Italian red wine

Tortoniano Barolo is a blend of Nebbiolo, 50% of which comes from the Cerequio vineyard, the other half from other plots, including some plantings in the Novello commune. It combines the complexity and nuances of the Nebbiolo grape with a fruit-driven and engaging personality. The aromatic bouquet shows hints of sweetness and richness with a potpourri of blackberries, summer cherries and spices. On the palate it is powerful and immediate, the tannins are clear and tangible. Will continue to develop towards perfection, elegance and finesse over the next few years. SUPERIORE.DE

This red wine in Riserva quality is dedicated to Bettino Ricasoli, who wrote down the grape variety mix of today's Chianti back in 1872. But he was much more than that: twice Prime Minister of the united Italy (1861 and 1866), founder of the daily newspaper "La Nazione", agricultural researcher and "father" of the first Chianti product specification. The creation of this wine interprets his tireless determination to create an independent Chianti style that is both traditional and contemporary to this day.

In the past, the northern slope of Montalcino was not planted with vines, but was cultivated with cereals, olives and cherries. In this area influenced by the Apennines, the seasons are more pronounced, continental and the north wind significantly lowers the temperature in winter. It is therefore the coldest Brunello region at this time of year, but also the wettest. This northern slope is a gentle hill: a characteristic that is more reminiscent of the Crete Senesi area, right next door, than the two stiffer, steeper and warmer southern slopes of Montalcino.

With this exceptional Chianti Classico Riserva, the Mazzei family celebrates their famous ancestor Ser Lapo, in whose writings the name "Chianti" is mentioned for the first time. The upper part of the label features a faithful reproduction of one of his writings (from 1398) with beautiful calligraphy. "Don't worry about the cost of this wine, even though it was expensive: its quality will make up for it."

In 1994, when Lodovico Antinori was looking for suitable land for the expansion of his Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, he discovered the hills of Bibbona almost by chance, which were to rewrite his destiny as a winemaker. What he found there was not just land – it was a revelation. The soils, a complex symphony of clay and the legendary Bolgheri conglomerate, the orientation of the slopes, the salty breezes of the Tyrrhenian Sea – everything spoke a different language to the familiar Ornellaia terroir. Too different, too wild, too full of character for a simple extension. And yet too fascinating to let go.

The Montepulciano vines for this powerful and terroir-rich Montepulciano grow on the Campo San Giorgio vineyard at an altitude of about 150 m on deep, chalky clay soils. The wine is unfiltered and unfined and matures for 12 months in small and large wooden barrels. The label represents the historic design of the Rosso Conero of the 1970s and the impressive result is the calling card of a long family tradition and expertise in viticulture.

In the gentle hills of Neive, where the Bordini family cultivated their vines for over three hundred years, Giorgio Rivetti has been writing a new chapter in Piedmontese wine history since 2006. When the last scion of the Bordini dynasty sold his 4.5-hectare estate, the visionary winemaker of La Spinetta immediately recognised the extraordinary potential of this site. At an altitude of 240 metres, facing south-east, where calcareous marl meets sandy soils, forty-year-old Nebbiolo vines now thrive according to organic principles – without herbicides or pesticides, in harmony with nature. The Bordini was originally intended as Giorgio's basic Barbaresco, but the grapes revealed such exceptional quality that one of the most elegant representatives of the region was created. The particularly sandy soil composition gives this wine the lightness and aromatic delicacy that distinguishes it from heavier Barbaresco wines.

The Nerello Mascalese vines for the Archineri Rosso are rooted deep in the terraced vineyards of Contrada Rampante – at an altitude of around 850 metres on pure volcanic rock. It is a barren, yet vital terroir that, in combination with old, ungrafted vines and strict selection, produces wines of almost ascetic precision. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a long, cool vegetation period with a good water supply and ideal harvest. The grapes were fermented spontaneously, then matured for around 12 months in large, used oak barrels and then bottled without filtration.

In 2012, Carlo Franchetti began producing wines from Pinot Noir grapes grown on the hillsides around San Casciano Bagni. The following year saw the creation of Sancaba, the first collaboration with his cousin, which aimed to emphasise the richness, depth and uniqueness of this grape variety in this particular terroir. In 2014, the two cousins merged their wineries and founded Vini Franchetti. Sadly, Andrea Franchetti passed away in 2021, a wine visionary who leaves a big gap. However, his two very different wine projects, one at Tenuta di Trinoro and the other called Passopisciaro on the slopes of Mount Etna, have one thing in common: bringing the characteristics of the vintage, the specificity of the terroir and the full potential of the grape variety into the glass. His wines are intuitive and poetic and always express exactly what his philosophy and vision of wine and life was.

