James Suckling

The Riecine vineyard in Gaiole in Chianti has a history dating back to the 11th century. Today's vineyards grow between 430 and 600 metres above sea level on stony, alluvial limestone soils over a subsoil of pure limestone - rock that was once washed here from the Monterossi hill by the ancient Massellone river (once called "Clante", the origin of the name "Chianti"). Since 2006, La Gioia has been a pure Sangiovese, a decision that perfectly reflects the philosophy of the estate: absolute concentration on the noblest of all Tuscan grape varieties.

In 1886, Carlo Campagnola founded his winery in the Marano Valley, in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. In 1907, he won the first gold medal for the best Recioto at the Verona Wine Fair – since then, the family, now in its fifth generation, has continued what began as a small farm. The vineyards for this Amarone are located on calcareous slopes between 200 and 350 metres above sea level, where Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella are harvested by hand at the end of September. The traditional appassimento drying process takes around 100 days until the grapes have lost 35–40% of their weight. Gentle pressing in December, 30 days of maceration, then ageing: 60% matures for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, 40% for 18 months in new Allier oak barriques.

Bòggina Bianco is an extremely brooding, flavoursome and fresh Trebbiano from vines that are around 50 years old. It is the result of Luca Sanjust's encounter with Lucien Le Moine (Mounir Souma), a major producer in Burgundy, who has contributed significantly to the success of this extraordinary project with his inspiration and expertise. Vinification takes place in French oak barrels and tonneaux specially made for this wine and selected by Lucien Le Moine. The wine remains "sur lie" (on the lees) for the entire ageing period of over 2 years, which gives it an incredibly fresh flavour and harmony. An extremely rare and very delicious exceptional white wine, which is only produced in small quantities of a few 1,000 bottles. SUPERIORE.DE

Historically, the vineyards of Castello di Fonterutoli are located in the areas of three neighbouring municipalities of Chianti Classico: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Radda in Chianti. With the 2017 vintage, the Mazzei family vinified all three large vineyards separately as Chianti Classico Gran Selezione for the first time in order to recognise the diversity of the terroir: Castello di Fonterutoli, Vicoregio 36 and Badiòla.

Mastrojanni's 2020 vintage has a juicy, fleshy feel that adds to the overall intensity of the wine. In the glass, rich fruit, baking spices and a hint of rum cake. The wine is dark and velvety in appearance, the mouthfeel is balanced, smooth and lingering. It is quickly accessible with its full-bodied appeal and you can enjoy this wine over the next few years without having to wait long. SUPERIORE.DE

Andrea Franchetti discovered this tiny, terraced plot back in 2000 – a narrow strip of black sand, as fine as face powder, between 870 and 950 metres above sea level on the northern Etna slope. Here, on the highest Chardonnay vineyard in Italy, he recognised an exceptional habitat for this Burgundian grape variety. However, it was only after years of precise observation, micro-vinifications at various stages of maturation and the realisation that this site has a personality all of its own that the estate decided to bottle the wine separately as Contrada PC in 2018. 36 hours of maceration, fermentation in neutral 20-hectolitre barrels, then 17 months of ageing in large oak barrels – at least six months on the fine lees to enrich the wine and emphasise its potential. The naturally occurring malolactic fermentation in the barrel gives the wine a creamy fullness without disguising its mineral precision. Bottled unfiltered according to the cycles of the waning moon, followed by a further year of bottle ageing to reach its full potential.

The individual parcels (micro-locations) on Etna are called Contrade and the Contrada Passochianche (PC) is the Chardonnay cru from the magical hand of Andrea Franchetti. The visionary, who sadly passed away in 2021, planted high-density Chardonnay here at an altitude of around 900 metres back in 2000. The 2018 vintage marked the debut of a wine that impressively reflects Franchetti's many years of experience on Etna. Like all Contrade wines, it has its very own personality and demonstrates very clearly how a grape variety gains its very own form of expression in different locations. Just 2,660 bottles of this fresh, characterful and salty-mineral Chardonnay were filled. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Garretti is a wine from the slopes of the La Spinetta estate in Grinzane Cavour. These grapes were previously used in Barolo Campé. It is bold, racy and super-expressive. Juicy dark cherry, lavender, spices, menthol, red flowers, liquorice and French oak come together in this creamy, racy wine from La Spinetta. Garretti captures all the richness and pedigree of the vintage in a forward, juicy style that is sure to find many admirers. This is a particularly strong vintage for this wine, even if it needs another year in the bottle to soften the powerful tannins. SUPERIORE.DE

