Formats

It is Ca' del Bosco's original wine: first produced in 1972 as Pinot di Franciacorta Bianco, long before the estate's spumanti brought it worldwide fame. Over the years, it has changed its name several times – from Franciacorta Bianco to Terre di Franciacorta and finally to Curtefranca Bianco. Since the 2017 vintage, it has been known as Corte del Lupo: the farmstead and the wolf, faithful guardians of the estate, adorn the new label as the essence of the terroir. The cuvée, made from 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Bianco, comes from thirteen certified organic vineyards in Erbusco, Cazzago San Martino and Passirano – vines aged between 25 and 30 years. Every single grape passes through the legendary 'grape spa': washing, hydromassage and gentle drying before it reaches the press. A quarter ferments in small oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel, followed by six months' ageing on the lees.

It was no coincidence, but opportunity, that Roberto Voerzio embarked on a new adventure in Monferrato a few years ago. As the latest addition to his exquisite collection, he put himself to the test as a passionate Barbera lover by acquiring some plots of land near Canelli and Nizza Monferrato. These are vineyards that are around 35 years old with clay and limestone soil, which gives the wine complexity and minerality. The old planting was then greatly reduced according to his modus operandi: to 3,500 to 8,000 vines per hectare with a production of less than 1 kg (!) per plant. Fermentation and maceration take place in steel tanks using indigenous yeasts, malolactic fermentation and ageing take place in barriques (70% used) for 12 months and then in steel tanks for a few months before bottling without filtration.

Pinot Grigio Unterebner is an exceptional wine: golden yellow in colour, with elegant aromas of blossom honey, lavender and tropical fruits. Delicate, buttery notes; very well-balanced and charismatic, with a long and full-bodied finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Pure Syrah from the volcano? This is not a matter of course, but a courageous commitment to the international grape variety, embedded in the alpine character of the northern slope of Etna. Sole di Sesta refers to the midday sun that hits the vines with full force in the terraced vineyards around Castiglione di Sicilia – flanked by cold downdraughts from Mount Etna, which balance out the day at night. The vines are rooted at 750 metres above sea level in sandy volcanic soil with a high stone content. The result is a Syrah that brings together the special origin and the international variety in an exciting balance.

At the dizzying heights of Lamole, one of the highest-altitude appellations in Chianti Classico, the Sangiovese grapes for this exceptional Riserva thrive at altitudes of between 470 and 655 metres. The historic terraces, built from local Macigno del Chianti – that characteristic sandstone which stores the sun's heat during the day and releases it again at night – create a unique microclimate for this certified organic wine. Lareale brings together grapes from two of Lamole's finest vineyards: "Il Prato" and "Le Masse". 95% Sangiovese, complemented by five% Canaiolo Nero, results – following visual berry selection and a two-week maceration – in a Chianti Classico of remarkable elegance and austerity. Over two years' ageing in oak barrels lends the wine additional complexity and structure.

When the first snow powders the peaks and most winegrowers have long since closed their cellars, the real work begins on Mount Roen. At the end of November, sometimes not until the beginning of December, grapes are still hanging on the vines here – golden-brown, raisined, concentrated to the essence. Every year it is a new bet with the weather, a calculated risk that the Tramin winery has been taking for decades. Because what matures here on the eastern and south-eastern slopes above Söll at an altitude of 300 to 500 metres is no ordinary sweet wine. The 15 to 25-year-old vines are deeply rooted in calcareous gravel and loamy soil, interspersed with porphyry rock. The extreme climate – mediterranean-sunny days, followed by icy downdraughts from the Dolomites – forces the grapes to concentrate, squeezing everything they have to give. The yield? A meagre 25 hectolitres per hectare. Luxury in liquid form. harvest is followed by careful maceration, then gentle pressing at just 1.2 bar. The must matures in barriques for a whole year before being left to rest in the bottle for a further few months.

