James Suckling

There are wines that define regions. Gaja's Barbaresco is one of them. It has been produced since 1859, over five generations, and in all these decades it has remained what it always was: the calling card, the brand ambassador, the essence of what Barbaresco means. While the single-vineyard wines – sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi – show virtuosity, it is this classic Barbaresco that captures the soul of the terroir. It is the sum of fourteen vineyards spread across the municipalities of Barbaresco and Treiso, each parcel a mosaic stone in the big picture.

In the exceptional year of 2016, Filippo Chia decided to vinify a Riserva for the first time. The Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta Riserva comes from a unique vineyard site characterised by a greater presence of slate or slate-like shards in the soils. These conditions contribute to the very typical, sharp and concentrated aromas that are offered here on a silver platter. One automatically thinks of pencil shavings and granite rock. However, the wine is equally impressive when it comes to its rich fruit and floral profile, and there is enough spice and soft leather or tobacco to bring it all together in one happy package. A magnificent masterpiece! SUPERIORE.DE

At the time, Marco Dal Forno initially held back his Amarone from the 2016 vintage – he released the 2017 vintage earlier because 2016 was not yet ready. At Dal Forno Romano, the wine determines the schedule. This is all the more true for the large formats: they are released three years after the 0.75-litre bottle – i.e. another three years later than an already later release. What this means for 2016 can be felt in the glass. Created under conditions that demand everything in the Val d'Illasi: three months of appassimento in the well-ventilated drying rooms of the Lodoletta, controlled fermentation in steel tanks with computer-controlled pump-overs, new barriques made from French and American wood, then the large format that requires hours of aeration – that needs hours of aeration before it begins to open.

Angelo Gaja's 2021 Barbaresco is a wine with poise and grace that has a lot to offer. Expressive spicy and floral notes are the first to open up, but what really stands out is the wine's nuance and delineation. The transparency is unmistakable. Sweet red cherries, mint, cinnamon and rose petals develop in the glass and add further nuances. The flavour is balanced and spicy, the tannins firm and the finish precise and long. This muscular monument of a red wine definitely needs a few more years of bottle ageing, with a little patience it will transform into pure elegance. Put simply, the 2021 is one of the best Gaja Barbarescos of recent times. SUPERIORE.DE

A monument of wine! Brilliant dark ruby colour. Fresh, silky, elegant - and majestic. Blackberry jam, violets, bittersweet chocolate, plus crushed rock and minerality. An opulent wine with fabulously polished tannins and considerable ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

A monument of wine! Brilliant dark ruby colour. Fresh, silky, elegant - and majestic. Blackberry jam, violets, bittersweet chocolate, plus crushed rock and minerality. An opulent wine with fabulously polished tannins and considerable ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Cerretalto wins in the exceptional 2016 vintage with beautiful, natural complexity and fine oak tones surrounded by cinnamon, clove, chocolate and exotic spices. On the palate, a dark, dense, ripe fruit and firm tannins. Incredibly long and deep with amazingly fresh acidity and fine salinity. For us, the perfect Riserva of this great vintage and made for decades! SUPERIORE.DE

The Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba is considered the centrepiece of Bruno Giacosa's work. The south and south-west facing slopes with calcareous marl soils produce Nebbiolo with unmistakable depth and structure. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a warm, sunny summer, balanced by cool nights and a long, stable autumn – ideal conditions for fully ripe, aromatically complex grapes with precise acidity.

There are wines that define regions. Gaja's Barbaresco is one of them. It has been produced since 1859, over five generations, and in all these decades it has remained what it always was: the calling card, the brand ambassador, the essence of what Barbaresco means. While the single-vineyard wines – sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi – show virtuosity, it is this classic Barbaresco that captures the soul of the terroir. It is the sum of fourteen vineyards spread across the municipalities of Barbaresco and Treiso, each parcel a mosaic stone in the big picture.

Cerretalto 2018 is an expressive, exuberant and impressive wine that opens with a dark ruby red colour and a rich texture. The bouquet is endlessly intense, closely followed by finely tuned aromas of black cherries, spices, grilled herbs, cloves, tobacco, damp earth and white truffle. Over time, elegant mineral tones unfold, and later these flavours transition into cola, liquorice and tar. The mouthfeel is silky and supple, and there is enough power to move the wine seamlessly across the palate. Cerretalto continues to develop endlessly over 24 hours in the glass. Clear case: this is a bottle for the back of your cellar. SUPERIORE.DE

"Sassicaia really was our house wine back then," says Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta, daughter of the president of San Guido, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta. "It was more of a wine experiment that was only tested within the family and among friends, until we went on the market for the first time with the 1968 vintage. Today, this wine is all about elegance and balance. We like this style, which is not so much about the body. Sassicaia is a good representative of what we want to convey as a style."

There are wines that have made history. And then there is Sassicaia – the wine that started a revolution and changed Italy forever. The first commercial bottle saw the light of day in 1968, at that time still classified as a modest Vino da Tavola, today the only wine in Italy to be honoured with its own DOC. What began as an experiment by a visionary marchese became a legend. The name says it all: "Sassi" – stones. An idea that Mario Incisa della Rocchetta had in the 1940s is rooted in the stony, calcareous soils of the Bolgheri hills, between 100 and 400 metres above sea level. Inspired by the great wines of Bordeaux, he dared to do the unthinkable: to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in Tuscany, where only Sangiovese had reigned for centuries.

