Formats

Since 1871, the name Garofoli has embodied the soul of the Marchigian wine culture – a story of five generations that has its roots in the holy city of Loreto, where Antonio Garofoli once refreshed weary pilgrims with local wine. What began as a humble tavern developed under his son Gioacchino into one of Italy's most venerable wine houses, which is now run by brothers Carlo and Gianfranco and their children Gianluca, Caterina and Beatrice. Podium originates from the classic hills of the Castelli di Jesi, the historic heartland of Verdicchio, where medium loamy soils with sandy and calcareous inclusions form a mosaic that gives the Verdicchio grape its unmistakable minerality. The long ageing process takes place without the use of wood.

Smells intensely of redcurrants and black cherries, leather, spices and liquorice. Lush and flowing on the palate, all elements merge into a great, striking wine. Great potential! SUPERIORE.DE

In 1971, a successful textile merchant from Umbria bought an estate. Arnaldo Caprai wanted to make wine – no more, no less. What he didn't know was that the estate was called Val di Maggio, and the grape variety that grew on its hills would one day carry the name Montefalco into the world. It was Marco Caprai, the son, who recognised this potential. From 1988, he devoted himself to Sagrantino with a rigour that bordered on obsession – research partnership with the University of Milan, clone selection, new plantings, recalibration of the entire viticulture. Sagrantino, for centuries a monk's wine from Sicilian cellars, became an international great under his hands. And Valdimaggio, since 2012, is Caprai's most personal statement: named after the original estate, planted on 6,000 to 7,000 vines per hectare, on calcareous-clayey soils between 220 and 472 metres above sea level – the heart of the DOCG.

Pinot Nero has always been a challenge for every winemaker. It is a grape variety that places the highest demands on soil, climate and winemaking expertise. The Burgundian noble grape has been cultivated in South Tyrol since 1850, where it has become the region's most important red wine under the name Blauburgunder. Only the best and oldest vineyards in Eppan and the surrounding area are selected for the Sanct Valentin Pinot Nero, which has been part of the winery's prestige line since 1995 – sites between 400 and 550 metres on moraine debris and calcareous gravel. Minimal yields and meticulous care in the vineyard form the basis for a wine of exceptional finesse. The grapes are harvested by hand from the end of September to the beginning of October. After three days of cold maceration, fermentation begins in stainless steel tanks, followed by gentle pressing. Malolactic fermentation and subsequent maturation take place in barriques and tonneaux. After around twelve months, the wine is blended before maturing for a further six months in large wooden barrels – a combination that combines structure with Burgundian class.

An archaic red from the volcano – feudo di Mezzo already carries the weight of its origin in its name: the name refers to the central area of the Passopisciaro Valley at an altitude of around 600 metres. The 2018 vintage on the Etna slopes in Passopisciaro was warm and balanced with freshness from the cooling winds. The grapes achieved ripe juiciness with a lively structure – a vintage that allows balance and at the same time shapes character. The cuvée comes from 95% Nerello Mascalese and 5% Nerello Cappuccio from old vines, traditionally trained in Alberello. Deep-rooted vines, volcanic rubble and pumice soil, mineral, permeable, characterised by thermal influences – this is Etna terroir in its purest form.

The name "retus" comes from "Rhaetia" or "Raetia", the name of the Roman province. In Celtic, "reit" refers to a mountain village. Bright straw green colour. Wild herbs, orange peel, green fruit and spices on the nose. Round and broad on the attack, then more straightforward and restrained in the centre, with a sufficiently salty edge and harmonious acidity to buffer the subtle fruit sweetness. The finish is long with flint and stone notes. Great Sauvignon Bianco with a refreshingly alpine character. SUPERIORE.DE

Altrovino is a fine blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Intense, rich ruby red colour. Opulent aroma of black fruit, leather and tobacco. Graceful and very charming on the palate, multi-layered flavours, velvety and long. Already a harmonious pleasure today, this wine will enjoy a continuous career. SUPERIORE.DE

Montalcino and Cabernet Sauvignon – at first sounds like a marriage against nature. Sangiovese reigns here, Brunello grows here, the grape variety has found its expression here for centuries. The fact that Count Alberto Marone Cinzano nevertheless planted Cabernet Sauvignon on the hills of his estate in the early 1980s was neither a coincidence nor an experiment – it was a conviction. The conviction that this terroir, these soils, this altitude are capable of more than just one wine. Today, Olmaia is a monument to this vision. The vineyard – 365 metres above sea level, planted in 2005 – bears his name. The DOC Sant'Antimo, founded in 1996, created the legal framework for just such wines: international grape varieties, grown in Montalcino's chalky soil, with the ambition not to imitate, but to interpret.

