James Suckling | 95–100 Points

Prètto. A word from the Tuscan dialect – true, sincere, schietto. Carlo Ferrini could not have chosen a more fitting name for a wine that is exactly that: no pretence, no posturing, but Sangiovese in its most direct form. The Prètto is a collaborative effort – born out of a dialogue between father and daughter, between three decades of experience and a younger generation that sees Montalcino through fresh eyes. Bianca Ferrini, born in 1990, has given the Giodo project a very special voice with this wine. Four hectares of Sangiovese in Sant'Angelo in Colle, south-west of Montalcino, at an altitude of 360 metres with a south-easterly aspect. Medium-heavy, stony soil, 6,600 vines per hectare – a density that creates stress and forces concentration. Hand-harvested, 20 days' maceration in steel and concrete, with délestage halfway through fermentation. This is followed by around 30 months' ageing in wooden barrels of 500, 700 and 2,500 Liters– medium to large vessels that give the wine structure without imparting excessive oak character. Followed by six months in concrete tanks, then a further 12 months in bottle. 12,000 bottles were produced.

Coming from one of the most historic vineyards in Neive, Albesani is a Barbaresco with a classic character and great precision. The south-western slope with calcareous and clayey soils gives the Nebbiolo here a powerful structure without masking its delicate flavour. Thanks to balanced temperatures and a long growing season, the 2021 vintage produced grapes with optimal phenolic ripeness.

In 1981, Bruno and Brigitte Widmer from Switzerland bought an estate in Castellina in Chianti. They were not from a family of winegrowers, nor did they have any local roots – just the conviction that this patch of land held something extraordinary. The vineyard, which the estate refers to internally as "Vigna 10" or "Blocco 10" immediately caught their eye: a south-east-facing plot at an altitude of 240 to 265 metres, on clay-rich galestro soil, which gives the Sangiovese in Chianti Classico its characteristic balance between intensity and freshness. The Widmers knew this. Yet they waited. For before a vineyard can give its best, it needs vines with roots that run deep enough. In 1999, the plot was replanted – with five of the finest Sangiovese clones, which the ambitious "Chianti Classico 2000" research project had selected from across the entire Chianti region in the 1980s. This was no quick fix, but a commitment that took decades to fulfil.

Since the exceptional 2019 harvest, Luca Sanjust has taken another step towards "quality without compromise" with his Boggina C. The yields per plant have been reduced even further and the selection of grapes from the identified parcel has been made even stricter. This led to a reduction in the number of bottles available to around 3,000. The same meticulousness was also applied in the cellar by selecting the most suitable 7 hectolitre barrels for ageing "sur lie". Great attention was paid to their wood grain and toasting in order to achieve the harmony and flavour that a pure Grand Cru Sangiovese should have.

Giacomo Neri's Pietradonice is Cabernet Sauvignon at the highest level and has become a legend, as there is hardly a wine in Montalcino that can even come close to it. Monumental and very concentrated, with hints of sour cherries and a fine cedar and liquorice note. The exciting thing: Pietradonice is clearly recognisable as a Montalcino growth and yet, with its herbaceous spiciness, it is just as typical of Neri as it is of the grape variety and thus again as if from another larger world. SUPERIORE.DE

Vergne, the highest hamlet in the municipality of Barolo, has been the heart of G.D. Vajra for over fifty years. Aldo Vaira decided to adopt organic farming here when no one else in the Langhe was doing so; today, his children Giuseppe, Francesca and Isidoro continue to run the estate, which holds biodynamic certification. Bricco delle Viole lies at the heart of this terrain: a south to south-south-west facing ridge at an altitude of between 400 and 470 metres, one of the highest sites in the Barolo region.

Cerretta is one of the best-known and most sought-after vineyards in Serralunga d'Alba, a name that appears on the label not only for Luigi Baudana's wines. The south-east-facing slope lies at an altitude of over 300 metres, on the Lequio Formation – a calcareous, limestone-rich soil dating back some twelve million years – which gives the Nebbiolo its most aromatically complex character. Since 2008, the Vaira siblings have been managing the small estate, covering over four hectares, together with the Baudana family; it is fully certified organic. The grapes ferment for around fifty days under the cap, with gentle pumping-over and punching-down cycles, before spontaneous malolactic fermentation takes place in the spring. The wine then matures for a good 28 months in custom-made Slavonian oak botti, ranging in size from 15 to 25 hectolitres, before being bottled and left to mature for a further 12 months.