A limited-edition anniversary release featuring a special label to mark the birthday of the icon of modern Sicilian winemaking: 30 years of Planeta Chardonnay – and to celebrate the anniversary, the label is on fire. Not literally, but almost: "On Fire" is the title of the artwork by Claire Fontaine that adorns the 2024 vintage in a limited edition. The artist collective, founded in Paris in 2004 and based in Palermo since 2017 – whose work "Foreigners Everywhere" gave its name to the 2024 Venice Biennale – has transformed the flame emoji into a light sculpture: extracted from the digital realm, made physical, bewitchingly beautiful. The original hangs in Ulmo's Studiolo, just a few steps away from the Chardonnay vines. The special edition is available in 300 Jeroboams – and only one of the six 0.75-litre bottles per case bears the art label. The proceeds go towards "A Long and Magnificent Walk", a greening project in the archaeological park of Selinunte: a symbolic act against the fires that threaten Sicily every summer. Thus, an anniversary becomes a statement – and a Chardonnay becomes a manifesto.

The vineyards for the 100% Pinot Noir Riserva are located in the Überetsch region between 350 and 450 metres above sea level and face south-west. The soil is a compact, dense moraine soil made up of sediments from the Ice Age, calcareous, loamy and rich in minerals. Bright ruby red in colour, with a bouquet of redcurrants, raspberries, strawberries and hints of sage. Taut and very polished on the palate, its spicy tannins flank its beautiful depth and very appealing length. SUPERIORE.DE

In Roagnas Bianco, history, terroir and the winemaker's personal touch come together in a way that is unrivalled in Piedmont. This cuvée, made predominantly from Chardonnay with a small proportion of Nebbiolo (vinified as white), comes from old vineyards around Barbaresco – sites otherwise reserved for great reds. The soil: calcareous marl with marine inclusions. The philosophy: absolute naturalness, from pest control to vinification. Following the slow pressing of whole grapes, spontaneous fermentation takes place using the vineyard's own yeasts. The wine is aged for around 18 months in large, used barrels, during which time Luca Roagna deliberately refrains from technical interventions – no fining, no filtration, and minimal sulphur addition.

This wine bears the small print name Viola delle Viole, although its fruit comes from the Bricco delle Viole and Bricco Bertone vineyards, two sites with different soil types, one of which provides structure and the other aromatic purity. Opens with a dark, almost impenetrable appearance. Powerful aromas of blackberry jam and preserved cherries unfold on the nose. You can feel its warmth and richness and there is no way around it. It is a super-sized Barbera that goes one better in terms of extraction and intensity. The finish is almost sweet, followed by good acidity. It shows great aromatic perfection, length and a very accentuated style. SUPERIORE.DE

Bright ruby red colour. Warm, balsamic bouquet of black cherry, some plum and blackcurrant syrup, then firm, complex and spicy on the palate, the fruit beautifully present and with a wonderfully long finish with notes of leather and sweet tobacco. The well-structured tannins perfectly round off the overall picture of a serious red with personality and character. The 20/24-month ageing in French oak barrels (25-35 hl), followed by a further year in the bottle, enriches the aromatic complexity of the wine with a clear focus on balance and elegance. SUPERIORE.DE

The distilled legacy of a legendary wine. The marc of Capo di Stato – cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec from the Ferreto soils of Montello – are distilled using the traditional discontinuous method in a water bath. The gentle bagnomaria process in small copper stills preserves the soul of the Bordeaux blend that Charles de Gaulle once considered a great Frenchman.

Calderara is a wine with 100% volcanic DNA. Born on one of the most prestigious single vineyards (Contrada) of northern Etna. The site is located at an altitude of around 750 metres near Randazzo, where barren, dark soils of lava rock and basalt are weathered and large porous stones flank the rows of vines. The name is derived from "caldera" – a heat-accumulating rock structure that stores heat during the day and releases it again at night. It is this interplay of volcanic power and cool mountain climate that gives Calderara its incredible precision and depth.