20-year-old Ilatraia: opulent nose of red berries, pleasant smoky notes and fine herbal spices. Opulent and round on the palate, the fine tannins give the wine a delicate but firm structure and the necessary seriousness through to the long, soft finish. The well-integrated wood and the fruit of the Cabernet grape find an exciting symbiosis here in a very harmonious way with the rather strict and taut Petit Verdot style. SUPERIORE.DE

A textbook Pian delle Vigne: a full bouquet of small red berries, brown spices, mocha and tobacco, before musky cherries and sage follow. Its cool, creamy texture introduces a dense wave of ripe red and black fruits, with salty minerals and fine-grained tannins providing grip. It will show its full beauty in a few years, but with sufficient aeration it is already a pleasure today! SUPERIORE.DE

Katia and Luigi's Brunello di Montalcino opens with dark fruits, cherries, forest herbs and dried plums. This is accompanied by a fine fruity sweetness, framed by notes of tar, smoke and exotic spices. The dark and ripe intensity of the fruit is closely interwoven with the flavours of oak and the stately proportions of the wine. The long and well-structured finish is characterised by liquorice and mint, flanked by a layer of fine tannins. What we particularly like about this Brunello is that it is already full of finesse and class and is already showing its beauty at a young age. SUPERIORE.DE

In Valdarno di Sopra, where Tuscan hills meet the foothills of the Apennines and time itself seems to pause, one of the most fascinating love stories in wine is born. Carnasciale is more than just a wine – it is the legacy of a vision that began in Berlin in 1963, when Bettina Schnabel and Wolf Rogosky met. Their love led them via New York to Mercatale Valdarno, where they bought an abandoned estate in 1972 and realised a dream: to create the most unique wine in the world. The secret lies in Caberlot, an enigmatic grape variety that agronomist Remigio Bordini discovered in the late 1960s in an overgrown vineyard near Padua – a natural cross between Cabernet Franc and Merlot that is not cultivated anywhere else in the world. When a devastating frost destroyed the olive trees in 1985, Wolf Rogosky saw his chance: in their place, he planted the first Caberlot vineyard with a revolutionary 10,000 vines per hectare. Superstitiously, he buried a bottle of Sassicaia under the first vine – a ritual that was to point the way to future success.

Pianrosso: the red field. The name tells of iron-rich soils that give the Sangiovese that mineral depth that no cellar in the world can imitate. 11.7 hectares on the south-eastern edge of Montalcino, between 240 and 360 metres above sea level, where ancient marine material meets Galestro slate. Giuseppe Bianchini had the vineyard replanted in the 1980s, knowing that the heart of the winery lies dormant here. Pianrosso is only bottled in superior years, a strict selection of the best grapes, a whole year longer in Slavonian vats than the classic Brunello. 36 months in large wood, then further rest in the bottle. The result is not a wine for quick enjoyment, but a document of patience. In 2021, Montalcino produced one of those vintages that you never forget: bright September days, cool nights, perfect phenolic ripeness.

The name Manna evokes biblical associations, but the true story is even more beautiful: Franz Haas dedicated this extraordinary wine to his wife Maria Luisa Manna in 1995 – a token of love in bottle form that unites the philosophy of the winery in a single cuvée. What began as an assemblage of Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc was expanded to include Kerner from 2013 onwards – five grape varieties, five personalities that merge into a harmonious symbiosis. The vineyards are located between 350 and 800 metres above sea level in a south-westerly direction on geologically highly diverse soils: dolomite, porphyry, sand and marl give each plot its own character. The grapes ripen at different times and are harvested and vinified separately – chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc ferment in barriques, while Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Kerner ferment in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the young wines are blended and left to rest on the fine lees for around ten months, followed by further months of bottle ageing. This patient approach results in a wine of exceptional complexity.

A railway station from the 19th century still stands on the estate – silent, fallen out of time, functionless. The wine that is produced here has something of this image: it doesn't hurry, it waits. And the 2021 came quietly anyway – no record-breaking summer, no headlines, just a cool spring, moderate heat and day-night fluctuations that gave the Sangiovese exactly what it needed: room to mature. Tenuta Pian delle Vigne is located six kilometres southwest of Montalcino, on calcareous clay soil with fine gravel, exposed to the southwest, around 130 metres above sea level. Antinori-owned since 1995 – and has been unyieldingly committed to the same principle ever since: large wooden barrels of between 30 and 80 hectolitres that preserve rather than dominate the Sangiovese fruit. No barrique dictates, no fashionable make-up. Only conviction.

