James Suckling

The top wine Cavalli Rosso comes from loose marl soils at an altitude of 400 metres facing south. It reveals a dark and lush fruit profile with intense blackberry, sour cherry, plum and graphite flavours. On the palate, it has a high primary intensity and medium weight, finishing with a very crisp acidity. It is polished and deep, balanced and supple with plenty of fruity power, weight and length. SUPERIORE.DE

Eppan-Berg Schulthaus Pinot Bianco is a true classic among South Tyrolean Pinot Blancs. Its success began in 1982, when it was first vinified and bottled. A perfect, delicately fruity and fresh wine that is a pleasure to savour with its creamy softness and racy acidity. Smells of fresh spring green, the generous palate is characterised by mirabelle plum, nectarine and a vibrant freshness that leads to a refreshing finish with lemon and minerals. SUPERIORE.DE

This Riserva is only made available each year in very small quantities to hand-picked specialist retailers and top restaurants. Brilliant ruby red colour. Fine raspberry and floral notes dominate the spicy nose. Very juicy on the palate, tannins and acidity are well integrated. Riecines Riserva has length and suppleness right through to the long fruity finish. The elegance and fine melting texture are impressive. Once again, this is Sangiovese at the top level that Riecine is known for! SUPERIORE.DE

Mathias is one of the top wines. Together with the Pinot Nero Riserva Matan and the Cortazo red wine cuvée, it forms the top tier of Pfitscher’s quality pyramid. A white wine that offers the most complete picture of the vineyard of the same name and the family’s philosophy. The soils on which it grows are unique: grey porphyry and sandy-limestone rock dust. Two geological worlds in a single vineyard: the volcanic depth of the porphyry and the mineral-driven precision of the Alpine limestone. As James Suckling once put it, this captures the essence: "Wild herbs, gentian root, flint, white currant – with a literally breathtaking mineral freshness on final." A Sauvignon that doesn’t scream of fruit, but speaks of its terroir.

Tenuta San Leonardo is a name synonymous with red wine. For generations, the Guerrieri Gonzaga family in Avio, in southern Trentino, has been producing a Bordeaux blend that connoisseurs mention in the same breath as Italy's finest wines. Far fewer people are aware that the estate also produces white wine (and rosé) – and does so with the same precision. Vette di San Leonardo takes its name from the peaks that frame the vineyards. "Vette" – peaks, summits – is the image San Leonardo has chosen for this Sauvignon Blanc: high-altitude, crisp, unmistakable. The grapes come from Roveré della Luna, a village on the border between Trentino and Alto Adige, which ranks among the finest Sauvignon Blanc sites in northern Italy. With the Dolomites as a backdrop, cool nights and a long ripening process on the vine. Hand-harvested in September. Exclusively stainless steel, no oak. Five months sur lie on the fine lees – for texture and depth without external ageing.

Aldo Conterno was an exception among the Piedmontese Barolo producers – one of the few who gave Barbera the attention it deserved. While his colleagues dismissed the variety as an everyday wine, Conterno recognised its potential. The Conca Tre Pile is a steep, hilly slope in the Bussia Soprana, planted entirely with Barbera – vines up to 45 years old, rooted in the legendary terroir that usually produces the great Barolo. This is no ordinary Barbera. This is Barbera on a par with the greats. The grapes are harvested by hand at the beginning of October. After eight to ten days of maceration at 26 to 28 degrees in stainless steel tanks, the wine is racked, pumped over several times and then filled into 100 per cent new French barriques, where it matures for twelve months. An unusual amount of wood for Barbera – but it works for Conterno. The natural acidity of the variety absorbs the wood, integrates the vanilla and spice flavours and transforms them into complexity rather than dominance.

