Formats

Satèn – the name alone promises what this Franciacorta delivers: silky-soft texture, reduced perlage intensity, pure elegance. Bellavista vinifies this exclusive category exclusively in outstanding years from pure Chardonnay from the higher vineyards that catch the first morning light. The 2020 vintage shows what Vittorio Moretti's vision of perfection means: hand-picked grapes, vinified in small oak barrels, then matured on the lees for at least four years in the bottle – time that you can taste.

When Sergio Rossi took over Podere Colombaio from the Biondi-Santi family in 1976, nobody could have guessed that the Milanese advertising expert would become one of the architects of modern Montalcino. He was one of the 24 founders of the Consorzio, one of the first 35 Brunello bottlers of an appellation that will number over 250 by 2024. What he brought with him: the legendary Sangiovese clones of Biondi-Santi, planted on marl and limestone in Canalicchio – vines that are now over forty years old. Brunello 2020 unites two souls: the cool elegance of the north from the historic Canalicchio parcels and the sun-kissed vigour of Castelnuovo dell'Abate in the south. The wine rests for three years in large Slavonian barrels and a further eight months in the bottle – time that you can taste.

Volpaia – the foxhole. High above Radda in Chianti, at 450 to 650 metres above sea level, the vineyards of Castello di Volpaia are located on the highest slopes of the appellation. The medieval borgo, first mentioned in a document in 1172, has belonged to the Mascheroni-Stianti family since 1966, who consistently farm organically here. The altitude shapes the character: sandstone soils, cool nights and long ripening periods give the Sangiovese (supplemented by 10% Merlot) a freshness and elegance that would be hard to achieve in warmer locations. Fermented with indigenous yeasts, matured for twelve months in large oak barrels.

Il Favot bears the name of the estate that Aldo acquired in 1969: "Cascina Favot" in Bussia. It is the only wine in the portfolio that is named after the family estate, and this naming reveals the Conternos' personal attachment to this Nebbiolo. But why not call it Barolo? After all, the grapes come from the same legendary Bussia vineyards that produce Bussia and Granbussia. The answer lies in the age: Il Favot is made exclusively from vines under 15 years of age – the young vines that will one day produce the great Barolo. A baby Barolo with pedigree. The vinification is deliberately designed for earlier drinking maturity: only six to eight days of maceration to extract less tannin and more colour, followed by a few months in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged for 15 to 18 months in new French Allier barriques – an unusually opulent treatment for a Langhe Nebbiolo, which gives the wine depth and structure. Aldo Conterno once said: "Vanilla, toast and spice do not belong in Barolo." But in Il Favot? Please, with pleasure.

The relatively young DOC Colli Tortonesi is probably still one of the least known wine regions in Piedmont. The term Derthona is already used as a generic term. It is the old name for Tortona, a small village in the centre of the DOC. The indigenous white grape variety Timorasso led a shadowy existence for many years, but today some winegrowers are already calling it the "white Barolo". This is due to its great complexity and finesse on the one hand and the excellent ageing potential of the wines on the other. In addition, the grapes often vary in size and ripeness during the harvest, which makes selection a major challenge, just as with the great Nebbiolo crus.

The roots of this story run deeper than any memory: the vines, which have borne silent witness for generations in the warm alluvial soils of Gries, are over 80 years old. Here, where in 1908 thirty visionary winegrowers laid the foundations for a legend, that masterpiece is created year after year – a wine that has long since become the undisputed icon of South Tyrolean winemaking: Taber Lagrein Riserva. It is a wine that embodies time. Time in the old vines, which, at an altitude of just 250 metres, transform the extreme temperature fluctuations between hot days and cool nights into pure concentration. Time in the patient, painstaking work that selects only the finest grapes for this exceptional Riserva. And time for ageing, where, following traditional fermentation in wooden casks, perfection awaits after a full year in French barriques.

"This is the wine that marked the beginning of my career as a winemaker. A wine from a single vineyard in which, quite frankly, I find all the characteristics of Bolgheri that I love: clear, juicy fruit and balance. The Merlot brings body and softness, whilst the Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure. I give plenty of scope to the very Tuscan Sangiovese, which lends complexity and drinkability." Fabio Motta

Brilliant, dark ruby colour. Deep bouquet of rich blackberry and cherry flavours with mentholated herbal notes that give it lift, while notes of cedar and clove develop in the glass. On the palate, the wine is a pure silk that slowly lays over the palate, with an admirable density and weight balanced by bright acidity and minerality. This still very young wine is full of potential with a core of dark primary fruit that already offers a good foretaste of the charm of later years. A finely woven tannin structure on the long final. Wonderful ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Turriga is the great red of Sardinia – developed in 1988 by Antonio Argiolas and Giacomo Tachis, from Cannonau, Bovale, Carignano and Malvasia Nera, named after a 5,000-year-old marble statuette of the Mother Goddess found on the estate and now in the Archaeological Museum of Cagliari. The Grappe di Turriga is its echo: created from the same grape marc, from the same terraces at 230 metres near Selegas – calcareous, stony soils, Mediterranean heat, the salt of the nearby sea in every breath of wind. Immediately after the Turriga is vinified, the pomace is taken to the distillery and distilled using the slow Bagnomaria method – a gentle method that preserves the flavours without burning them. No wood maturation, no intervention.

