Limited

Just 2,100 bottles of this 1.5 ha single vineyard Cabernet Franc "Campo di Magnacosta" (a former riverbed with mainly clay, gravel and crushed stone soil) reach the specialised trade and the menus of the best restaurants worldwide. The vines were planted in the mid-1990s and come from Pomerol. In terms of aromatic intensity, Magnacosta is probably the most sensually elegant representative of the house's three great site cabernets. It has great straightness, but somewhat less power and intensity. It subtly combines black fruit aromas with spicy notes, tar and antique leather. It is already silky and elegant and will certainly gain in finesse over the years. SUPERIORE.DE

Raise the curtain on a great Bolgheri debut: Barinca is a single-varietal Cabernet Franc that thrives on the limestone and gravel-rich hills north of Bolgheri – directly between its renowned neighbours Ornellaia and Tenuta San Guido. Under the direction of Conte Federico Zileri dal Verme, the 30th generation of the Gherardesca family, the grapes are harvested by hand in mid-September, destemmed and fermented spontaneously in open wooden vats in the historic vaulted cellar. After malolactic fermentation, the wine matures for 18 months in 500 litre Liters and large 35 hl oak barrels before being bottled in a strictly limited edition of 2,400 bottles and 200 magnums and subjected to further bottle ageing until release.

Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2021 is a wine of extreme precision. It offers well-proportioned power and depth with profound layers of black fruit, coffee and liquorice. It captivates with its lustre and polished texture, which merges into great richness, concentration and structure. Enveloping as it progresses with sweet dark fruits and dark spices that linger for a long time. Ornellaia 2021 is a wonderful, if not perfect, example of the impressive potential of this great Tuscan vintage! SUPERIORE.DE

If Barbaresco has a face, then it is that of the Asili. This site on the western edge of the municipality – gently undulating, exposed to the south-west, on calcareous clay soils with a fine vein of sand – produces a Nebbiolo that differs from all others in the appellation: not through power, but through grace. Not through extraction, but through transparency. It is not a wine that is loud. It murmurs – but what it says is not forgotten. Bruno Giacosa recognised this early on. He has been vinifying Asili grapes since 1967, initially buying them in, then – in the late 1990s – on his own property: 2.5 hectares, which he carefully brought together from different plots. Today, his vines lie side by side with those of Gaja, Roagna and the Produttori del Barbaresco – a silent society of the greatest. Bruna Giacosa and cellar master Dante Scaglione cultivate this heritage with the same restraint that Bruno cultivated throughout his life: let the soil speak for itself. And in the cellar, they let him speak.

There are wines whose mere name gives you goose bumps. Ornellaia belongs to that rare category of growths that not only epitomise Italian iconography, but have also written global wine history. Ever since the legendary 1985 vintage, when Marchese Lodovico Antinori and visionary OenologistAndré Tchelistcheff realised the dream of a Mediterranean Bordeaux, this name has stood for uncompromising excellence. The 2022 vintage bears the motto "La Determinazione" – determination – and this characterisation could not be more apt for a vintage that demanded everything from both the vineyard team and the vines. The climatic conditions in 2022 presented a textbook challenge: The driest start to the vintage in the last four years, from February to June, coincided with the hottest period between May and September. Extremes that initially seemed to contradict each other. The prolonged drought slowed growth dramatically, leading to low yields and concentrated, small-berried grapes. But then came the saving rain in August and September – precisely timed to restore the balance that characterises great wines. The technical team, led at the time by Axel Heinz and Oenologist Olga Fusari, responded with rigorous selection: in the vineyard and twice again in the cellar. The result of this determination is a wine that combines the positive attributes of the sun with surprising freshness.

If you stumble across a vineyard by fate, then you might as well keep going. Luca Roagna, however, did what he had to do. He inherited this old vineyard, which was planted entirely with Timorasso, and as he immediately realised that he wanted to do something useful with it and was unfamiliar with this historic grape variety, he quickly asked Walter Massa, who had been dedicated to this rare variety for decades. And so, after just a few years, he succeeded in making a wine from it that more than rivalled those of his teacher!

