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The grapes for the Chardonnay Corrado di Manzano come from a small parcel of the Manzano vineyard. This delicious white is rich, atmospheric and full of character. It blossoms with baked apple, floral notes, hints of brown spices and vanilla pods. A sense of opulence sets in as its seamless, velvety texture slowly reveals ripe fruit trees and hints of custard. However, the vibrant acids keep the balance and slowly build up a tension that continues through to the final, framing everything beautifully. A hint of citrus and minerals lingers for a long time. SUPERIORE.DE

Benanti's latest white wine comes 100% from the small vineyard (Contrada) Cavaliere. The vineyards in the municipality of Santa Maria di Licodìa develop at a considerable altitude (approx. 900 metres above sea level) with favourable conditions for all indigenous varieties, both red and white berries, which are cultivated here with Guyot pruning. Here, both the Nerello and the Carricante produce wines with a well-defined structure and typical varietal flavours. The vines are around 50 years old and grow on sandy, volcanic soil that is rich in minerals. The climate is alpine, with little rainfall and provides the vines with a high degree of ventilation and very large temperature differences between day and night.Straw yellow in colour with bright green reflections. The bouquet is intense, rich, generous and delicately fruity with hints of orange blossom and ripe apple. The palate is dry, mineral, harmonious with a pleasant acidity, aromatic pressure and an interesting aftertaste of aniseed and almonds. SUPERIORE.DE

The A in the name of the Boggina stands for the natural wine aged for about 6 months in terracotta amphorae of 400-600 Liters each, which is bottled in an edition of just 5,000 bottles without further addition of sulphites. Bright, luminous garnet red. The bouquet is ethereal, very delicate and nuanced, with a very precise fragrance interpretation of the Sangiovese grape. Medium-bodied, with a beautiful structure and authentic Sangiovese fruit with a salty vein. The finish is highly drinkable, with silky tannins and a beguiling length. A masterpiece of beauty and elegance. SUPERIORE.DE

The idea is simple and radical at the same time: three international grape varieties in precise proportions – 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot – from the clay-limestone soils of the Colli Berici near Lonigo. The label gives no history, no vineyards, no poetry. Just numbers. 60 20 20, but what lies behind these numbers is a very Venetian decision: The Merlot does not come fresh from the vineyard. It rests for 20 to 30 days in shallow crates after being harvested by hand – appassimento, as Gaspari knows it from Valpolicella. It then meets the freshly pressed Cabernets in the cement tanks, ferments for 40 days with indigenous yeasts and the three become one.

The Pigato grape has great ageing and maturation potential, especially in Liguria. U Baccan (Ligurian: the head) comes mainly from vines in the Russeghine vineyard, which are over 50 years old, produce a very low yield and give it enormous complexity. Intense straw yellow in colour with bright golden-green reflections. The bouquet is impressively pure with beguiling hints of sage, thyme, peach, mango, cedar bark, acacia honey and silica. Enveloping, balsamic and mineral on the palate, with a hint of salty almond and candied citrus fruit on the long, vibrant final. A Pigato in a class of its own in the finest Riserva quality. SUPERIORE.DE

The single-vineyard Sauvignon Bianco Lozeta is the result of the avant-garde planting system, which, in contrast to the cultivation method previously practised in Friuli, not only means a higher planting density, but also the intelligent use of clones and biotypes that have been married with French offshoots. It is a further uncompromising and consistent step towards complexity and personality, with optimal utilisation and expression of the existing terroir and microclimate.