On the classic bouquet, ripe cherry, tobacco and some damp earth. On the palate, first the pure Sangiovese feeling: beautiful small red berries, wild cherry, lively acidity. Then an impenetrable mesh of red and black fruits, which together with a fine web of tannins and minerals reveal more and more of themselves. Compressed and with each sip more open and present, the beautifully diversified taste components present themselves until they then lead into an aristocratically long and fresh finish with a hint of liquorice. SUPERIORE.DE

A name carries weight when it is the programme. Stilèma – derived from "Stile" and the name Mastroberardino – is not a marketing term, but a commitment. It was Antonio Mastroberardino, known as the "archaeologist of vineyards", who began digging in the early 2000s: experimental projects, selection of pre-phylloxeric clones, revision of all protocols in the vineyard and cellar. His goal was not a new style – it was a return to a lost one. The great white wines of Irpinia from the 1970s and 1980s had a density, a texture, a depth that later decades could not match. Stilèma was not intended to preserve this memory, but to translate it into the present.

Caprais Montefalco Rosso is an attractive red made predominantly from Sangiovese with small amounts of Sagrantino and Merlot. The aroma is unmistakably of black cherries and violets. Juicy and playful on the palate, with balanced acidity that enlivens the crisp red berry fruit, which leaves a slight mineral touch towards the end. Plenty of power and freshness, good structure, elegant on the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

In the upper areas of the historic Contrada Rovittello – at an altitude of around 700 metres, on volcanic rock with a high basalt content – the old Nerello Mascalese vines of Il Musmeci take root. Some of them are even over 100 years old, their roots penetrating deep into the barren, mineral-rich soil. The north-eastern flank of Mount Etna provides a cool microclimate with a strong contrast between day and night – decisive for the aromatic precision. The name Il Musmeci is a tribute to the former owner of the parcel, Cav. Santi Musmeci, whose respect for terroir and tradition became the legacy of this wine.

Deep ruby red colour, lush notes of cherries, strawberries and sweet oak spice, vanilla and black pepper. The Sangiovese gives the blend great freshness and is in perfect balance with the silky and soft tannins of the Merlot. Overall rich, but always elegant and with great persistence. A complex, excellently structured red wine in absolute Super Tuscan quality and produced in a limited edition of just under 3,000 bottles. SUPERIORE.DE

Moscadello was originally the first wine from the Montalcino appellation, long before the triumphant rise of Brunello. Mastrojanni's Moscadello di Montalcino is a blend of late harvested Moscato, Malvasia di Candia and Sauvignon Bianco. The wine matures for two years in barriques and tonneaux. Intensely fragrant bouquet with plenty of power and character, aromas of candied fruit, honey and brown sugar. These notes are reproduced with every sip with impressively brilliant precision and astonishing freshness. This rare wine (only 1,300 bottles were filled) matures for two years in barriques and tonneaux and is traditionally enjoyed instead of a dessert or with cantuccini. Very delicate. SUPERIORE.DE

It was 1997 when a dream began to take shape in the cellars of Capichera. After two decades in which the Ragnedda family had enchanted the wine world with their revolutionary Vermentino creations, they dared to take on a new challenge: could Gallura's ancient soil also produce red wines on a par with the greatness of their white siblings? The experiment was so convincing that it dictated its own name – assajé, Sardinian for "that's something". A legend was born out of modest hope. What began as pure Carignano developed into a masterful symbiosis of Sardinian originality and international elegance. Today, this pioneer among Gallurese red wines combines the island's finest indigenous grapes with a subtle hint of Syrah – a blend that unites twenty-year-old vines from Olbia and Palau to create a harmonious narrative. On the weathered granite sands, where salty sea breezes ripen the grapes for months, a wine of remarkable depth is created.

Lodano Rosso is a blend of Petit Verdot and Merlot that is seamlessly integrated with its dark fruits, blackberries and plums, nicely rounded off by smoke and tobacco from French oak and a smaller proportion of American oak. The Merlot comes from the winery's famous old vines, and the contemporary concentration and richness of the Lodano can be found in this wine as well as in the winery's entire portfolio. The dark fruits and spices speak in a deep baritone that calls for a juicy grilled steak, it also offers excellent value! SUPERIORE.DE

Named after the ancient Roman wine festivals, Passito Vinalia is a sweet dessert wine that goes particularly well with South Tyrolean apple strudel. The strictly selected grapes, which are air-dried after the harvest, come from the sun-drenched vineyards on the slopes of Bolzano at 300 to 400 metres above sea level. They are gently pressed around 4 months after the harvest and then fermented in used French barriques.

Normally, the Sangiovese grapes from the 14-hectare single vineyard are mainly harvested in Ama and San Lorenzo. Since the 2018 harvest, Lorenza and Marco have decided to vinify a small quantity separately. Deep, dark ruby red colour with violet reflections. Extroverted bouquet of blackberry, raspberry and redcurrant, with notes of crushed gravel, tobacco and traces of young leather. Very powerful and beautifully textured on the palate, the various layers of primary fruit only gradually unfold, the wood pleasantly receding into the background. Finely granulated tannins and a well-integrated acidity flank this very harmonious red on an elegant, long final. There is a lot to like here, for us it is once again a typical Ama wine: racy, powerful and elegant! SUPERIORE.DE

Deep, dark ruby violet colour. Pugnitello impresses with intense notes of elderberry and blackberry, interspersed with subtle smoky notes, slightly peppery in the background. Juicy attack with a well-structured body, dense, gripping tannins, long and persistent with a salty component. SUPERIORE.DE