Pecchenino, traditionally known in Dogliani for Dolcetto, ventured into Monforte d'Alba, one of the eleven Barolo villages and home to some of the appellation's most prestigious single vineyards, in the early 2000s. Today, the family cultivates plots in the three prestigious Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive Ravera di Monforte, Le Coste di Monforte and Bussia – sites whose names carry weight in connoisseur circles. San Giuseppe is not a single vineyard, but a composed vision: 50% Ravera di Monforte, 35% Le Coste and 15% Bussia merge to create a Barolo that combines the strengths of these different terroirs. Ravera, at an altitude of 440 metres, with its whitish marl, brings minerality and structure. Le Coste, exposed to the south-east, delivers elegance and aromatic finesse. Bussia, the largest and best known of the three, contributes strength and ageing potential. The chalky, clayey soils, the south to south-westerly exposure and the precise manual labour in the vineyard – everything follows the principle of low yields for maximum concentration.

Our team drinks this after work, our very special insider recommendation for purists: finely balanced and very elegant Prosecco Millesimato Spumante Superiore with a shiny golden colour and green reflections. Floral bouquet, fine perlage and elegant flavours of pear and white fruit, which lend the aristocratic, dry structure a great deal of elegance and length. This is not an everyday occurrence, even in the noble DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene! SUPERIORE.DE

In the quiet morning hours of Gallura, when the first light dances over the granite hills and the Sardinian Mediterranean scrub begins to awaken, something extraordinary emerges. Amistai – a name that means friendship and solidarity in the ancient language of Gallura – is Capichera's bold answer to the question: can a rosé achieve the same depth and complexity as the estate's legendary white wines? With the 2024 vintage, the traditional winery took a revolutionary step. Where the classic També epitomises the light elegance of Sardinian rosés, Amistai breaks all conventions. Made from the finest autochthonous grapes from selected vineyards, prolonged maceration and a vinification process that redefines boundaries – this rosé is Capichera's manifesto for a new era in Sardinian viticulture.

Pliocene clays retain moisture. In a dry, hot year like 2020, this is not merely an agricultural detail, but a survival strategy. The clay soils of Poggio Landi, situated 300 to 500 metres above Torrenieri, provided a natural buffer against the summer drought that put large parts of Montalcino under strain that year. The organically farmed vines, with their deeper, more active root systems, played their part. The result is a Brunello full of concentration and character. Herbal and spicy notes on the nose – wild herbs, fennel and oregano – followed by sweet cherry and tamarind. Two weeks of spontaneous fermentation, 38 months in large French oak barrels, and 6 months in bottle.

Le Baròncole – the little manors. The name refers to the feudal division of this land in the Middle Ages, to landowners who were small enough to be forgotten, but large enough to leave their mark on the landscape. Today, Le Baròncole is the name of the finest Chianti Classico from San Giusto a Rentennano – a Riserva produced only in years when the terroir warrants it. The estate overlooks the upper Arbia Valley at an altitude of 270 metres. The soils are diverse – sand, clay, limestone and mineral-rich deposits – and characterised by a microclimate that experiences marked temperature fluctuations between day and night. In such locations, Sangiovese ripens differently to elsewhere: more slowly, with greater tension, and with a freshness not found in the Maremma or the lower Chianti region. 97% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo, hand-harvested in September when the Martini di Cigalas grapes are at their best. Aged for 16 to 20 months in large oak casks and French barriques, depending on the vintage, followed by a further six months' bottle ageing.

It was almost a silent revolution when Michele Satta decided to set the stage for Sangiovese in Bolgheri. While all around him his illustrious neighbours – sassicaia, Ornellaia, Guado al Tasso – were dancing the international Bordeaux party, the non-conformist from Varese dared to do the unthinkable: he planted the pure Tuscan soul in an appellation that was supposed to breathe French elegance. Cavaliere – the knight – does not bear this name by chance. It is Michele Satta's personal crusade for the grape variety that he reveres as "Tuscany's emblem of elegance and nobility". Today, he is the only producer in Bolgheri who takes on this challenge with the same passion as the international varieties.