For Biondi Santis Riserva, the fruits of the oldest vines of Il Greppo (30 years and older) are used, the wine matures for three years in traditional oak barrels. On the nose, initially fine aromas of wild berries, blue flowers, eucalyptus and lightly grilled smoke. The intensity increases in small steps. With time, the wine is magnificent and focused, with a very direct and impressive presentation of its aromas. The wine leaves a lasting impression in the mouth, thanks to the textural tautness of its tannins and the refreshing crispness of the acidity, finally showing more power, volume and persistence than expected on the long final. Subtle and big! SUPERIORE.DE

After many years of identifying the best Merlot, Cabernet and Petit Verdot parcels within the boundaries of their Bolgheri estate with the support of the famous oenologist Michel Rolland, the Antinori family discovered in the early 2000s that in the midst of this microclimate and terroir there was an even more special micro-vineyard whose results once again surpassed those of the larger area. It was immediately clear to all involved that this unique character had to be vinified and highlighted separately - this was the birth of today's cult wine Lodovico.

The single vineyard Falletto in Serralunga d'Alba is one of the centrepieces of the Barolo region. On steep, south-facing slopes, whose marl and sandstone soils store heat and contribute minerality, Nebbiolo matures here into wines of great structure and depth. The 2021 vintage is considered one of the best of the last decade: a stable summer with cool nights and sunny days allowed for long, even ripening and produced grapes of rare balance.

Rabajà is one of the great vineyards of Barbaresco – a gently sloping south-west-facing slope between the Asili and Martinenga crus, whose calcareous and clayey soils produce wines with unmistakable depth. The 2021 vintage is considered outstanding in Piedmont: a balanced vegetation cycle with warm days, cool nights and ideal harvest conditions produced Nebbiolo grapes of rare aromatic purity and perfect phenolic ripeness. Intense garnet red in the glass with sparkling ruby-coloured reflections. The nose opens with a precise, almost crystalline fruit of sour cherry, ripe raspberry and sloe, surrounded by violets, dried rose petals, fine cedar wood and a minerality reminiscent of graphite. On the palate, the wine is both powerful and silky, with fine, ripe tannins and a present, perfectly integrated acidity that lends freshness and tension. The finish is long, elegant and carried by a saline note that impressively reflects the character of the vineyard. A Barbaresco with great development potential and the typical noblesse of Rabajà. SUPERIORE.DE

Since 1888, when Ferruccio Biondi Santi bottled the very first bottle of "Brunello di Montalcino", this name has been inextricably linked with the birth of a legend. The Riserva – produced only 43 times in 137 years – embodies not just a wine, but a philosophy: the conviction that Sangiovese Grosso, in the hands of patience, precision and uncompromising tradition, can become one of the world's longest-lived growths. The 2018 vintage marks a special moment: it is the first Riserva under the new era, led by CEO Giampiero Bertolini and Technical Director Federico Radi, who have been continuing the legacy with the credo "evolution, not revolution" since 2017.

Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is a fabulous, incredibly complete wine that rises from the glass with an explosive structure and vertical lift. The tannins are very present, but also beautifully matched by the aromatic intensity and overall drive of the wine. Dark macerated cherry, spice, leather, liquorice, plum and mocha add darker nuances. All elements are impeccably balanced. It is quite simply a majestic wine of true greatness and absolute class, but it is not obvious. The true essence of Nebbiolo! SUPERIORE.DE

A monument of wine! Brilliant dark ruby colour. Fresh, silky, elegant - and majestic. Blackberry jam, violets, bittersweet chocolate, plus crushed rock and minerality. An opulent wine with fabulously polished tannins and considerable ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Deep dark ruby violet. On the nose, cassis, blackcurrant and a powerful herbal spiciness with a good dose of pipe tobacco, tar and crushed boulders. On the palate, dark berries, chocolate and a cornucopia of herbs define the full body. This wine monument has precisely integrated tannins, an enormous silkiness and a seemingly endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Siepi has always been more than just a vineyard – it was a vision waiting to be realised. Owned by the Mazzei family since 1435, this mystical place lies amidst dense oak forests near Castellina in Chianti, ten hectares of pure magic on Alberese soils that were already appreciated by the ancient Romans. Paradoxically, the story of Siepi 2023 begins with one of the most challenging vintages in recent history. A mild winter with sparse rainfall and a rainy spring that pushed the Mazzei winegrowers to their limits. And yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, a wine was produced that epitomises the company's philosophy in an impressive way: "Great vineyards shine in difficult vintages."

Of all his wines, the flagship Tenuta di Trinoro offers the deepest insight into Andrea Franchetti's viticulture. Andrea changes the proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from limestone and clay soils every year depending on the quality and quantity of the harvest. The grapes are always the best of the vintage. Franchetti's own style is recognisable in each of his wines and with each vintage. The 2020 vintage was the first to be given an additional year of bottle ageing before being released for sale.

At the end of the 1980s, Luca Sanjust planted the first Merlot clones in the clay-rich soils of Feriale, unaware that he would create a legend. The name Galatrona – once the dominion of the Tuscan dynasty, whose medieval watchtower towers over the ten-hectare vineyard – was to become synonymous with Italian Merlot perfection. "Le Pin of Tuscany", as Wine Spectator calls it, but at a fraction of the price of this mythical Pomerol. The 50,000 vines on southeast-facing terraces combine Bordeaux genetics with Tuscan soul. Clay stores the moisture that Merlot needs in the hot summers, while slate, marl and sandstone provide the mineral complexity.

Of all its wines, the flagship Tenuta di Trinoro offers the deepest insight into the Franchetti family's viticulture. The proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from limestone and clay soils is adjusted each year depending on the quality and quantity of the harvest. The grapes are always the best of the vintage and come from the very best plots. The unique style of this Tuscan wine icon is recognisable with every vintage.