Sondraie, from which the wine takes its name, is a large plateau from Aurelia to Bellaria in the north of the appellation and one of the best sites for Cabernet in Bolgheri. The Oenologist Luca d'Attoma is considered one of the best interpreters of Cabernet Franc in Italy and his wines are always a clear buy. Bright violet colour. The nose is leafy, with dark chocolate and a characteristic aroma of coffee powder, plus blueberry, raspberry, black cherry and undergrowth. On the palate, melted cloves and cassis in perfect balance. Smooth and ripe, with a hint of chalk thanks to the oak tannins on the finish. Amazingly fresh and endlessly long, simply superb! SUPERIORE.DE

Monforte d'Alba – the name stands for depth, warmth and at the same time a taut, cool vein in the wines. The legendary Cru Ginestra lies in the centre of this high plateau, and at its heart is the single vineyard Vigna del Gris – a gently sloping plot with a south-easterly exposure at an altitude of 300 to 320 metres. The soils, a complex mixture of sand, silt and clay, provide the perfect stage for Nebbiolo, planted here in two stages: 1978 and 2000. Today, these vines produce a grape quality that is characterised by both concentration and finesse. The 2021 vintage is considered almost ideal in Barolo: a cool spring, followed by a warm, stable summer with no periods of extreme heat and a long, even ripening period into golden October. For Conterno Fantino, the manual harvest began in mid-October – the berries reached a flawless phenolic ripeness. After 12 to 15 days of fermentation and maceration in stainless steel, the wine is aged for two years in French oak, partly in barriques and partly in larger barrels. This combination gives the wine structure and complexity without masking the unmistakable signature of the vineyard.

The grapes for Testamatta are selected and sourced from the winery's 6 best vineyards: Vincigliata, Londa, Lamole, Montefili and Siena. Each vineyard, which is divided into plots, is harvested up to 8 times to ensure that all the grapes are harvested at the perfect point of ripeness. These five vineyards (up to 80 years old) are located in different areas of Tuscany: Lamole and Montefili in the heart of Chianti Classico at 600 and 400 metres above sea level, Vincigliata near Florence at 280 metres above sea level, Londa north of Florence towards the Rufina Valley and Siena, in the south of Tuscany, at 250 metres above sea level.

On warm days, a resinous, musky scent rises from the edges of the hedges. Helichrysum – the strawflower, which the Italians also call "Immortelle", meaning "the immortal". It grows wild amongst the rocks and shrubs that line San Polino's highest vineyards. When Katia and Gigi were looking for a name for their finest wine, they didn't have to look far. The five hectares surrounding the farmhouse lie at an altitude of 450 metres, facing south and surrounded by Mediterranean scrub and woodland. The view stretches towards Monte Amiata – the sacred mountain of the Etruscans, seat of their highest gods, the Tuscan Olympus. The soils bear witness to two mighty forces: the volcanic eruption of Monte Amiata 180,000 years ago, which left behind quartz and metamorphic clay, and the retreat of the Pliocene Sea, which left behind sandy loam and shell fossils. Thin, complex soil – poor in nutrients, rich in character. Up here, the sirocco blows in from the Sahara. The temperature differences between day and night are enormous. The grapes ripen slowly, developing thick skins and concentrated aromas. "Ah ... 2018', Katia once said of a cooler vintage, 'at last you can smell Sangiovese grapes instead of just blackcurrants and undergrowth.' Helichrysum is all about precisely this clarity – about terroir rather than heat, about soil rather than opulence.

The wine icon, rare every year and very highly rated, presents itself in a shiny, rich ruby. On the nose, crisp berry fruit, ripe dark cherries, sweet plums and delicate notes of cinnamon. In the mouth it is full-bodied and firm, very juicy, unfolds a finely woven tannin and glides in a wide arc into a powerful, long final. A great wine full of tension and elegance. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Ravera comes from a single vineyard with vines that are almost 50 years old. In the glass, it impresses with a strong, aromatic opening flavour. Bright, precise and finely chiselled, the Ravera captures everything good that the vintage has to offer. Cherry, sweet mint, candy and expressive floral notes are given an extra kick of inner sweetness by Ravera's natural energy. There is so much to look forward to as the wine develops over the next few years! SUPERIORE.DE

Deep dark ruby-purple colour. On the nose, cassis, blackcurrants and a strong herbal spice with a good dose of pipe tobacco, tar and crushed gravel. On the palate, dark berries, chocolate and a cornucopia of herbs define the full-bodied palate. This juicy wine monument has precisely integrated tannins, an enormous silkiness and an almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

"Bold, headstrong, rebellious" – is how Arianna Occhipinti describes the wine that most resembles her. Frappato, this quintessentially Sicilian grape variety of rural origins, is rooted here in calcareous sandy soils at the foot of the Monti Iblei. Forty-year-old vines near Vittoria, at an altitude of 280 metres, cultivated biodynamically. The winemaking process follows the rhythm of nature: spontaneous fermentation in concrete, thirty days" contact with the skins, then fourteen months" ageing in large Slavonian oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered, the wine retains its lively authenticity.

