Luca Maroni

Taurasi, undisputedly the great red of the south, rightly referred to as the "Barolo of the south", shows all its power and nobility in Feudi di San Gregorio's interpretation. The pure Aglianico comes from vineyards at altitudes of up to 700 metres, on volcanic soils with basalt, clay and tuff. The result is a brooding, long-lasting red wine with character of origin and high standards.

Sparkling yellow-green colour. The elegant, floral-scented Sauvignon Bianco Mantele is irresistible, with beautiful varietal typicity and a pleasingly slender waistline. Fine mineral notes on the palate add playfulness and vibrancy, overall very juicy and fresh. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Paesi Tuoi is more than just a designation of origin. The name – borrowed from the novel "Among Peasants" by Cesare Pavese – evokes Piedmont not just as a landscape, but as a cultural space: rural, archaic, full of inner tensions. And so this Barolo is not an expression of a single cru, but a synthesis of the villages, hills and soils that together form the essence of this appellation. The grapes come from different, characterful vineyards around Barolo, Monforte and Serralunga, carefully selected and vinified separately. Long maceration periods, followed by around two years of ageing in traditional, large oak barrels – the result is a classic style with depth.

The grapes for this graceful Valpolicella Classico come from the Miniere vineyard on the Bertani Villa Novare estate, a south-west-facing site covering just 4 hectares and consisting of two terraces. Bright ruby red in colour, with a very clear nose of fresh fruit, cherry and wild berries, with elegant notes of white pepper. Spicy, juicy and flavoursome on the palate, with remarkable persistence, straightforwardness and great length! SUPERIORE.DE

Feudi di San Gregorio's DUBL project was born in 2004 out of an awareness of the great richness of the indigenous vines of the Irpinia region and the desire to open up new horizons for them: as Metodo Classico Spumante or by means of the famous Méthode Champenoise. A consultant was quickly found for this - none other than Anselme Selosse, who is known for his champagnes and his flair for the specialities of the vines and vineyards.

Gualtiero Morellino di Scansano Riserva from Morisfarms shows why this traditional family winery is a firm favourite in the Maremma. The cuvée is predominantly based on Sangiovese (Morellino), supplemented by small proportions of international varieties. The vines grow on sun-drenched hills between the Tyrrhenian coast and the cool foothills of Monte Amiata, whose clay and sandy soils lend the wine fruit and structure. Careful manual harvesting was followed by temperature-controlled fermentation, after which the Riserva matured for 12 months in a combination of barriques and large wooden barrels to harmoniously combine elegance and complexity.

The vines are planted where the Piedmont slopes gently at Canelli and the Barbera grape can develop its depth. The name is reminiscent of Cesare Pavese, the great son of these hills – and his most famous work "La Luna e i Falò". Like the novel, this wine also carries a quiet melancholy, paired with expression, maturity and identity. Matured in barriques and large casks for around a year, this is a Barbera full of character and modern at the same time.

"La Procura" - "The Public Prosecutor's Office". The names of Gerardo Giuratrabocchetti's wines are reminiscent of his father's world as a notary.

Deep dark, sparkling ruby red colour. An opulent dark red fruit basket on the nose, intense and full. From the very first sip, a depth that is unrivalled in this price range. The heights to which this wine is capable of carrying the connoisseur are nothing short of spectacular. At the same time, it always convinces with an indescribable balance. Maharis is never fat or jammy, but its potpourri of dark fruits, spices, matured leather and a subtle smoky note is balanced at all times with an almost surprising freshness and liveliness. The final is long, velvety and richly textured. Magnificent! SUPERIORE.DE

107 hectares. That is all. In the entire Denominazione Valdobbiadene, which extends over 15 municipalities and thousands of hectares of steep slopes, there is exactly one hill, which has been demarcated with its own regulations since 1969 – a golden pentagon, as the locals call it, whose plots measure barely two tenths of a hectare on average. Cartizze is the grand cru of the Veneto. Andreola sources his grapes from the "Cartizze Alto" sub-area – the limestone-rich ridge of the hill, where marl and sandstone alternate, the soils are shallow and rich in minerals and the perfect southern exposure balances out the "Alta Collina" climate. The temperatures remain mild and stable – cooler than at the bottom of the valley, warmer than the exposed steep slopes around it. It is precisely this balance that produces a Glera of particular ripeness and aromatic completeness. The grapes come from long-standing contract suppliers who have been supplying Andreola for generations – because Cartizze is not a vineyard that you buy. You cultivate a fraction of it, if you are lucky.

