Italian red wine

The Ciabot Mentin vineyard is located in the Ginestra area and represents the uppermost part of the hill, whose fruit is planted at 410 metres above sea level. This vineyard was planted in 1978. Like the other Clerico Baroli, it matures both in barriques (eight months) and in the bottle (one year). Ciabot Mentin opens with fleshy, floral aromas of lilac and dried lavender that give way to wild berries, cherries and candied orange peel. There is virtually none of the tar or asphalt-like tones often found in Nebbiolo here. Instead, the wine reveals bright primary fruits and a delicate, ethereal complexity. It is gentle, refined, silky and very long. SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Cerretta Vigna Bricco Riserva 2018 comes from an exposed, high-altitude parcel in Serralunga d'Alba. The soils here are characterised by calcareous marl with iron- and manganese-rich inclusions, which give the wine an unmistakable, cool radiance and distinctive tannin structure. The south-east orientation ensures even sunshine, while cool night winds preserve the aromatic precision of the grapes. The 2018 vintage was characterised by a mild spring, followed by a warm but not extremely hot summer, which allowed the Nebbiolo to ripen gently and evenly. The harvest was not carried out until October, selectively and by hand, in order to bring in only perfectly ripe harvest. The wine was matured for 30 months in barriques, a small proportion of which were new, followed by several years of ageing in the bottle, as required by the Riserva status.

The roots of this story go deeper than any memory: the vines are over 80 years old and have been bearing silent witness in the warm alluvial soils of Gries for generations. Here, where thirty visionary winegrowers laid the foundations for a legend in 1908, the masterpiece that has long since become the undisputed icon of South Tyrolean winemaking is produced year after year: Taber Lagrein Riserva. It is a wine that epitomises time. Time in the old vines, which at an altitude of just 250 metres transform the extreme temperature fluctuations between hot days and cool nights into pure concentration. Time in the patient manual labour that selects only the finest grapes for this exceptional Riserva. And time for ageing, where after traditional wooden barrel fermentation, a whole year of ageing in French barriques awaits completion.

Barolo Ornato is a great wine every year. It captures the true character of Serralunga with its wild herbs, minerals and ferruginous notes. Its bouquet shows small berry fruits and cassis, framed by gravel, forest floor, blue flowers and candied orange peel. The wine also has a dusty, mineral note and is intense on both the nose and palate. Ornato sets in with finely integrated tannins and an acidity that sustains all these fruit flavours. A wine that is consistently vertical, straightforward and frontal. SUPERIORE.DE

Filo di Seta is produced in small batches and is an impressive wine. With only 4,000 bottles produced, it reflects the extreme power and depth that can be achieved in this cooler microclimate of Montalcino. The vineyards are located on steep slopes and surrounded by dense forest and vegetation. One cannot help but detect a wild and thorny element in this wine, reminiscent of forest floor, truffles and autumnal foliage. These pretty accents add complexity to the solid core of dark fruit. The powerful mouthfeel is polished and dense. SUPERIORE.DE

A wine with origin and signature: The grapes come from the renowned Scarrone vineyard directly below Castiglione Falletto – a warm south-east exposure with calcareous marl soils. Vietti cultivates the vineyard organically and vinifies the Vigna Scarrone with respect for the grape variety and terroir. Temperature-controlled maceration is followed by ageing in large barrels and used barriques – an approach that promotes both structure and elegance.

Bright, powerful ruby colour, aromas of cherry, redcurrant, cocoa and tar. Juicy, spicy and bright, with firm acidity and taut tannins that give it definition and lift to the flavours. Very fresh and precise, persistent and smooth. It has outstanding potential. If you taste the decades-old wines from Mastroberardino (dating back to 1928), it becomes clear: these wines are monumental, immortal or at least for eternity. SUPERIORE.DE

Dark ruby purple in colour, with a blackcurrant aroma and an outstanding length, firm tannins, fine extract sweetness and a pronounced spicy note on the final. We are excited to see what elegant heights this great Tuscan Merlot will reach in the coming years.