The Romanesque Pieve di San Marcellino was built in the year 1000. It still stands today – in the middle of the vineyards of Rocca di Montegrossi, seven kilometres south of Gaiole, at the southern tip of the Chianti Classico. The vineyard bears its name. And the vines that surround it are older than most of the appellations that appear on labels today. Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi is a descendant of Baron Bettino Ricasoli – the "Iron Baron" who defined the formula for Chianti Classico in the 19th century. Not as a marketing idea, but as a genetic link to this soil. The vineyard has been certified organic since 2010 and has been planted with Pugnitello alongside Sangiovese since 2006 – an autochthonous Tuscan grape variety that was almost extinct in the 1980s. Pugnitello deepens the colour, thickens the structure and sharpens the profile of the Sangiovese grape. Hand-picked, separate fermentation of both varieties on wild yeasts in upright wooden tanks, 24 months in Allier barriques and tonneau, bottled unfiltered. Only produced in outstanding vintages – the 2020 is one of them.

"L'Insieme" is a small but concrete project of eco-solidarity. Just seven winegrowers from the Langhe have come together to support concrete solidarity projects every year with a part of the yield. The members include Elio Altare, Gianfranco Alessandria, Giuliano Corino, Federico Grasso, Giulio e Paolo Morando, Lorenzo Revello and Mauro Veglio. Under the label of the same name (L'Insieme: together, together, together), the wine producers support solidarity projects all over the world with 5.16 euros per bottled wine.

For some years now, Matteo Catania has been holding back a few hundred bottles of his wines in the best vintages in order to offer them to his most loyal importers after a few years. From this "private reserve" comes Nerosanloré 2010, which is now - in spring 2023 - offered in small quantities with 9 years of further bottle ageing quasi in Riserva quality.

In 2012, Carlo Franchetti began producing wines from Pinot Noir grapes grown on the hillsides around San Casciano Bagni. The following year saw the creation of Sancaba, the first collaboration with his cousin, which aimed to emphasise the richness, depth and uniqueness of this grape variety in this particular terroir. In 2014, the two cousins merged their wineries and founded Vini Franchetti. Sadly, Andrea Franchetti passed away in 2021, a wine visionary who leaves a big gap. However, his two very different wine projects, one at Tenuta di Trinoro and the other called Passopisciaro on the slopes of Mount Etna, have one thing in common: bringing the characteristics of the vintage, the specificity of the terroir and the full potential of the grape variety into the glass. His wines are intuitive and poetic and always emphasise exactly what his philosophy and vision of wine and life was.

More than two centuries ago, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, Princess of Piombino, had something planted on the ferruginous hills above Suvereto that would change this landscape forever: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon – grape varieties from the Bordelais. The Maremma, still rough and wild at the time, became the testing ground for a woman with a feel for terroir. Francesca Moretti, daughter of Bellavista founder Vittorio, deliberately picks up on this thread with Petra. The name says it all. Petra. Stone. Consistency. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, hand-picked from the Vigneto di Petra in San Lorenzo Alto. Limestone soils with the right balance of clay and skeleton, 10 to 15 per cent slope. Fermentation with natural yeasts in large oak vats, ageing for at least 15 months in French barriques – 25 per cent new – followed by at least 17 months in the bottle. The cellar, a structure by Mario Botta, works with gravity: no pumping, no stress.

A wine that made history. When Francesco Ricasoli presented Casalferro for the first time in 1993, it marked the beginning of a new era for the venerable Castello di Brolio and cemented Ricasoli's membership in the elite of Italian oenology. Today, almost three decades later, Casalferro 2019 is a prime example of how a French grape variety matures to exceptional perfection on Tuscan terroir. Casalferro is the essence of three exceptional individual vineyards: Vigna Casalferro, Vigna Pecchierino and Vigna Sodacci. These 13 hectares of Merlot vineyards between 400 and 500 metres above sea level are the result of decades of meticulous terroir studies. Each site has its own personality: Vigna Casalferro with its sandstone and limestone soils, Vigna Pecchierino on pure Alberese limestone and Vigna Sodacci on iron-rich sandstone soils. They all share the characteristic altitude, which gives the grapes the crystalline freshness and lively acidity that characterise the DNA of the Brolio terroir.

The parcels of La Tartufaia lie between the historic Barolo slopes of La Morra and the forests where white truffles are foraged in autumn. The soil of calcareous marl mixed with fine layers of sand gives this Nebbiolo a delicate flavour and silky structure. Giulia Negri cultivates the vineyard in a natural way, working with spontaneous fermentation and careful ageing for around 30 months in medium-sized wooden barrels to bring the terroir unadulterated into the glass. The 2021 vintage provided a perfect balance of ripe fruit and fresh acidity.

As in every vintage, Pelagrilli 2020 is a pure and focused Brunello with cherry, strawberry and redcurrant fruit accompanied by mineral and tobacco accents. Lively and harmonious, it is all about the fruit, with a well-integrated structure and a great length on the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Fresh, bright ruby colour. The Syrah impresses with its intense and ripe bouquet with hints of figs, redcurrants, preserved cherries, blueberries, spices and vanilla. Velvety, elegant tannins accompany the opulent and lively structure through to the lingering final. SUPERIORE.DE