Don Luigi Riserva is the distinctive flagship of Di Majo Norante – named after the patriarch of the winery and an expression of deep respect for origin, tradition and passion. Only the ripest Montepulciano grapes are selected from the Contrada Camarda near Ramitello, around 100 - 150 metres above sea level on soils rich in limestone and clay. The wine is produced after a long maceration period and then matures for 12–18 months in French barriques, followed by several months of rest in the bottle – a process that produces both concentration and this impressive harmony.

Pale pink with orange reflections. Elegant, fine aroma of flowers and roses, small red berries and herbs and the typical bread and yeast flavour. Very supple on the palate, fresh and forward, the acidity is agile and the mousse is soft and fine. A mouthful of red berries and a very broad range of herb and spice flavours are wonderfully enveloped by a fresh acidity that finishes this very long wine with a fruity, tart and salty note. SUPERIORE.DE

The Pecorari family's passion for single-varietal wines is best represented by the Pinot Grigio Gris, which is matured for 11 months on the fine lees with bâtonnage. This Pinot Grigio fermented in oak offers an exciting and complex bouquet of white peach, citrus, flint, crushed oyster shells, white rose petals and notes of acacia honey. The well-proportioned acidity, the fresh flavour and the wonderful depth and tension make it easy to see that the Pinot Grigio at Lis Neris occupies an absolutely special position every year. SUPERIORE.DE"Firm, somewhat nutty, planty to herbaceous and hints of mushroomy aromas of yellow fruit with slightly smoky and vanilla wood notes and nuances reminiscent of mussel shells. Polished, firm fruit with melting and some light wood notes, fine acidity, has a grip of ripe tannin, good substance and persistence, certain depth, salty minerality, tobacco, butter and hints of crab meat in the background, very good, animating finish with bite." Wein-Plus"Bright straw yellow colour. Fine reduction on the nose, subtle flint, precious wood and stone fruit. Full-bodied and radiant on the palate, with great juiciness and salinity, powerful, savoury, lingers for a long time, great Pinot Grigio!" Falstaff"It is fresh and mineral with notes of white peaches, flowers and stones. Crisp and juicy with a medium body and a polished, mineral backbone. Tasty finish." James Suckling"The 2021 Pinot Grigio Gris tantalises the senses with an opulent blend of vanilla pods, sweet spices and whole butter complementing ripe apples and pears. It is pleasantly round and silky in flavour, with a core of juicy acidity that balances it out and ripe fruit that plays around it. The balance on the inside is fantastic. The 2021 rejuvenates with a saline mineral note and sour citrus, leaving a youthful inner tension. The oak will need to be integrated a little over the coming years, but I expect that with a little patience an absolutely stunning interpretation will develop." Vinous

A wine that breaks all conventions. Tramonto d'Oca (Goose Dawn) is Poggio Bonelli's most extraordinary creation and at the same time an oenological venture of rare audacity. As one of the few single-varietal Petit Verdot wines in Italy, it embodies the courage to innovate that characterised the historic noble families of Castelnuovo Berardenga. Petit Verdot, the mysterious "little green grape variety" from the French south-west, has found a new home in the warm, sun-kissed hills of southern Tuscany. Here, at an altitude of 280 metres with perfect southern exposure, this late-ripening, capricious variety thrives under ideal conditions. The strictly limited yield of just 50 centners per hectare and meticulous hand-picking guarantee grapes of exceptional concentration and ripeness.

At some point in the history of Nals Margreid, the Gambero Rosso even declared Sirmian to be the best white wine in Italy. We are not surprised. Above Nals, in the Sirmian district, the slopes lie between 500 and 700 metres above sea level. South-east facing, alpine climate: mild summers, cool autumns, a long growing season that ends in mid-October with the harvest. The soil is a geological archive: Permeable glacial moraine of limestone, gneiss, mica, slate and marble, deposited millions of years ago by glaciers in the Western Alps, resting on porphyry, the volcanic bedrock of the bedrock.

Carmignano is Italy's best-kept secret: a DOCG of just 110 hectares – smaller than some Bordeaux châteaux. It was here, just outside Florence, that Caterina de' Medici brought Cabernet vines from France in the 16th century. While the rest of Tuscany invented the Super Tuscans centuries later, Carmignano had long since reached its goal. Il Sasso comes from the cru of the same name in Santa Cristina a Mezzana: two and a half hectares, thirty-year-old vines, clay and galestro at an altitude of 250 metres. Seventy per cent Sangiovese, plus Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Franc – the classic Carmignano formula in Silvia Vannucci's signature style. Fermented with natural yeasts, almost three weeks on the skins, then twelve months in used French barriques – no new wood, nothing should distract from the terroir. Bottled unfiltered and matured in the bottle for a further six months.