In 1959, Count Giuseppe Tasca d'Almerita planted Perricone and Nero d'Avola on the San Lucio hill using the Alberello system – an investment in a future that hardly any Sicilian could have imagined at the time. In 1970, the first vintage was released: the first single-vineyard wine the island had ever produced. The 2012 vintage showcases the blend in its most complex form: 63% Nero d'Avola forms the foundation, complemented by 37% of other red varieties from the estate, including Perricone and small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Traditional red wine fermentation in stainless steel, 20 days' contact with the skins, full malolactic fermentation, followed by 18 months in newLiters made from Allier and Tronçais oak.

The grapes for Clerico's entry-level Barolo come from younger vines in the top vineyards of Pajana, Ciabot Mentin and Percristina (Mosconi). The 2021 vintage is considered one of the best of the last decade: a balanced vegetation cycle with warm, sunny days and cool nights promoted even ripening and preserved the concise acidity structure. In the glass, it shines a rich garnet red with ruby-coloured reflections. The nose reveals a clear, complex aroma of ripe cherry, dark plum and dried rose, complemented by hints of violet, tobacco, liquorice and a fine, balsamic note. Powerful and precise on the palate, with juicy fruit, present, well-integrated acidity and taut, fine-grained tannins that promise a long development. The 2021 still needs to develop a little, but the essential components are already very convincing today. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1975 – two years after Riecine's first Chianti Classico – John Dunkley decided that some vintages and some grapes deserved more than the usual treatment. The Riserva was born. Since then, it has only been produced when the selection allows: the finest vineyards, the oldest vines, and two stages of selection – in the vineyard and on the sorting table – before the grapes enter the cellar. The vines used for the Riserva are between 25 and 45 years old. After selection, the must is transferred to unglazed Nomblot concrete vats. There, the must is initially kept cool with dry ice for four to five days before spontaneous fermentation begins – slowly, in a natural way. After fermentation, the wine spends a further ten days on the skins, with the cap submerged. Then comes the centrepiece: the entire Riserva production is decanted into a single large oak cask from Grenier. Untoasted – no toasty aromas, no vanilla, no foreign character. Just the neutral, 'breathing' structure of the wood. 22 months. Then back into concrete tanks for natural stabilisation and clarification. Finally, three months in bottle.

Vintages write wine history – and 2021 is deeply engraved in Montalcino. Extreme drought, intense sunshine, nights that remained cool despite everything: The Sangiovese vines responded with concentrated, aromatically dense grapes that yielded little but showed a clear signature. For La Quinta, the wine from Ferrini's fifth vineyard at 400 metres above the Castello di Sant'Angelo in Colle, this meant an emphatic vintage. The vinification follows the tried and tested rhythm: 7 days of fermentation in steel, 13 days of maceration, then a year of ageing in tonneaux, large oak barrels and cocciopesto amphorae made of baked clay, before the wine is left to rest in cement and finally matures for at least 6 months in the bottle.

Pinot Bianco was first introduced to South Tyrol as early as 1850 – and the Schulthaus vineyard, above Castel Moos in Appiano Monte, is probably the most historic site for Pinot Bianco in the entire municipality. The Schulthauser has been bottled as a wine in its own right since 1982 – and since then it has become one of the best-known expressions of this grape variety in South Tyrol. The vineyards are situated at altitudes of 540 to 620 metres, facing south-east, on limestone gravel soils with a slight clay content – high enough for the evening downdrafts from the Mendel Mountains to exert their cooling effect every day. Hand-harvested at the end of September. In the cellar: 85% fermented in stainless steel, 15% in large wooden casks with malolactic fermentation. In February, the wines are blended to create a wine that combines creamy smoothness and pronounced acidity in a rare harmony.

In the hills between Castagneto Carducci and the Tyrrhenian Sea, Grattamacco has achieved a remarkable feat: an elegant Vermentino that brings together terroir, grape variety and vinification methods with rare depth. The grapes come from organically farmed plots at a coastal altitude – consistently well-ventilated, yet characterised by intense sunshine and a significant day-night temperature difference. The combination of sea breezes and limestone soils produces a white wine of impressive substance.