The bouquet shows a phenomenal blend of pure fruit with wild berries and herbs, before further depths of floral undergrowth and smoky nuances are added. The palate is full, silky smooth, with polished red and black fruits, then savoury spices and hints of sour citrus as it progresses. A hint of liquorice and mint lingers together with a layer of ultra-fine tannins on the long and lightly structured finish. For us, the San Polino Brunello is a prime example of finesse and elegance every year and a beauty on all levels. SUPERIORE.DE

Castelnuovo dell'Abate is located in the south-easternmost tip of the denominazione – further away from the cool northern slopes of Montalcino, closer to Monte Amiata, the extinct volcano that moderates the climate of the area. When Gabriele Mastrojanni bought the Poderi Loreto and San Pio in 1975, there was hardly anyone here. The land was barren, the soil poor in clay and rich in sandstone, tuff and pebbles. That was precisely the reason. Today, Andrea Machetti as CEO and Oenologist Maurizio Castelli continue to run the winery in the spirit of the founder – with a consistency that knows no compromise: no herbicides, no chemical interventions since November 2022, fermentation in concrete cement with wild yeasts, long ageing in large Allier oak barrels between 16 and 54 hectolitres. Brunello is the result of the interaction between different plots of land – different exposures, altitudes between 180 and 420 metres, different vine ages – and from this it gains its complexity.

Since summer 2023, Chianti Classico producers have been allowed to include the eleven additional geographical indications (UGA = unità geografiche aggiuntive) introduced in 2021 on the labels of the top Gran Selezione category. For Chianti Classico winegrowers, it is a logical step to produce wines that reflect the area in which they were produced as authentically as possible. And customers can thus deepen their knowledge of the relationship between the wines and their region of origin - a real added value.

Since summer 2023, Chianti Classico producers have been allowed to include the eleven additional geographical indications (UGA = unità geografiche aggiuntive) introduced in 2021 on the labels of the top Gran Selezione category. For Chianti Classico winegrowers, it is a logical step to produce wines that reflect the area in which they were produced as authentically as possible. And customers can thus deepen their knowledge of the relationship between the wines and their region of origin - a real added value.

The latest addition to Vajra's Barolo line-up comes from a 1.5-hectare plot in Coste di Rose, a small MGA (Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive) in the Barolo region. This is a steep slope at 310 metres above sea level with a high proportion of sandy soils with good drainage, whose vines and soils are cultivated close to nature. This very accessible Barolo is straightforward, forward and impresses even at a young age with its refreshing candour. A very precise bouquet of cherry, plum, liquorice, spices and menthol, followed by a broad and multi-layered fruity palate with plenty of juice and power, supportive tannins and a full, long, mineral and minty finish. SUPERIORE.DE

In Franciacorta, Satèn stands for finesse under pressure – in both the literal and figurative sense. Ca' del Bosco interprets this style not as a sideline, but as an expression of refinement and sensory depth. The cuvée consists of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Bianco – a composition that combines freshness with a supple structure – grown in selected high-altitude vineyards on chalky soils, vinified with extreme precision and a tangible signature. The base wines ferment in small barriques and rest on the lees for several months before being blended and bottled. The second fermentation takes place at reduced pressure – maximum 5 bar – resulting in a particularly fine perlage. The wine then matures on the lees for four years, the dosage remains restrained and emphasises the natural elegance of the cuvée.

Top-class sparkling wine in the finest organic quality! Bolle di Borro – a new interpretation of Sangiovese. Il Borro has been producing a single-varietal Sangiovese sparkling wine using the so-called Champagne method (Metodo Classico) for a few years now. A fragrant, yeasty nose of small red berries and candied citrus peel. On the palate, bread, brioche, delicate Sangiovese fruit and a wonderfully creamy yet precise and crisp, very long finish. Elegance and finesse in purezza! SUPERIORE.DE

Vintage Collection dosage zéro is the purist expression of what Franciacorta can be – and Ca' del Bosco shows how far this claim can be taken when precision and patience work together. No dosage, no compromises – just the essence of grape, terroir and time. The cuvée of Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco comes exclusively from vineyards selected for their expression, depth and freshness. Hand-picked in small crates, gentle pressing, fermentation and ageing of the base wines in barriques – all under maximum oxidation protection. This is followed by tirage and maturation on the lees for over 48 months in the bottle. Disgorged without any added sugar – the pure backbone of the vintage.