In 1984, on an unnamed podere in the hills between Gaiole and Radda, a quiet act of rebellion against convention took place. Marco Pallanti, the visionary Oenologist at Castello di Ama, dared to do the impossible: he planted Pinot Noir clones from Morey-Saint-Denis, the heart of Burgundy, in the chalky soils of Tuscany. What began as a bold experiment became a legend – Il Chiuso, named after that secluded, mysterious place where Burgundy's finest grape variety found its Tuscan soul. Five hundred metres above sea level, on soils with a high limestone content reminiscent of the Grands Crus of the Cote d'Or, the descendants of those Burgundian pioneers now thrive. Clones 111, 114 and 115 from Morey-Saint-Denis have found a new identity in this exceptional terroir – Tuscan in its sunny warmth, Burgundian in its finesse. The cool microclimate of this high-altitude site, tempered by the winds of Chianti, preserves the elegance and acidity that allow Pinot Nero to express itself in its purest form.

"The Friulian Path to Sauvignon Blanc" – that is what the estate calls this wine – and it leads across gravel. In San Lorenzo in the Isonzo Valley, the vines stand on a limestone plateau; the vines are thirty years old and trained using the Guyot method, with a density of between 5,200 and 5,600 vines per hectare. On its website, the estate prioritises provenance over the grape variety – a bold statement when the vine has such a strong character of its own and the wine is a single-varietal. It only holds true if the wine lives up to it. Hand-picking and careful selection of the grapes are followed by fermentation in stainless-steel tanks. The wine then spends eleven months on the fine lees, matured in a combination of stainless steel and wood, with the lees being stirred frequently during this period.

This exceptional creation is in the highest spheres of the art of sparkling wine: a Pas Dosé made from 100% Verdicchio – a rarity that only sees the light of day in the best vintages and in limited editions. Originating from the classic hills of the Castelli di Jesi, the noble Verdicchio grape undergoes one of the longest ageing processes in Italian sparkling wine production: it rests on its lees for no less than 60 months. Without liqueur d'expédition after disgorgement, the Spumante presents itself in its uncompromising authenticity – a bold act of purity that brings out the elegant clarity and natural saltiness of Verdicchio unfiltered.

While Franciacorta has long enjoyed worldwide fame, a quiet revolution is taking place in the hills of the Alta Langa. Here, where the Piedmontese provinces of Cuneo, Alessandria and Asti stretch towards the Ligurian Apennines, the sparkling wine that impresses connoisseurs with its freshness, precision and mineral depth is produced at an altitude of up to 700 metres. Pecchenino, which has been in family hands since the late 18th century and is traditionally known for its great Dolcetto and Barolo, ventured into this small but fine DOCG in 2012 with impressive success – with impressive success. The name "Psea" refers to the village of Pezzea in the municipality of Bossolasco, where Chardonnay and Pinot Nero are rooted in chalky soils at an altitude of 700 metres. The cool climate with pronounced day-night temperature fluctuations enables optimal ripening while maintaining lively acidity – the freshness that makes Alta Langa so unique. The cuvée of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Nero first undergoes alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks before maturing for nine months in barriques. Bottling is followed by 36 months on the lees before the wine is disgorged as a pas dosé, i.e. without any dosage.

Fumin epitomises the soul of alpine wine with a peppery palette of sage, rosemary and mint giving way to rose petals and a hint of camphor. It is refined yet full of life, with red berries reminiscent of citrus and a core of minerals and vibrant acidity. Finishes remarkably clean yet perfumed, with a lingering tension of sour berries. SUPERIORE.DE

Leonia is named after a woman who was a century ahead of her time in Tuscany: Leonia, Lamberto Frescobaldi's great-great-grandmother, planted French grape varieties in Pomino in the 19th century and pressed them in Italy's first gravity-fed cellar – a pioneering feat that was honoured with a gold medal in Paris in 1878. Today, her name stands for the estate's first Metodo Classico, made from Chardonnay and Pinot Nero. The grapes come from the high-altitude vineyards of Pomino, reaching up to around 700 metres above sea level. Harvested by hand, gently pressed and cold-settled for twelve hours, the must ferments in stainless steel tanks, with part of it in wood, before the classic bottle fermentation – involving a long period of ageing on the lees, riddling and disgorging – completes the wine.

