The Wine Advocate

1908 is the year in which the Gries winery was founded. The history of the winery is closely linked to three rivers, but it is the Talvera that has shaped it the most. Bolzano is not called the city of Talvera for nothing. The old floodplains have given the winegrowers very special soils. These alluvial soils on porphyry provide the ideal basis for Lagrein in particular, but also for Cabernet and Merlot. With its good water permeability and mineral deposits, Bolzano's volcanic porphyry has always been one of the keys to wines full of character.

This coveted Riserva is only vinified in top vintages and comes from the highest vineyards of the winery. On the nose, the essence of dark cherries, blackberries, flowers, violets, liquorice and spices, which are then carried away on the palate by firm, structured tannins. The Brunello Riserva 2016 impresses with its remarkable fruit and a big, explosive finish. It presents itself fresh and surprisingly lively, yet very focused and balanced. A great wine that is already a real joy to drink. SUPERIORE.DE

The Vigna Loreto covers one and a half hectares. Steep, stony and east-facing – , the slope faces the morning sun, not the midday sun. The soil is rich in tuff and pebbles, poor in nutrients, and unforgiving. The vines are the result of a mass selection from eight estate-grown Sangiovese clones that Mastrojanni has selected over decades: the estate’s genetic memory is embodied in every vine. It was Gabriele Mastrojanni himself who recognised Vigna Loreto as a distinct plot – the ability to display finesse where Castelnuovo dell’Abate would otherwise impress with its power. Today, every vintage confirms what the founder saw: Loreto speaks more softly than the great Brunello, but with greater precision. The east-facing aspect gives the wine freshness; the tuff lends it mineral tension; the lean soils force concentration without overripeness. 36 months’ ageing in Allier barrels ranging from 16 to 33 hectolitres – the small barrels, the intimacy that the wood lends the wine without dominating it.

The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has selected and worked the Sangiovese with passion over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, is distinguished from all other vineyards by its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-eastern exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi followed and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s. It is a wine with intense and persistent character, ruby colour, fine and elegant tannins. After ageing in tonneaux for at least 24 months, it is bottled until it is released to the market. SUPERIORE.DE

La Gioia is the pure expression of Sangiovese with fruit from the estate's best vineyards. It is a big, expressive wine every year, retaining its crisp, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Tones of cherries, wild berries, violets and spices make for an elegant and very pure bouquet. The finish is characterised by fresh acidity in the typical and very refined Riecine style. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1994, whilst Lodovico Antinori was searching for suitable land to expand his Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, he discovered, almost by chance, the hills of Bibbona that 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 from the Tyrrhenian Sea – —all spoke a different language to the familiar Ornellaia terroir. Too different, too wild, too full of character for a simple expansion. And yet too fascinating to let go of.

As always, Vietti's outrageously priced "entry-level" Barolo (formerly Castiglione) is based mainly on grapes from Ravera, with smaller portions from Ginestra, Mosconi, Bricco Ravera (in Monforte), Le Coste, Costabelle, Meriame, Briccolina and Codana. Ruby red colour of medium intensity. The nose is explosive, opulent, persuasive and immediate. Notes of plum, red and ripe black cherry, black cherry, rose petals and tobacco are perceptible. The palate is classic, rich, powerful, with notes of alpine herbs and a leathery finish. The tannin is already well integrated. Especially in the peak year 2021, this wine is an absolute insider tip in the winery's incredibly terrificBarolo line-up every year, and not just because of its price. SUPERIORE.DE

Ornato 2021 comes from the single vineyard of the same name in Serralunga d'Alba, exposed to the south – a cru with a distinctive altitude and calcareous soils that captures the depth and power of the Barolo region like no other. The 2021 vintage was characterised by a cool spring, a stable summer without extreme heat and a long, dry autumn. These conditions allowed the Nebbiolo to ripen slowly and evenly, giving the grapes aromatic complexity with full phenolic ripeness. The wine was fermented traditionally after a long maceration period and then matured for around 30 months in French oak – partly in tonneau and partly in barrique.

First bottled in 1967, Roncaglie (formerly Barbaresco Masseria) comes from a vineyard in Bricco di Neive and is essentially vinified and aged like a Barolo. Since the 2018 vintage, it now comes from a small parcel that used to belong to the Socré Barbaresco winery, and it is now deliberately brought to market a year later to ensure greater harmony and balance.

"This is our flagship wine, a Barolo recognised the world over, which we have always nourished and cared for with greatest respect. Nothing will change. This is why I will dedicate this special wine to my grandchildren Alessia and Stefano. From now on, it will carry their names." Luciano Sandrone on his intention to rename his world-famous Barolo Cannubi Boschis "Aleste" with the 2013 vintage. This Barolo is a masterpiece from Luciano Sandrone in every respect. Not only a historic product but also the only cru of the house from the renowned Cannubi area in Barolo. Rich ruby colour, balsamic bouquet, ripe and sweet. Great suppleness on the palate, lots of fruit, dense tannins, very persistent final with Burgundian elegance. SUPERIORE.DE

Cherry accentuated bouquet with hints of violet blossoms, clove, cigar box and a pleasant spicy sweetness. Dense and expressive on the palate, it opens vibrantly and multilayered and then reveals a beautiful load of black cherry, exotic spices and a fine salty vein. The perfectly balanced tannin always provides the necessary balance and gives it a racy, very long finish with its exceedingly refined flavour components. SUPERIORE.DE

Full, enveloping and with great persistence, Montestefano is sometimes referred to as the "Barolo of Barbaresco".