Riccardo Bruna was U Baccan – the boss, the patron, the head. That's what the people in Ranzo called him. He was the one who started bottling his family's pigato in 1970, when nobody else was doing it. He was the one who managed the terraces, repaired the walls and brought up the daughters. Francesca gave up her career as an engineer, Annamaria as a pharmacist – both returned to continue running the estate. The estate bears his name, this wine bears his nickname. The grapes for the U Baccan come exclusively from the oldest plots above Ranzo – vines over fifty years old, on soils with iron oxide and manganese inclusions, which give the soil its characteristic red colour and the wine its depth. The result, says Ian d'Agata in "Native Wine Grapes of Italy", is the paradigmatic Pigato of all: balsamic and rich. Fermentation in steel, ageing in large wooden barrels – the wood as a resting pole, not as a flavour carrier. The wine opens slowly, needs air and time.

Livio Felluga's new crus are the result of massalselection. For this purpose, selected vines are reproduced in particularly favourable locations in order to renew vineyards with particularly high-quality vines and to further improve the quality of individual varietal wines. The Pinot Grigio named after the Curubella vineyard expresses the unique and very expressive terroir in a very special way.

Sansonina (Lugana and Merlot) is a strictly limited and very ambitious project by the Zenato family, in which only the best grapes from their own vineyards are used. Only a small number of these are sold in numbered bottles each year.

Marciliano is a truly ambitious Cabernet cuvée from the Sangiovese-dominated Montecchio/Orvieto region and reflects uncompromising quality and craftsmanship. The 2019 vintage was characterised by mild but structure-enhancing weather conditions: cool nights during the harvest phase and warm days that perfectly balanced the ripeness of the aromas. In the glass, it has a dense ruby red colour with a garnet red hue. The nose intones ripe sour cherry, stewed plums, ripe wild berries, and further develops smoke, leather, hints of white truffle and a touch of vanilla and cedar wood. Powerful yet polished on the palate – clearly structured, with fine-grained, ripe tannins, lively acidity and a substrate-rich, spicy texture. The ageing in barriques was selectively dosed and supports the spiciness without masking the varietal typicity. Marciliano is a serious, mature red wine with depth and potential. Expressive, focussed and with a lasting finish – a lasting ambassador of modern Umbria. SUPERIORE.DE

A white gravel track leads to the estate; it is narrow but not difficult to navigate, winding through a dense forest of holm oaks and oaks. In the north of Chianti Classico, near Gaiole in Chianti, lies the Vertine vineyard, guarded for centuries by a castle: three hectares laid out in a fan-shaped pattern on a hill at an altitude of 500 metres, open to the south and south-west. The soil consists of galestro and alberese, rich in stones, forcing the Sangiovese roots to reach deep down. The grapes are harvested by hand into 10-kilo crates, followed by a second selection at the sorting table. Fermentation takes place in concrete tanks, where the wine remains for 12 months; it is then aged for a further year in the bottle before leaving the estate.

Falletto in Serralunga d'Alba is a natural amphitheatre – that compact, concentrated hillside that gives Serralunga its distinctive power. Calcareous soils, south-west to west-facing slopes, a minerality that is audible in every wine from this site. Normally, this is Nebbiolo country. Barolo country. At Giacosa, Barbera also grows here. The difference from the purchased Giacosa Barbera begins in the soil and continues in the cellar: after fermentation in steel – as with the Casa Vinicola wine – , the Falletto Barbera leaves the tank and is transferred to large oak botti for 14 months. The same vessels, the same care as for the house’s Barolos and Barbareschi. No new wood, just the slow oxygenation provided by large, neutral barrels, which gives the wine depth and integration without shaping it.

Amarone Case Vecie takes its name from the vineyard of the same name in the municipality of Grezzana in Valpantena. An exceptional plot of land where the grapes ripen slowly and consistently even in the most difficult years thanks to the altitude and exposure. The late harvest makes it possible to store the grapes in a cooler season and to carry out a slow and long drying process that develops the characteristic flavours. A wine that emphasises the natural characteristics of the high mountain climate: a true Amarone "delle vigne alte".

