James Suckling

As a result of extensive soil research, Francesco Ricasoli was able to identify three microlocations, which will be vinified separately from the 2015 vintage onwards. The range of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione now includes, in addition to the famous Castello di Brolio, three cru sites (Colledilà, Roncicone and Ceniprimo), all of which are 100% planted with Sangiovese. They differ in structure and taste in close correspondence with their terroir and impressively demonstrate the complexity of the Chanti Classico region.

One hundred and forty months. Almost twelve years in complete darkness, resting on the lees, in the historic vaulted cellars of Canale d'Alba, where wines have been maturing to perfection since 1878. No other Italian sparkling wine takes so much time. No other demands so much patience – and rewards it so overwhelmingly. Zero140 is the culmination of a journey that Enrico Serafino began in 1991 as a founding member of the Alta Langa project. In 2004, they dared to do the unthinkable with the first "Zero": a Pas Dosé from Piedmont, without any added dosage, without any concession to favour. In 2014, Gambero Rosso named this uncompromising purist the best Italian sparkling wine of the year. But the 140 goes much further – it triples the ageing time and makes time itself the protagonist.

For some years now, Riccardo Cotarella's Montiano has been characterised by great freshness and dark, concentrated fruit. In contrast to the vintages of the early 1990s, the wine has become much livelier and more dynamic. And the 2021 vintage brings a new nuance to this characterful Merlot: riper, denser and finer at the same time. The climatic conditions – an early summer temperature rise followed by cooler evening hours – allowed for slow, even ripening with perfect concentration levels. As always, the Montefiascone region delivers mineral-structured fruit and precise floral components.

The grapes for the estate's classic Barolo come from the vineyards/communes of Ornato, La Serra, Briccolina in Serralunga d'Alba, Gustava and Garretti in Grinzane Cavour, Roncaglie in La Morra, Ravera in Novello and, from the 2015 vintage, also from Mosconi in Monforte d'Alba. It is more of a traditional, classic Barolo with an exciting bouquet of deep, dark fruit and a pretty potpourri of rose petals, spices, smoke and tar. It is full-bodied and firm on the palate, opening up with plenty of dense tannins, very powerful, with pressure and a full bite on the finish, designed for a long life. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Brunate comes from the heart of the appellation in La Morra and is one of the most expressive Barolos in Ceretto's single-vineyard collection. The vines are over 50 years old and the total production of the wine is therefore vanishingly small.

After much anticipation, today we present the second vintage of an exceptional Sangiovese from Querciabella's single vineyard Ruffoli.

The "25 Anni" from Caprai has been THE ambassador for Umbria's top wines for many years. It captivates with a beguiling bouquet that combines black fruits with citrus fruits, exotic spices, a hint of oregano, menthol and a hint of cocoa. The texture is more like pure silk, delicately lapping the palate, leaving a satisfying mix of intense dark fruits, minerals and fine-grained tannin. There is so much depth and concentration to work with that even when it finishes youthfully structured and dry, it lingers for well over a minute with notes of redcurrant, sage and dark chocolate. This exceptional Sagrantino is undisputedly not only Caprai's top wine, but also one of Italy's most characterful wines, which, with a little more ageing, is an incredible pleasure and should therefore definitely be aerated for 3-4 hours when young. SUPERIORE.DE

Sibi et paucis – for the few who understand that great wines are not in a hurry. Sandrone retains around 10 per cent of the production from each Aleste vintage and allows these bottles to mature for a full decade longer in his own cellar. What could have been released in September 2018 is still resting today – and is becoming something that goes beyond regular Barolo. 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

Sesta di Sopras Riserva from the 2019 flagship vintage impressively presents a masculine and muscular personality in the glass. The nose has a striking aroma of dark fruits, wild berries, sour cherries, leather and tobacco. All of these components blend together seamlessly. A medium texture and density on the palate and a fantastically long finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Luce Brunello has been one of the icons in the large portfolio of Frescobaldi wines from Tuscany for years. The 2019 edition opens with great power and determination with ripe fruit flavours of blackberries and candied cherries. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and very harmonious thanks to the bright acidity and the overall quality of the primary fruit flavours of this excellent vintage. The tannins are well woven into the full-bodied density of the wine. Be sure to aerate or, better still, leave to mature for a few years in the cellar. SUPERIORE.DE