Here comes Bruno Giacosa's rare Metodo Classico made from 100% Pinot Nero, which demonstrates the fine art of sparkling in its finest form and impressively emphasises Piedmont's potential for sparkling wines even outside the Alta Langa. Clear, bright straw yellow in colour with a fine, persistent perlage. The bouquet is multi-layered: ripe yellow apple, Williams pear, fresh citrus zest and a hint of white flowers, underpinned by a fine brioche note and subtle nutty hints from the 30 months of ageing on the lees. Remarkably precise and elegant on the palate, the texture is silky and carried by a present, perfectly integrated acidity. Delicate salty nuances and a hint of chalk lend length and tension, while the fruit remains clear and pure. A spumante in a class of its own! SUPERIORE.DE

The name honours the Roman Castrum Linticlar, the ancient fortress above the winery in Entiklar – a place that was already inhabited in the Stone Age. This historic soil produces a wine that combines power and finesse. The cuvée of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot comes from south-southeast-facing slopes in Entiklar at 260 to 300 metres. The very brooding, loose moraine soils with their high limestone and sand content give the wine structure and mineral precision. Vinification: Mash fermentation in concrete tanks, then malolactic fermentation, 12 months in small oak barrels, a further 6 months in large wooden barrels – followed by one year of ageing in the bottle.

Sansonina (Lugana and Merlot) is a strictly limited and very ambitious project by the Zenato family, in which only the best grapes from their own vineyards are used. Only a small number of these are sold in numbered bottles each year.

Bianco Trinoro is made from 100% Semillon from a tiny sandy plot in the highest locations of the Trinoro winery. The parcel is located at about 600 metres above sea level and covers about 5,000 square metres. The vineyard was partially planted in 2001 and completed in 2006 with vines from Bordeaux; here, as elsewhere on the estate, the vines are densely planted one metre apart in the Bordelais style.

A Franciacorta of great clarity and stylistic refinement: Pas Operé 2016 is a finely composed blend of around 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, obtained exclusively from historic vineyards with over 30 years of vines. The grapes come predominantly from plots exposed to the south-east and are subject to extremely strict selection. At least 60 months of bottle ageing on the fine lees give the wine a creamy texture and complex depth. Pas Operé presents itself in the glass with a warm straw yellow colour, supported by a particularly elegant and delicate perlage. On the nose, it develops aromas of white peach, citrus fruit, brioche, honeydew melon and nuances of roasted hazelnuts, delicately accompanied by herbal nuances and mineral freshness. On the palate, it displays a fine acidity structure and an elegant tension, carried by subtle spice and salty length. Despite its density, the wine is never heavy, but harmonious, powerful and elegant. SUPERIORE.DE

Some wines are created out of calculation, others out of passion. This one bears the signature of an artist. In 1984, Sandro Chia, co-founder of Transavanguardia and one of the most influential painters of the late 20th century, acquired the dilapidated Castello Romitorio above Montalcino. The foundations date back to Roman times, the walls were a temple, fortress and monastery – a place where history is physically tangible. Chia turned it into his studio and winery, convinced that art and wine come from the same source. "Colto" – the educated, the cultivated – is his latest project: a Rosso di Montalcino that explores the boundaries of the denomination. Only 6,000 bottles are produced from young, vigorous vines in the north-west of Montalcino, where marl and clay soils with fossilised inclusions bear witness to a prehistoric seabed. Vinification is not rushed: six months in wood, six months in cement, six months in the bottle – eighteen months of ageing, which puts many a Brunello to shame.

This 100% Grillo comes from a vineyard located 490 metres above sea level and surrounded by pine forests, oaks and centuries-old olive trees. The soil of Contrada Santa Margherita consists of sandy calcareous marl of a whitish colour and yellowish-white calcarenite, all marine sediments dating back to the Pleistocene. These soils of the Monti Iblei at the foot of the small municipality of Chiaramonte Gulfi give the wine an impressive complexity and saltiness.