Le Potazzines Riserva from the dream vintage 2019 is an absolute eye-catcher, vibrantly fruity yet refined. It is a prime example of purity. Ripe black cherry, exotic spices, liquorice, rose petals, cedar wood and sage can all be detected in the glass. This is one of the most harmonious wines of the vintage, with a deep, silky texture and an abundance of red fruit complemented by a hint of clove, crisp minerals and a core of vibrant acidity. Then dramatically long and powerful but still fresh on the final, ending with a cascade of spices, flowers over a complex web of graphite-like tannins. One of the most perfect wines of the vintage in Riserva quality! SUPERIORE.DE

Paleo Rosso - unmistakable Cabernet Franc and one of Bolgheri's most important wines, full of elegance and class. The name is unspectacularly derived from a weed that has long since been removed from the vineyards of Le Macchiole. Rich ruby red colour with violet reflections. Mint, white pepper, blackberry fruit and a hint of pomegranate on the nose. Finely melting on the palate with hints of tobacco and poppy seeds. Wonderfully structured and with a long final. SUPERIORE.DE

To mark the 30th anniversary of this iconic red wine from Sardinia, Argiolas has joined forces with the Sardinian creative studio Pretziada to curate an exhibition that artistically honours the origins and history of Turriga and the various disciplines of artisanal excellence on the island. This special edition "Dialogo Adagio" was also created in a limited edition of 1,000 magnum bottles, accompanied by a special print of the curated artwork.

Three years after the Sherry Cask Gran Riserva, a second decision was made – and it was different. On 15 January 2004, Benito Nonino chose not the sweet heritage of Andalusia, but the austere elegance of French oak: Barrique No. 3994 from the forest of Nevers, that forest in Burgundy whose wood has been moulding the greatest cognacs and barolos for centuries. Where the sherry cask brings sweetness and fruit to the distillate, the Nevers (single cask) adds structure and depth. The wood is denser, the pores finer, the dialogue between grappa and cask is different – less embrace, more dialogue at eye level. They conducted this dialogue for twenty years, under the seal and constant surveillance of the customs authorities, while the world outside kept turning. On 21 March 2024 – the first day of spring – the seal was broken. The barrel released only 256 Liters, enough for exactly 365 numbered bottles. One bottle for each day of the year in which the maturation ended.

The purchase of the Mosconi Cru parcels in Monforte by Pio Boffa is one of the last major decisions taken by the estate – with the aim of complementing the depth of Serralunga (Ornato) with Monforte gravity. Selective hand-picking; separate fermentation in stainless steel with a carefully extended maceration period, malolactic without haste. Classic ageing in large barrels, moderate proportion of French oak as a fine brushstroke of texture. The 2020 vintage fitted in well with the concept: a stable summer, clear nights for ripening and precise harvest – healthy, ripe harvest, polished phenolics and generous, balanced fruit were the result.

"The dynamic vintage produced rich and structured wines, with each of the grape varieties expressing their particular qualities. We got a classic Ornellaia, combining sunny ripeness with elegance in a wine defined by harmony and proportion." Axel Heinz, Gutsdirektor

It was spring 2010, a family lunch at Altare. Elio opens a bottle of Larigi 1986 – a Barbera from a notoriously difficult vintage, characterised by hail and rain, one of the last bottles from the family library. The expectations? Low. The result? Spectacular. Antonio Galloni later said of this wine: "The fruit remains lively and incredibly pure right through to the long, polished final. The balance is simply superb." Why was this wine so exceptional? Because in 1986, in a vintage destroyed by hail, Elio decided to destem every single berry by hand – only the few perfect berries went into the mash. Two barriques, 600 bottles, one great Barbera. Silvia Altare remembers this lunch and the idea that came from it: "Why don't we try this with Nebbiolo? And why not with our historic family vineyard Arborina?" The 2010 harvest was imminent and the grapes were perfectly ripe. The goal? Maximum purity of the fruit – no stems, no leaves, no unwanted berries, no insects. Because Nebbiolo is difficult to destem completely: The stems are fragile, even the most expensive machines cannot work as precisely as the human hand. 26 days of work, three barriques, 900 bottles – the first UnoPerUno was born. 2010 was never released, it was the first attempt ...

Some grape varieties die. Others survive in oblivion. And some awaken when the right family finds them. When the Roagnas acquired a plot of land in Montemarzino in 2014 – previously owned by a cousin –it was more than just a land purchase. It was a commitment to Timorasso, the historic white wine grape of the Colli Tortonesi, which was once considered lost. On Tortonese soils, at an altitude of 450 metres and facing east, the vines are now around 35 years old and have been rejuvenated through massal selection from historical genetic material. The grapes are harvested in small crates and macerated whole in the press for a few hours. The must oxidises in a controlled manner without the addition of sulphites before fermenting spontaneously with its own yeasts and maturing for two years on the fine lees in large barrels.

There are wines that become legends before they are even drunk – and then there is Madonna del Piano 2019. In the small votive chapel that gave this mythical vineyard its name, the faithful of centuries past could hardly have guessed that one of the most monumental Brunelli in wine history would one day be born here. But that is exactly what happened in 2019, when the stars aligned perfectly over Montalcino. The 2019 vintage is already being described by connoisseurs as a dream vintage – a year in which nature did everything right. A cold, rainy winter replenished the water reserves, a balanced spring ensured even budding and a moderately warm summer without extreme heat or heavy rain created ideal conditions. In September, mild temperatures and large temperature fluctuations between day and night brought the perfect ripening that only exceptional vintages achieve.