Collepiano (gentle hills) is what Marco Caprai calls the vineyards where his vision took shape at the end of the 1980s: to restore the Sagrantino, this ancient Umbrian vine with the highest tannin content in the wine world, to its lost greatness. Not as a sweet passito behind monastery walls, but as a dry red wine of international calibre. What followed was a revolution: collaboration with the University of Milan, clone selection, high-density plantings – and, in 1996, the legendary "25 Anni", the Sagrantino that Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones chose for their wedding. Collepiano comes from pure Sagrantino from the Val di Maggio vineyards. After the harvest, the must underwent temperature-controlled fermentation, followed by gentle extraction over ten to fourteen days. The cuvée matured for twenty-two months in French barriques and a further six months in the bottle – time that gave this tannin-rich wine structure and soul.

Pure Syrah from the volcano? This is not a matter of course, but a courageous commitment to the international grape variety, embedded in the alpine character of the northern slope of Etna. Sole di Sesta refers to the midday sun that hits the vines with full force in the terraced vineyards around Castiglione di Sicilia – flanked by cold downdraughts from Mount Etna, which balance out the day at night. The vines are rooted at 750 metres above sea level in sandy volcanic soil with a high stone content. The result is a Syrah that brings together the special origin and the international variety in an exciting balance.

The vineyards for the 100% Pinot Noir Riserva are located in the Überetsch region between 350 and 450 metres above sea level and face south-west. The soil is a compact, dense moraine soil made up of sediments from the Ice Age, calcareous, loamy and rich in minerals. Bright ruby red in colour, with a bouquet of redcurrants, raspberries, strawberries and hints of sage. Taut and very polished on the palate, its spicy tannins flank its beautiful depth and very appealing length. SUPERIORE.DE

The Andreola family winery in Col San Martino was founded in 1984 by Nazzareno Pola in the heart of the Valdobbiadene wine-growing region. In his honour, a wonderful Prosecco Superiore is produced here every year in small batches, which once again received the highest award in the Gambero Rosso for the 2024 vintage. For Stefano Pola, the Etichetta del Fondatore represents the highest expression of finesse and olfactory elegance that the Glera grape can give in the core zone of Prosecco Superiore – combined with the verticality and juiciness that the soils give it, without ever losing its lightness and drinkability.

Brilliant, rich yellow with silver-green reflections. The bouquet has pronounced smoky, mineral notes, full flavours of mango, citrus fruit, sage and asparagus. It shows its true class on the palate: wonderfully complex structure, lots of naturally sweet flavour, refreshing acidity and a juiciness, strength and length that can only be achieved through long contact with the lees and simultaneous agitation. Very convincing, downright captivating! SUPERIORE.DE

Bright yellow-green in colour. Intense nose of orchard fruits, ripe peach, roasted nuts and some lemon mousse, rounded off with creamy vanilla. Very juicy on the palate, not too heavy, with salty elements and warm yellow fruit flavours. Chardonnay made by Lis Neris is always a complete pleasure and a lasting memory. Very elegant and with good ageing and maturation potential thanks to 11 months of ageing on the fine lees. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that reinvent a region. Nero is one such wine – born from a vision of the Zecca brothers in the early 1980s, when they began experimenting with Cabernet Sauvignon at Tenuta Cantalupi near Salice Salentino. What initially seemed like a gamble turned out to be the most successful wine story in Apulia: the first Nero vintage in 1998 hit like a bomb and won the Tre Bicchieri of the Gambero Rosso for six consecutive years – an achievement that no other Apulian wine has ever equalled. The history of Conti Zecca dates back to 1580, when Francesco Antonio Zecca came from Naples to the fertile lands of Leverano, in the heart of Salento. For centuries, the Zeccas cultivated their vineyards with Negroamaro, Primitivo and Aglianico and became key figures in the European wine trade – relations between the Bourbon kingdom and France, England, Sweden and Denmark passed through their estate. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII awarded the family the title of Count in recognition of their services to the development of the territory. In 1935, Count Alcibiade Zecca founded the modern winery in Leverano and began to vinify his own wines. However, it was his heirs who took the decisive step of combining the indigenous Negroamaro with the international Cabernet Sauvignon.