"San Zuan" is one of the great interpretations of Friulano every year – and in the 2023 vintage it shows a slightly different facet. The single vineyard site above San Giovanni al Natisone, characterised by barren Ponca soils, benefits from a microclimate that combines warmth and alpine freshness. 2023 brought a rather unsettled spring with variable rainfall and later a hot, dry summer that put the vines to the test. However, cool September nights preserved the acidity and lent the grapes precision and flavour. The grapes were harvested in several stages at the end of September, gently pressed and traditionally matured in large, used wooden barrels. The prolonged contact with the lees gave the wine depth and a creamy but never opulent texture.

Pas Operé – "not dosed" in the original sense, when it was still dosed by hand. The name is a play on words, as this Extra Brut is very well dosed, but with such restraint that the terroir shines through unadulterated. For decades, Pas Operé has been Bellavista's flagship, the wine that most clearly bears the signature of the house: classic, masculine, timeless. The 2018 Pas Operé is the result of a rigorous selection of around 25 plots on slopes and hillsides with south or south-east exposure, the vines are over twenty years old. 64 per cent Chardonnay for finesse and structure, 36 per cent Pinot Nero for depth and complexity. Half of the base wines are matured in French white oak barriques, which gives the wine its characteristic intensity. The assemblage is followed by five years on the lees – sixty months, during which flavours intensify, textures refine and perlage refines. Only then, at least six years after the harvest, does the Pas Operé leave the Erbusco winery.

Santo Spirito is one of the most striking contrade on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna – less stony than Rampante, but no less impressive. Here, at an altitude of around 700 metres, the old Nerello Mascalese vines are deeply rooted in ashy volcanic soil with a high sand content. The microclimate is cooler, the humidity higher and the east-facing exposure gives the grapes gentle morning warmth. Pietradolce vinifies the single-vineyard wine traditionally with spontaneous fermentation in wooden vats, followed by approx. 12 months of ageing in large French tonneaux.

Feudo di Mezzo is located in the heart of the northern Etna belt – one of the oldest and most traditional contrade around Castiglione di Sicilia. The vineyards are situated at an altitude of around 750 metres on ancient lava flows and iron-rich volcanic soils that produce dark fruit, mineral depth and remarkable elegance. The microclimate is cool, the exposure ideal – large temperature differences between day and night favour slow, complete ripening. Feudo di Mezzo is not considered one of the Grand Cru from the volcano for nothing. The pure Nerello Mascalese comes from vines that are over 60 years old and trained as Alberello. The grapes are harvest manually in small crates, followed by a traditional maceration with a long standing time at controlled temperatures. The wine then matures for 14 months in Liters French oak tonneaux before resting for a further year in the bottle.

Light ruby-coloured, cherry-fruity and with a lot of character of its own. The red variety also known as Ribolla Nera has been interpreted by Ronco del Gnemiz with a great deal of character. It is soft, delicate, juicy, fruity and wonderfully precise and long. It leaves a hint of sour citrus fruit and ends with a light structure and a colour like liquid lavender. Lovers of Schioppettino will fall head over heels in love with this wine. SUPERIORE.DE

Terracotta is not a trend. It is the oldest wine container known to mankind – older than wood, older than stone, older than any wine culture we know by name. Elena Fucci is not looking forwards, but backwards: to a time when clay and volcanic earth were the same substance – and wine did not yet need a method to explain itself. The amphorae come from Impruneta near Florence, the centre of Tuscan terracotta craftsmanship – 700 Liters, untreated, permeable, breathing. No coating, no control over what happens: That's the point.

Asinone, which has been bottled separately by the estate since 1983 and is one of the very first recognised single-vineyard wines in Tuscany, is situated on the south-south-west-facing slope between Montepulciano and Torrita di Siena. At an altitude of 380 to 400 metres, the soil consists of blue clay of marine origin, interspersed with pebbles and rich in magnesium and iron: a soil that forces the roots to dig deep and compels the Prugnolo Gentile grapes to concentrate their flavours. The vines are between 30 and 50 years old. Small berries, thick skins – plenty of structure in a small space. And Federico Carletti has consistently steered Asinone away from the barrique aesthetic: it matures for 16 to 18 months in French tonneaux, with the wood providing support rather than dominating.

The site near Buttrio, where the grapes of the autochthonous Friulano grape variety originate, is one of the Grand Crus of the Friuli Colli Orientali appellation together with Rosazzo. Not only are there no regulations here, but also a poor, loose marl soil that ensures extremely low yields every year. In good vintages, however, the rewards are all the greater: the volume and fruit concentration, the lower acidity and the unmistakable salinity of the wines will lead to enjoyable heights after a few years of bottle ageing, making lovers of complex, energetic white wines dizzy. SUPERIORE.DE