Not every year gets a name. 2016 has earned it – and Montalcino does not award such honours lightly. A mild winter, a spring with heavy rainfall that got the growing season back on track. Then, from the second decade of June, a gradual, gentle rise in temperatures throughout July. And finally an August that brought everything together: large daily temperature fluctuations, no rain, perfect ripening conditions. The Consorzio called 2016 one of its best vintages in decades. And Col d'Orcia turned the best site into a Riserva. The Poggio al Vento vineyard is located in the heart of the Tenuta, halfway up the hill above the Orcia Valley, at 350 metres. Planted since 1974. The name – "hill in the wind" – is the programme: constantly ventilated, south-facing, on calcareous, skeleton-rich soils. Grapes are grown here that Col d'Orcia reserves for the most demanding category in the cellar, and even then only when the vintage poses the question: Is this more than a Brunello annata? Can this wine last for decades? In 2016, the answer was yes.

Two stone crosses stand in the vineyard of Le Pontare, probably of Celtic origin, signposts for pilgrims on the path to a nearby sanctuary. According to legend, Dante Alighieri also passed by here on his wanderings through the Veneto, perhaps in search of that vin pretto – the pure wine – which he praised so highly in his Convivio. If you stand between these crosses today, at 450 metres above sea level, you can look down over the entire Valpolicella Classica valley, Verona and the shimmering waters of Lake Garda.

Davide Rosso had long since successfully written the Serralunga chapter when he rode up Etna for the first time in 2014. He was not looking for a second mainstay. He was looking for a terroir that would challenge him – as the limestone marl of Serralunga had once challenged him. He found it on the northern slope of the volcano, in the Solicchiata fraction, and bought a 14-hectare estate in Contrada Montedolce in 2016. An old palmento, lava soil, 750 metres above sea level. But he didn't stop there. In 2023, he acquired two more hectares in Contrada Pietra Marina – one of the best white vineyards in the entire Etna region, historically famous for the quality of its Carricante, directly influenced by the nearby Alcantara River. The soils here are a unique mixture: volcanic sand and ash, enriched by fluvial silt and sandstone, shaped by thousands of years of tectonic and hydraulic forces. No other piece of land on Etna offers this specific dual character – volcanic energy and mineral river coolness in one vineyard.

Giacomo Neri's rather new top Brunello was born with the purchase of a very special vineyard. True to the winery's philosophy of producing wines only from the best terroirs around Montalcino, a small 7-hectare parcel with over 45-year-old vines was acquired a few years ago. This was preceded by over 40 years of friendship with the previous owners, with whom Giacomo's father Giovanni Neri planted the vines and nurtured them over the past decades.

Brunello Giovanni Neri exudes all the outstanding qualities of the raw material and the winemaker's craft. Man and nature unite here in perfect precision and harmony. Its balance is exquisite. Strong cherry and blackberry notes are followed by crushed minerals, liquorice, smoke and slightly fragrant cedar wood notes. The wine spreads evenly and powerfully on the palate, and its flavour intensity can be counted on for many minutes. Giovanni Neri Brunello is wonderfully concentrated and rich, but never too heavy or even too dense. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Cannubi 2021 is a great wine that emphasises the classic beauty of Nebbiolo and the top vintage. This wine is like a statue of a Greek goddess with perfect proportions and feminine aesthetics. The bouquet is multi-layered, with bright fruits, white pepper, mint, orange peel and spicy liquorice. The tannins are polished and fine, with a hint of the characteristic limestone chalk that you sometimes taste in Cannubi. The lively acidity rounds off this extremely elegant, fresh and graceful wine. Very full-bodied and focussed, with great length and great potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Giulia Negri would certainly not have the nickname "Barolo Girl" if this wine did not exist. The grapes for this archetype of a modern-traditional (sic!) Barolo come from the top vineyards of Brunate and Serradenari, the latter of which lies at an altitude of up to 520 metres and the soils are clayey-sandy. The grapes are fermented spontaneously and then matured in large oak barrels. Barriques? Not a chance.

The sibi et paucis project is Luciano's answer to the question of what time does to great Nebbiolo. While other wines are released on the market after the prescribed ageing period, Sandrone keeps some of his Barolo in his own cellar for ten years longer – not out of restraint, but out of the conviction that Nebbiolo only reveals its true nature after years of silent evolution.

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