A fruity and graceful Barbaresco. The loamy soils give it a firm backbone and strong tannins.

This is a wine where the label speaks its own language. Filo di Seta is adorned with an oil painting by Sandro Chia from the early 1980s – now in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It shows an androgynous figure leaping backwards into the Grotta Azzurra on Capri: weightless, suspended between sky and water. Below it, Chia's verse: "In strange, dark water – when a white dot shines, when a doll jumps – i fly by her side." Wine, the winemaker tells us, is supposed to be just that: a sensation that overcomes the obvious.

The legendary single vineyard Mosconi in Monforte d'Alba: steep, windy slopes on calcareous and ferruginous marl, predominantly south/south-west facing. The story behind it: Pio Boffa, who died far too young, acquired the Mosconi parcel a few years before his death as a strategic addition to the family estate – a late legacy that adds the powerful mineral voice of Mosconi/Monforte to the Barolo identity of the estate. Hand-picked from parcels, fermentation in stainless steel with prolonged maceration and gentle extraction. Maturation predominantly in large Slavonian barrels, finely dosed and flanked by French oak – always for texture, not opulence. The 2019 vintage: Long, balanced growing season, large day-night amplitude and late, highly selective harvest – aromatic precision, taut acidity, fine-grained tannin.

A farewell and a new beginning at the same time. Cepparello 2021 marks Paolo De Marchi's final vintage as master of his life's work before the winery was transferred to the French EPI Group. After more than four decades of tireless work, the maestro from Piedmont completed his testament with this wine – a Sangiovese of paradoxical brilliance that retains an astonishing freshness and elegance despite its powerful fifteen per cent alcohol. The name Cepparello, which originates from the small stream at the highest point of the vineyards, has carried the revolutionary vision of one hundred per cent Sangiovese since 1980. What began as a rebellion against the Chianti Classico regulations – the absurd rule of adding white grapes – developed into an icon of pure Sangiovese expression.

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 breed. SUPERIORE.DE

When Eugenio Palumbo, Vietti's cellar master, described the summer of 2022, he came up with a phrase that has been echoing through the Langhe ever since: "Barolo grapes are usually harvested in wellies, not Crocs." A hot, dry year – harvested 15 days earlier than usual, and the decisions made in the vineyard made all the difference. As in every year, the Barolo is made from grapes sourced from around twenty different plots – the portions remaining after selection for the single-vineyard wines. In 2022, there was a rare twist: the Brunate, Cerequio and Villero vineyards were not released as separate MGA wines this time. It was therefore not the second selection, but their entire harvest that went into this wine. Palumbo himself calls the result "a sort of super single-vineyard" – and he's right.

From 1546 to 1800, Villa Cigliano was the family seat of the Antinori family in the province of Florence, the place where they first planted vineyards and pressed wine. The estate was then sold. Piero Antinori bought it back in 2011. What sounds like a sentimental gesture was actually a strategic decision: Villa Cigliano is located in the San Casciano UGA, the northernmost part of the Chianti Classico region, right on the outskirts of Florence. A terroir that gives the Sangiovese an accessibility and expressiveness that distinguishes it from the more structured sites to the south. In 2014, Antinori returned to the Chianti Classico consortium after almost four decades. Villa Cigliano is one of the most visible proofs of this commitment: 100% Sangiovese from a site that the family chose over five centuries ago as the first vineyard in the history of the house. Gran Selezione – the highest category of the appellation. 5,000 to 6,000 bottles.

The Castellina in Chianti UGA is located in the western heart of the appellation, a municipality on a ridge between the Arbia and Elsa valleys, with soils of silt, clay and sandstone that give the Sangiovese fullness and warmth. The slopes are sunny and the microclimate is warm. Anyone who works in Castellina knows that Sangiovese matures differently here than elsewhere in Chianti Classico. Antinori acquired the Buiano estate in 2017 – a relatively recent decision within the long-term Gran Selezione project, which comprises four individual vineyards from four different UGAs. No other Chianti Classico estate has such a broad territorial representation. Buiano is the most powerful, full-bodied expression of these four. 100% Sangiovese, 5,000 to 6,000 bottles.

Its multi-layered bouquet of spices, black olive, rosemary, plum and cherry opens slowly. On the palate, firm, compact and initially introverted, then mint, spices, dark red fruit, plus cassis and graphite. The taste experiences come to light in small slices; with this outstanding red wine, it is worth waiting as hardly anywhere else to be able to fully discover the depth and complexity of this Tuscan jewel. SUPERIORE.DE

Chiara Boschi's Cannubi 2020 beguiles on the nose with layers of fragrant fruit. A sensual Barolo and yet quite typical in its vineyard character. Soft, silky tannins frame the long finish. A wonderful wine, characterised by its balance and above all by the sweetness of its tannins. Very full-bodied, focussed and with great length. SUPERIORE.DE

The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has selected and worked the Sangiovese with passion over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, stands out from all other vineyards for its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-easterly exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi pursued and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s. It is a wine with an intense and persistent character, ruby red colour, fine and elegant tannins. After maturing in tonneaux for at least 24 months, it is bottled until it is released onto the market. SUPERIORE.DE