As always, Paolo Meroi has vinified a great Friulano with classic proportions, of which one can only get hold of a bottle with difficulty due to a total production of just 1,000 bottles. As always from a microsite, this white convinces with its perfectly knit balance of fine peach notes, pear, green melon and a little honey, its vibrant acid wire and a remarkable freshness and length. SUPERIORE.DE

The stunning Piane Rosso comes from 1.5 hectares of vineyards in the municipalities of Boca and Prato Sesia. These are old, rediscovered vineyards between 50 and 100 years old, whose plants were cultivated using the historic "Maggiorina system". Vineyards that can only be cultivated by hand. The exposed location on a hill ensures constant aeration, the soils are made of porphyry gravel of volcanic origin and are poor in organic matter and without lime.

Neri's new and already very serious wine was born with the purchase of a very special vineyard. True to the winery's philosophy of making wines only from the best terroirs around Montalcino, the small 7-hectare parcel with over 45 years of vines was finally acquired in 2018. This was preceded by a friendship of over 40 years with the previous owners, with whom Giovanni Neri planted the vines and nurtured them over the past decades. It is still "only" a Rosso, but in 2023 the new star in the firmament of the Neri range will emerge here - a Brunello that will then set new standards in the appellation in terms of quality, expression and uniqueness.

The even stricter selection of the grapes in 2017 led to a total of half the number of bottles compared to previous vintages. The result, however, is impressive: An extremely attractive bouquet with earthy notes, only gradually revealing ripe strawberries, spicy herbs, leather and a little coffee. As it progresses, spicy orange peel, sour cherry and mint, followed by salty minerals. The lively acidity ensures that the wine remains fresh and supple despite its compact structure. The initially firm tannins gracefully envelop the pretty fruit core with further aeration, and in the long final we then discover sweet spices and traces of white pepper. SUPERIORE.DE

Gewürztraminer has a place name in its name – and thus a whole story. Tramin, a small village in the South Tyrolean lowlands, is considered the original home of this grape variety, whose aromatic power has fascinated and polarised people in equal measure for centuries. Those who like it, love it. Those who know it know that in the wrong hands it becomes a caricature. At the Cantina Terlan, it is something else. The Lunare is the pinnacle of this interpretation. Grown at 300–400 metres in south-west-facing porphyry vineyards, where downdraughts and pronounced day-night temperature differences give Gewürztraminer exactly what it needs: aromatic precision instead of perfumed richness. The name hints at what the wine fulfils – something noctilucent, cool, unreal and clear.

Contrada Rampante grows on the highest vineyard of Passopisciaro. The soils have a higher sand content and the harvest takes place later here. On the nose, dark red cherries, flowers, mint and liquorice. Rampante is an elegant, energetic red with clear fruit and silky tannins. SUPERIORE.DE

The area around the small town of Milo is the only vineyard site on Etna where an Etna Bianco is allowed to be bottled as Superiore - and for good reason: only Carricante may be planted on the steep vineyard, which consists of dozens of small terraces. The vines are trained like a small tree on poles made of chestnut wood. The eastern exposure and the proximity of the sea allow the grapes to ripen late, resulting in very consistent acidity levels and a white wine with an aromatic finesse and freshness that is unrivalled even on Etna. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for this fine white wine from the north side of Mount Etna come from the 3-hectare Contrada Muganazzi in the municipality of Passopisciaro. The skeleton-rich and pH-neutral soils are rich in iron and nitrogen and offer ideal conditions for fresh, acidic and mineral white wines. The wine is matured in equal parts in wood and stainless steel for 12 months on the fine lees. Muganazzi is neither a lean wine, nor is it too full-bodied. It is somewhere in between, with thick layers of peach, apricot and lots of fresh citrus fruit. The mineral notes such as gravel, flint and volcanic ash are very evident. An elegant, powerful Carricante with great drinking flow that clearly shows the signature of the sensitive Alberto Graci. SUPERIORE.DE

The Barbaresco Tulin is a convincing middle ground in Giorgio Pelissero's range. It has the richness normally found in his wines, but also a good dose of freshness. Floral and spicy nuances interweave with a core of red and purple berry fruit, giving it a striking inner flavour and energy. Tulin is an impressive wine that is characterised by its balance. SUPERIORE.DE