poggio Bonelli's most extraordinary creation and at the same time an oenological venture of rare audacity. As one of the few single-varietal Petit Verdot wines in Italy, it embodies the courage to innovate that characterised the historic noble families of Castelnuovo Berardenga. Petit Verdot, the mysterious "little green grape variety" from the French south-west, has found a new home in the warm, sun-kissed hills of southern Tuscany. Here, at an altitude of 280 metres with perfect southern exposure, this late-ripening, capricious variety thrives under ideal conditions. The strictly limited yield of just 50 centners per hectare and meticulous hand-picking guarantee grapes of exceptional concentration and ripeness.

The finest plots around Monleale, from which the grapes for the Derthona Timorasso are sourced, cover just 11 hectares. They are situated in the Apennine and pre-Apennine hills of the Marca Obertenga, where the soils consist mainly of marl and clay-rich layers. The deep bouquet reveals notes of green and yellow fruit, candied orange, graphite, mint and a hint of camomile. On the palate, it unfolds in a straightforward manner, with that certain exotic quality, its pleasantly fresh acidity and fine tannins leading into a long finish with an attractive, Chinotto-like bitterness from citrus peel and a mineral undertone. The 12-month contact with the lees during fermentation in stainless steel ensures that it gains depth and complexity with every year of further bottle ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

Essenza is a classic Valtellina Superiore that draws its fruit from the terraced high mountain vineyards in one of the northernmost corners of Italy. Ruby red with garnet-coloured inclusions. Wonderful aromas of dried strawberries, mushrooms and flowers that open up into pure fruit. It is medium-bodied on the palate with appealing depth and intensity. The fine and complex tannins are polished and flattering. Essenza magically balances power and elegance, gaining much of its straightforwardness and focus from the lingering mineral notes of crushed slate or granite that add salty notes to the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

There are grape varieties that wait in the shade for centuries until their time has come. The Bovale Sardo – called "Muristellu" in the Sardinian dialect – was one such forgotten variety, which was once brought to Sardinia by the Iberians around 1300 and for centuries only served as a blending partner to lend colour and strength to other wines. But sometimes it only takes the courage of a visionary to realise that a treasure lies dormant in a neglected grape. Today, Korem is one of Cantina Argiolas' most important wines and a true pride of Sardinian oenology – a liquid testament to the fact that greatness is often hidden where you least expect it. In the vineyards of Tenuta Sa Tanca, where the Sardinian sun beats down on chalky-clay soils between 250 and 300 metres above sea level, the ancient Bovale vines have found their true destiny. Here, where some vines are still trained using the traditional Alberello system – the Sardinian training system that allows the vines to grow like small trees –produces grapes of exceptional concentration. The Argiolas family even allows them to overripen slightly in order to maximise the aroma density and sugar content before hand-picking begins in the early hours of the morning, when the coolness of the night still preserves the precious aromas.