"This is probably not ONE Valpolicella, but THE Valpolicella", wrote one critic about this wine – and hit the nail on the head. Giuseppe Quintarelli has created a monument from a DOC that was often dismissed as a light everyday wine. His method is radical: half of the grapes – corvina, Rondinella and Corvinone grapes from the vineyards in Negrar – in wooden crates for two months, as with Amarone. The other half is processed fresh. After the harvest, a three-day maceration with wild yeasts takes place, then the wine rests on the fine lees and undergoes a second fermentation. What follows is a patience that seems almost forgotten today: six years of ageing in large Slavonian oak barrels. Quintarelli only releases his wines when they are truly ready – never before.

Volpaia – the foxhole. High above Radda in Chianti, at 450 to 650 metres above sea level, the vineyards of Castello di Volpaia are located on the highest slopes of the appellation. The medieval borgo, first mentioned in a document in 1172, has belonged to the Mascheroni-Stianti family since 1966, who consistently farm organically here. The altitude shapes the character: sandstone soils, cool nights and long ripening periods give the Sangiovese (supplemented by 10% Merlot) a freshness and elegance that would be hard to achieve in warmer locations. Fermented with indigenous yeasts, matured for twelve months in large oak barrels.

A beautiful, very sensual, feminine wine that is only vinified in the best vintages. Exquisitely flavoured with dark fruit, elegant and fine on the palate with plenty of fruit and length. It was named after the nickname once given to the young wild Clerico by his father: Aeroplan Servaj - wild aeroplane. And the labelling is just as wild and creative - there are six different labels! SUPERIORE.DE

A beautiful, very sensual, feminine wine that is only vinified in the best vintages. Exquisitely flavoured with dark fruit, elegant and fine on the palate with plenty of fruit and length. It was named after the nickname once given to the young wild Clerico by his father: Aeroplan Servaj - wild aeroplane. And the labelling is just as wild and creative - there are six different labels! SUPERIORE.DE

Barolo Dagromis bears its name in memory of the family that once owned and cultivated these vineyards in the 19th century – a symbol of the combination of history and modern vision that is at home at Gaja. Today, this wine is a stylistic bridge: Nebbiolo grapes from the legendary La Morra and Serralunga vineyards are vinified separately, matured first for a year in barriques and then for a further year in large oak barrels – a deliberate blend of finesse and substance.

Il Bricco rises above Treiso to an altitude of around 400 metres. The vines are on average around four decades old. Selective hand-picking, parcel-by-parcel fermentation in stainless steel, patient malolactic fermentation. Maturation takes place predominantly in large oak barrels, accompanied by a smaller proportion of French oak for additional polish. 2019 is considered a textbook year in Barbaresco: a moderate summer, large day-night amplitudes and a long, dry autumn led to a late harvest and fully mature phenolics. The wines show density and vertical tension with excellent freshness – a profile with staying power.

In just a few years, Alessandro Mori's wines have made Il Marroneto one of Montalcino's most famous wineries. Today, he runs the company together with his son Jacopo. The wines reflect their passionate, simple and outspoken character, which appears reserved and austere at first glance, but slowly opens up to reveal a harmonious synthesis of elegance and power. In 2019, he decided to produce a selection from some of his best grapes - named after his son Jacopo - and in such small quantities that we are the only ones on the German market to be allocated a few cases. SUPERIORE.DE

Luce Brunello is dark and impenetrable, as always in its more international style. On the palate, it delivers ripe and round fruit flavours of blackberries and plums with plenty of opulence, power and race. The comparatively warm year of 2017 has been superbly parried and we have here once again a wonderful Sangiovese interpretation very much in the style of the Frescobaldi family with wonderful melting, impressive length and suppleness. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes come from the historic single vineyard Ornato in Serralunga d'Alba: steep, windy slopes on calcareous marl with ferruginous inclusions, at an altitude of around 350-400 metres, predominantly south/south-west facing. Each parcel is harvested separately and fermented in stainless steel; long maceration with gentle extraction. Maturation takes place classically in large Slavonian barrels, with a finely dosed proportion of French oak for texture and lustre. The typically long autumn of 2019 brought fully ripe, aromatically dense grapes with a cool acidity.