Here is another outstanding 2019 Brunello from a winery that is still considered an insider tip given its small size and limited annual production. Medium, bright ruby red colour. Exotic aromas of minerals and citrus fruits, reminiscent of red cherries, blood oranges and Asian spices, with a floral nuance that gains strength with air. The palate is supple and expansive, with sweet flavours of red cherries and dark plums carried by a powerful acidity. Densely packed, at once fleshy and broad, but also lively and precise. On the strikingly long finish, it shows excellent power and cut, characterised by youthful, dusty tannins and a hint of candied violets. As is so often the case, this is one of the best Brunellos of the vintage and still completely under the radar of many Sangiovese lovers. SUPERIORE.DE

"Santa Caterina d'Oro" – the golden chalice of Siena, named after the award that Giuseppe Bianchini received three times as Winemaker of the Year before he died in 2004, shortly before the completion of the new wine cellar that he was never to see. But his legacy lives on: this Riserva is only produced in exceptional years – only ten times since 1995. The 2019 vintage is one of Montalcino's "modern-day greats": A warm summer followed by a cool autumn, which delayed the harvest from 11 September to 4 October and produced that magical balance between ripeness and freshness that characterises great vintages. From the oldest plots of the Pianrosso vineyard – those eleven hectares between 240 and 360 metres, where the iron-rich Galestro soils preserve volcanic heritage – the grapes for this monumental wine. After rigorous selection in the vineyard and in the cellar, it matures for 48 months in large Slovenian barrels, followed by a further twelve months in the bottle.

Amarone Sergio Zenato Riserva - seductive complexity. Deep bouquet of black berries and cocoa, violets and lavender. The taste with aromas of cherries, blackberries and wild berries, in the long finish the invigorating fresh impressions of medicinal herbs. A stately wine of the upper class. SUPERIORE.DE

Guidalberto bears the name of a man who shaped the Bolgheri landscape forever in the early 19th century: Guidalberto della Gherardesca, the visionary agricultural pioneer who created the famous cypress avenue – the Viale dei Cipressi – was created. What was initially intended as a practical demarcation between different areas of cultivation became the iconic silhouette of an entire region. 2023 marks a turning point for this exceptional wine. For the first time, Tenuta San Guido is positioning its Guidalberto separately from the legendary Sassicaia – a deliberate move to demonstrate that this is not a "second wine", but an independent interpretation of the Bolgheri terroir. As Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta puts it: "You can't compare them. They are completely different worlds." The 2023 vintage is a synthesis of 55 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 45 per cent Merlot. While the Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure and depth, the Merlot brings the silky texture and accessible sweetness that makes Guidalberto so distinctive. Fifteen months in French and American barriques give the wine its characteristic balance between strength and elegance.

The Barolo Brunate 2019 comes from one of the most legendary cru vineyards in La Morra, on the border with Barolo. The vineyards, located at an altitude of around 300 metres and facing south-south-east, combine calcareous marl soils with good water storage capacity – ideal conditions for Nebbiolo with great depth and aromatic complexity. The 2019 vintage brought a long growing season with cool nights and sunny days, which ensured precise fruit and a distinctive structure. The 24-month maturation in large Slavonian oak barrels gives the wine depth and longevity.

This exceptional Sangiovese comes exclusively from the historic "Palmina" vineyard – the oldest vines that John Dunkley and Palmina Abbagnano found back in 1971 when they acquired the small estate from the neighbouring Badia a Coltibuono monastery. A hillside vineyard with a low yield, as the purchase contract noted at the time. Since 2010, the grapes from this unique hectare at an altitude of 480 metres have been vinified separately. Today, the 60-year-old Sangiovese vines with their extremely low density of just 3x1 metres yield barely more than one kilogram of grapes per vine, but they are of incomparable concentration and purity.