Those who sow elegance must negotiate with the climate. The weather in 2022 was a tough negotiator in Montalcino: persistent drought, periods of heat, hardly any rainfall in the crucial summer months. The wines that emerged from this year are characterised by this – concentrated, structured, deep in fruit, with tannins that will need time. La Quinta originated, as always, from the fifth vineyard of Podere Giodo at an altitude of 400 metres – medium-gravel soils, south-easterly exposure, pure Sangiovese. Fermentation in steel for 7 days, maceration for 13 days. The 12-month wood ageing in tonneaux, large oak barrels and the characteristic Cocciopesto amphorae made of baked clay remains the stylistic backbone of the wine – an ageing process that integrates textures rather than imposing wood.

The grapes for Istine's iconic Riserva come exclusively from the estate's own vineyards: Istine (Radda), Casanova dell'Aia (Radda) and Cavarchione (Gaiole). Only 4,000 bottles of this breathtaking wine, which is aged for 12 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, are bottled each year. A rich, luminous ruby red with a sparkling core. The bouquet displays its complexity with aristocratic restraint. A compact and fresh, fruity nose of ripe cherries and ripe raspberries, with Amarena cherries and hints of tobacco in the background. Medium-bodied on the palate, yet with infinite, captivating depth just waiting to be discovered. It then spreads beautifully across the palate, appearing almost juicy and fruit-driven, and continues to open up towards its terrific finalwith crisp cherries and a subtle hint of salt. Purists will love its linear and unmistakable Sangiovese character. SUPERIORE.DE

Pianodario is a landscape comprising 99 terraces. Held in place by dry stone walls that have become integrated into the hillside over the centuries, the land slopes from south to north at a gradient of seven% – a typical Etna vineyard, in which every single terrace is a microterroir in its own right. The soil tells an even older story: volcanic formations dating from between 4,000 and 15,000 years ago, beneath which far older layers, estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000 years old, are thought to lie. Geological time, compressed into just a few metres of earth. The vines were only planted in 2010, at an altitude of 775 metres, facing north-east to south-west, trained using the espalier and gobelet systems. The site – high-altitude, well-ventilated and exposed to the cooling influence of the volcano – significantly slows the ripening of the Nerello Mascalese. Harvesting consequently begins late, often not until the first few days of November. Traditional red wine fermentation at 25 to 30°C, followed by complete malolactic fermentation; then comes the decisive stylistic difference from other Etna Reds: ageing in large 25-hectolitre Slavonian oak casks, rather than in small French barriques. The wood remains neutral, taking a back seat and allowing the fruit and terroir to take centre stage.

The Pianodario vineyard is situated at an average altitude of 775 metres above sea level, between the hamlet of Montelaguardia and Randazzo. It comprises approximately 8 hectares of vineyards. The soils are of volcanic origin and date back up to 40,000 years.

Tasca became involved with Mount Etna at an early stage, and the latest result of this long-standing experience is four new single-vineyard wines from the Tascante estate: Contrada Rampante, Pianodario, Sciaranuova and Sciaranuova Vigna Vecchia (V.V.). The wines are delicate and brooding, and despite their power, acidity and firm tannins, they are very elegant, full of finesse and light on the palate. Each of the four plots lends the wine a slightly different style and character – determined by the altitude, soil composition and morphology of the historic lava flows. High annual rainfall ensures the soil has ample water reserves, and the temperature fluctuations between day and night enhance the diversity of the grapes' aromas and, ultimately, their ageing potential.

The great Bordeaux estates have shown the way: a so-called "second wine" is not simply a wine that didn't make the grade. It offers a different perspective. Younger vines, different plots, shorter ageing – resulting in a wine that is meant to be drunk sooner, has a fresher character and reveals a different facet of the same terroir. Tenuta San Leonardo introduced this concept to the Dolomites in 2005.