There are wines that reinvent a region. Nero is one such wine – born from a vision of the Zecca brothers in the early 1980s, when they began experimenting with Cabernet Sauvignon at Tenuta Cantalupi near Salice Salentino. What initially seemed like a gamble turned out to be the most successful wine story in Apulia: the first Nero vintage in 1998 hit like a bomb and won the Tre Bicchieri of the Gambero Rosso for six consecutive years – an achievement that no other Apulian wine has ever equalled. The history of Conti Zecca dates back to 1580, when Francesco Antonio Zecca came from Naples to the fertile lands of Leverano, in the heart of Salento. For centuries, the Zeccas cultivated their vineyards with Negroamaro, Primitivo and Aglianico and became key figures in the European wine trade – relations between the Bourbon kingdom and France, England, Sweden and Denmark passed through their estate. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII awarded the family the title of Count in recognition of their services to the development of the territory. In 1935, Count Alcibiade Zecca founded the modern winery in Leverano and began to vinify his own wines. However, it was his heirs who took the decisive step of combining the indigenous Negroamaro with the international Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sauvignon Bianco combines the intense flavour of Sauvignon with the heady and rich style of Meroi. Lemon oils and wild herbal tones combine with a hint of ground ginger. It is round in texture, but with a lively acid balance that conveys elegance with green citrus and penetrating spice. The finish is long and colourful, leaving a hint of lime and a residual acidity that keeps the expression fresh. Exciting contrast of savoury and sweet. A large-format Sauvignon Blanc that retains its harmony at all times. SUPERIORE.DE

Chardonnay Al Poggio benefits from high altitude vineyards (from around 500 metres above sea level) and the cool limestone soils of the Chianti Classico region to produce this fresh, crisp and delightfully approachable white wine. The unmistakable regional elements are reminiscent of apricot and peach, with light sprinklings of Italian herbs such as fresh oregano and sprigs of rosemary. Fine mineral notes and fresh hints of citrus fruit make this incredibly flavoursome and thoroughly complex Chardonnay an ideal accompaniment to Mediterranean summer dishes. SUPERIORE.DE

They could hardly have come from more different places: Caroline Pobitzer grew up in South Tyrol, in a Renaissance castle, and was the guardian of a 600-year-old wine cellar there for decades – the oldest and largest in Europe. Jan Hendrik Erbach came from Karlsruhe, studied viticulture and oenology and gained experience in France. In 1997, the two of them jointly founded Pian dell'Orino – a small estate of just under six hectares of Sangiovese, right on the border of Montalcino's most famous address: the Tenuta il Greppo of the Biondi-Santi family. Not a bad neighbour. Biodynamic since 2003, Demeter-certified since 2018. 22 different Sangiovese clones on seven plots, lunar calendar for pruning, nettle and camomile tea for the soil. Jan and Caroline work on an area that only allows for around 17,000 bottles a year – for all the estate's wines combined.

It was called Tocai until a dispute with Hungary over Tokaji stripped it of that name. Its origin remained, and that is what matters most with this variety. "Origin matters more than variety" is the estate's guiding principle, and this holds doubly true for Friulano, which is vinified as a single variety here: It responds more strongly to the vintage than other varieties, and in Romans, on a limestone and gravel plateau at an altitude of just 25 metres, it finds in this vineyard what it needs for depth and structure. The vines, trained using the Guyot system, are planted at a density of 5,200 per hectare and are, on average, more than three decades old. The grapes are harvested by hand and selected with care. The wine remains in contact with the fine lees for eleven months, during which time the lees are stirred frequently, and after bottling, the wine matures in the bottle.