Back in 2007, the winery embarked on the cru project with the aim of emphasising the natural elegance and vitality of Sangiovese and the essential value of what the Latins call the "genius loci". What began as an experiment and a challenge evolved into years of constant but calculated work to identify the best vineyards in Chianti Classico. The best winemaking and ageing methods were then applied to enhance the particular influence of the origin on the texture, flavour and character of the wine.

The grapes come from family-owned plots in Serralunga d'Alba, La Morra, Grinzane Cavour, Monforte and Mosconi. Each vineyard is harvested separately by hand and fermented in stainless steel; long maceration times with gentle remontages ensure a fine, complete extraction. For ageing, the winery predominantly uses large Slavonian oak barrels (botti), supplemented by a smaller proportion of French oak, which adds lustre to the texture without masking the origin. Thanks to a stable summer and cool nights in autumn, 2020 produced ripe, healthy harvestwith a clear acidity line and precise aromas.

Ceretto's Barolo Bussia comes from one of the most famous cru sites bordering the municipalities of Monforte d'Alba and Barolo, it draws its Nebbiolo fruit from a 7,000 sqm parcel in Bussia Soprana in Monforte d'Alba. Just 3,500 1/1 bottles and 200 magnums are bottled.

Every year, Fratta is a groundbreaking blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that you can't help but love. Fratta proved the Veneto's potential for winemaking when it was first produced in 1977, the year Angela Maculan (a second daughter) was born. Deep, complex fruit bouquet, rounded off with fine sweet spices, tobacco and coffee. On the palate, beautiful lines and a sharp focus with dry mineral tones framing dark fruits, dried cherries and exotic spices. Fratta is a bold and big wine and there is no doubting the broodingelegance of this highly personalised expression. SUPERIORE.DE

A Brunello Riserva that is only born in years that the winery considers exceptional. Not every great harvest produces a Caterina and certainly not a Riserva. It is the promise that Giuseppe Bianchini made to himself when he unexpectedly inherited an entire vineyard in 1985: he would create a wine that would be a monument to its terroir. The name has something sacred about it, a silent reference to the spiritual tradition of this landscape between the Abbey of Sant'Antimo and the hills of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. Santa Caterina d'Oro – the golden Catherine – as if to provide the wine with a patron saint, a protector of its long journey through time.

You have to earn the nickname. They call Montestefano the "Barolo of Barbaresco" – and anyone who has had a good vintage in their hands will understand why. The site is just a few metres away from Montefico, shares its southern exposure and the calcareous subsoil, but clearly towers above it in terms of steepness. Excellent drainage, late harvest, a warmer microclimate thanks to the protection from northerly winds: these are the conditions under which the Nebbiolo develops maximum ripeness here – almost smoky darkness, full power. The Produttori del Barbaresco have been vinifying Montestefano as a single vineyard since 1974; the craft has remained unchanged for decades: 28 days of maceration at 30 degrees, then at least thirty months in large Slavonian wooden barrels.

The Allegrini family has been contributing to the history of Valpolicella since the 16th century. Giovanni Allegrini, the visionary, is considered the architect of its rebirth. A man they called "il ragno delle botti", the cellar master spider, because he wandered restlessly between his barrels, always in search of perfection. His son Franco carried on the legacy, revolutionising the Appassimento with the construction of the Terre di Fumane – a state-of-the-art drying facility that precisely controls temperature, humidity and air circulation. Since 2022, the winery has been in the hands of the third generation: Francesco, Giovanni, Matteo and Silvia. The Amarone comes from vines that have been rooted for over 30 years on the hills of Fumane, between 450 and 520 metres above sea level, on clay and limestone soils of volcanic origin. Corvina Veronese and Corvinone each make up 45 per cent of the cuvée, supplemented by Rondinella and Oseleta. After the manual harvest in September, the transformation begins: the grapes rest for four months in the fruttaio, losing 40 to 45 per cent of their weight and concentrating sugar and aromas. Gentle pressing in January, followed by 25 days of maceration at a controlled temperature. Ageing: 18 months in new barriques, a further seven months in large barrels and finally 14 months in the bottle – a total of over three years before the wine leaves the winery.