After almost twenty years of experience in the vinification of the famous Etna Rosso "Serra della Contessa", the Benanti family decided in 2015 to extend the vinification, ageing and refinement of the wine to 60 months. The result is an exclusive Riserva made from 85% Nerello Mascalese and 15% Nerello Cappuccio, sourced in very small quantities from vines over 100 years old (pre-phylloxera) from plot no. 587, which is rightly considered one of the best red wines in the region.

Brilliant, dark ruby colour. Deep bouquet of rich blackberry and cherry flavours with mentholated herbal notes that give it lift, while notes of cedar and clove develop in the glass. On the palate, the wine is a pure silk that slowly lays over the palate, with an admirable density and weight balanced by bright acidity and minerality. This still very young wine is full of potential with a core of dark primary fruit that already offers a good foretaste of the charm of later years. A finely woven tannin structure on the long final. Wonderful ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Gaja's Barolo Dagromis still flies under everyone's radar ... because Barolo Dagromis 2020 shows how tradition steeped in history and modern precision can be perfectly balanced. It bears its name in homage to the Gromis family, former owners of these historic parcels near La Morra – today married to the vineyards of Serralunga, whose cuvée is skilfully crafted. Each parcel delivers its Nebbiolo separately for fermentation, undergoes long maceration periods and matures for twelve months in barriques, followed by a further twelve months in large wooden barrels and bottle ageing.

Names carry stories. Dagromis tells of an encounter that took place in 1995, when Angelo Gaja acquired a ten-hectare estate in La Morra – from the hands of the Gromis family, who had lived there since the 19th century. "Da Gromis" means "by the Gromis" in Italian, a linguistic nod to the people who shaped these slopes for generations. It is a nod to the past and at the same time a statement of the present: Gaja in Barolo, not just in Barbaresco. The vineyards are located in two of Barolo's most important terroirs: La Morra and Serralunga d'Alba. The grapes from La Morra come from the legendary Cerequio cru – the south-east exposed part from which the great Conteisa also comes – and from the Silio vineyard. Grapes from Serralunga, directly adjacent to the Sperss vineyard, give the wine the strength and structure for which this municipality is famous. The vinification follows Gaja's philosophy of separate processing: each vineyard is fermented separately, macerated and matured for twelve months in small French barriques. Only then are the wines blended and matured for a further eighteen months in large tonneau barrels. A total of thirty months before the wine is bottled – time that you can taste.

Elvio Cogno's Barolo Cascina Nuova is the most accessible of the many excellent Barolos produced by this leading winery in the municipality of Novello. The fundamental value this wine offers is even more irresistible in a perfect and classic vintage like 2021. Opens beautifully in the glass and unfolds its aromas of redcurrants and wild berries. This is accompanied by typical varietal notes of liquorice, cola and camphor ash in a firm, medium-weight texture. A wine that you simply have to love. SUPERIORE.DE

Serpico is the flagship of Feudi di San Gregorio – a large, monumental Aglianico from vines over 150 years old from the legendary single vineyard "Dal Re" in Sorbo Serpico. The vineyard is located on mineral soils of volcanic origin and is cultivated with painstaking manual labour. 2016 was a moderate year, with a cool spring, a perfect ripening phase in late summer and a late, selective harvest in October – ideal conditions for a wine with depth and balance.

In the Montebuoni vineyard, high above the hills between Gaiole and Radda, a wine is produced whose name embodies a poetic philosophy. Haiku – the traditional Japanese verse form in three lines, whose power lies in its allusion to nature and which requires clear thinking and imagination. Marco Pallanti and Lorenza Sebasti did not choose this name by chance: like a perfect haiku, their wine combines three elements into a harmonious whole that captures the essence of Tuscan nature in its conciseness. The story of Haiku begins in 2009 with the acquisition of the Montebuoni vineyard, the replanting of which had already been completed in 2001. Three noble grape varieties found their ideal expression on these calcareous soils at an altitude of around 500 metres: 50 percent Sangiovese as Tuscan soul, 25 percent Cabernet Franc as Burgundian elegance and 25 percent Merlot as Bordeaux opulence. This tripartite division not only reflects the classic Haiku structure, but also Marco Pallanti's vision of a perfect balance between regional authenticity and international flair.