The single vineyard Guarnaschelli is a 60-year-old vineyard with a slight westerly exposure. A loamy matrix of brown skeletal soils can be found here. This generous soil, characterised by limestone, gives the wines finesse and minerality. Here, the plants produce grapes of consistently high quality every year - the result of deep roots and restrained, intelligent vineyard work. The strong exposure to the sun is tempered by constant winds blowing from all directions. This sets in motion a play of temperature fluctuations from which the old vines benefit to produce complex and aromatic grapes.

In the late 1970s, Paolo Panerai brought together four separate "poderi" – small farms whose soil was so hard and stony that no one could work it with oxen, only by hand – to form a single vineyard. The Tuscan farmers called such unyielding land "I Sodi". The farms surrounded an old hamlet, dominated by the church of San Niccolò – hence the full name. In 1977, Panerai produced the first vintage. In 1988, "I Sodi di San Niccolò", with its 1985 vintage, became the first Italian wine ever to be included in Wine Spectator's Top 100 – a success that was repeated in 1989 with the 1986 vintage. To this day, it remains one of the few Super Tuscans produced exclusively from indigenous grape varieties – proof that Sangioveto needs no crutches from Bordeaux. Its origins lie in genuine research: the first experimental vineyard in the Chianti Classico region, established in collaboration with the Universities of Milan and Florence, as well as the San Michele all'Adige Institute, to identify the best clones. 2022 marks the 45th harvest of this historic wine.

When Paolo Panerai realised his vision of a great Tuscan red wine made exclusively from indigenous grape varieties at the end of the 1970s, hardly anyone suspected that this wine would make history. As early as 1988, the Wine Spectator catapulted it into the international wine elite with sixth place in its first Top 100 – a triumph for a Supertuscan that deliberately eschewed Cabernet and Merlot in favour of the genetic purity of Tuscan vines. The name itself tells of the terroir: "Sodi" is what Tuscan winegrowers call those hard, stony soils that were too heavy for teams of oxen and had to be laboriously worked by hand. Here, on calcareous Galestro soils between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, around the medieval church of San Niccolò, the vines fight for every drop of water – 85 per cent Sangioveto, the original, small-berried form of Sangiovese, and 15 per cent Malvasia Nera, an almost forgotten grape variety – an almost forgotten grape variety that was abandoned in many places due to its low yields – result in a cuvée of unnerving power and unmistakable race. The 2021 vintage perfectly embodies this philosophy: After 18 to 25 days of maceration in steel tanks, the wine matures for up to 30 months in barriques, two thirds of which in new wood, before resting for a further twelve months in the bottle.

In the house, they simply call him "A". As if he didn't need a name. As if the letter was beginning enough – the beginning of everything Schiopetto has to say. Amrità is a Sanskrit word: the immortality potion of the gods, the mythical nectar that gives eternal life to those who drink it. The fact that a Friulian winery calls its flagship wine this is not coquetry – it is a commitment. Wine is not simply made here. This is where it becomes essential what Capriva del Friuli has to say. The basis: Chardonnay from old vines, complemented by a small portion of Friulano – the variety with which Mario Schiopetto started everything in 1965. Both together, as if they had always been destined for each other. Fermentation in steel, nine months of ageing in steel and large barrels, followed by at least six months of bottle ageing. The 2022 was produced in a warm, dry year – and yet it shows no heat, but subtle maturity. Friuli has its own laws.

After "A" comes "M". This is not a weak alphabet exercise – this is strong hierarchy. If Amrità is the immortality potion, then "M" is the monument. The man himself, in bottle form. The legacy of MARIO Schiopetto, born in 1930, died in 2002, lies in every vintage of this wine – in the Ponca soils of Capriva, in the philosophy of the cellar work, in the conviction that a great white wine needs no compromises, only the courage to achieve total perfection.

"The Barolo DOCG Margheria comes from the calcareous soil with a slightly higher proportion of sand than in our other sub-areas, which has a strong influence on its character. It was produced for the first time in 1985 and has great ageing potential. The grapes come from our vineyard in the MGA Margheria in Serralunga d'Alba." Franco Massolino

"For the Barolo DOCG Parussi, we left the confines of Serralunga and opted for a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto. Thanks to the characteristics of Nebbiolo, which is perfectly capable of capturing the differences in microclimate and soil composition and translating them into sensations, the result amazed us. Structured, important, austere. Made with Nebbiolo grapes from our vineyard in the MGA Parussi in Castiglione Falletto." Franco Massolino