Veronelli

Tor di Lupo, the Wolf's Gate – a name that inspires respect. The flagship of Andrian was one of the very first premium Lagrein in South Tyrol. You could say that it is a primeval rock of South Tyrolean quality winegrowing. Since the early days, the winery has produced this Riserva from grapes from Gries near Bolzano, the classic home of Lagrein.

Grattamacco is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese, the latter grape variety certainly contributing to the fresh style of this wine. However, the overall picture is only complete when you realise that the vineyards used for this blend are among the best in the appellation. The Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore is characterised by its typical aromas of leaves and Mediterranean forest, with subtle flavours of kiwi peel, cassis, paprika and chocolate. Velvety, youthful and firm on the attack, less light than the Alberello, but more tightly woven and of great elegance. Its length is astonishing, great potential! SUPERIORE.DE

Since the 2011 vintage, the Riserva Marchese Antinori has been made entirely from grapes from Tenuta Tignanello. As a result, the production volume has decreased and a further leap in quality has been made. Sparkling ruby in colour, with a bouquet of dark wild cherries, graphite, violets and spices. Flowing and round on the palate, very juicy, the French oak adds volume and fullness. SUPERIORE.DE

Messorio has been undisputedly one of the best and rarest Merlots in Italy since the mid-1990s. It was named after the Tuscan wheat harvest, the most fundamental moment in the agricultural year – was created in 1994 from Eugenio Campolmi's (†2002) personal challenge to Merlot. It was not to be a tame, predictable wine, but a spirited thoroughbred, ready to make a grand entrance. The 2019 vintage epitomises the elegance of slow ripening without extreme heat. A mild winter with little rainfall, followed by cool March days and gradually rising temperatures in April, led to cautious development. The rainy, cool May slowed down the vegetation, while the hot start to June required intensive foliage work.

Barolo Ornato is a great wine every year. With its wild herbs, minerals and ferrous notes, it captures the true character of Serralunga. 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 very intense both on the nose and on the palate. Ornato starts with finely integrated tannins and an acidity that sustains all these fruit flavours. A wine that is consistently vertical, straightforward and frontal. SUPERIORE.DE

The single vineyard Il Bricco, situated on both sides of the hilltop, the highest point is about 410 metres above sea level. Family-owned since the 1970s, you can expect great things every year. 2020 brought a stable summer, with a precise cooling in September and cool nights until the harvest. The result is very healthy, aromatically ripe grapes with clear fruit and balanced acidity – charming on the palate, yet precise and persistent. After separate fermentation of the batches in stainless steel, the wine is matured traditionally in large barrels and a moderate proportion of barrique is used for texture.

The 2019 Brunello vintage from Altesino stands proudly among its peers. The bouquet has a pronounced floral character with delightful notes of pressed rose petals and dried violets. The fruit tones are elegant and harmonious, ranging from light red cherries to redcurrants. Firm and well-structured on the palate, the multi-layered fruit is accentuated by a refined fennel and liquorice note. Long and stately in the final, great! SUPERIORE.DE

The extremely popular and elegant Amarone classic from Zenato comes from Sant'Ambrogio, the heart of the Valpolicella Classico, where the family has had its home since 1960. Corvina dominates the cuvée with eighty per cent, complemented by Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina – all from the slopes of the Costalunga parcel. After the hand harvest in October, the ritual of appassimento begins: the grapes rest for four months in shallow crates, losing water and concentrating sugar and flavours. Pressing does not take place until January, followed by slow fermentation with skin contact. The wine then matures for thirty-six months in large Slavonian oak barrels before being released after further maturation in the bottle.

Terre Brune: A monument to the art of Sardinian viticulture, borne by the year 2020, which wonderfully captured the essence of the island in its balance between heat and night-time equalisation. For Terre Brune, this meant a late harvest accompanied by cool nights. The result: maturity in harmony with freshness, expressive and enriching. Incidentally, the 2020 vintage was a gift of ripeness everywhere in southern Sardinia. Warm spells were balanced out by Atlantic breezes and the grapes remained healthy and aromatic. The late harvest ensured a rich, but never overripe concentration – ideal conditions for a wine with lively acidity and body in harmony.

Three years after the Annata, Romano and his sons launch a small edition of the same vintage in large formats. The 2015 Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta is a particularly elegant, pretty and typical expression of the Dal Forno style. Black cherries dipped in rum, plum sauce, brown spices and a hint of cocoa rise from the glass. Silky and polished, it seamlessly washes over the palate with ripe red and blackcurrants, while leaving minerals and a fine layer of tannins behind. Spicy acids add tension as the wine tapers off in a structured way, with notes of mocha and mentholated herbs that linger. SUPERIORE.DE

2016 was not an easy year in Valpolicella – and Romano Dal Forno still delivered. That sounds obvious, but it's not: in years like 1992, 2005, 2007 or 2014, there was simply no Amarone. That is the currency in which trust is bought here. Dal Forno Romano has its own clock ticking for the release of the large bottles: they come onto the market three years after the 0.75 litre bottle. What this means for 2016 is obvious. After six weeks of appassimento, 36 months in new barriques and long maturation in the large format, this Valpolicella has reached a level of maturity that only the large glass can appreciate.

This vintage has become the flagship of the region – precise, powerful and at the same time polished. The aromatic depth contrasts with the lively freshness that makes the wine so contemporary. Terre Brune 2019 has a deep ruby red colour in the glass. The nose reveals nuanced aromas: blueberry, a mix of ripe black berries, accompanied by cinnamon, tobacco, liquorice and delicately smoky herbs – an olfactory complexity that arouses curiosity. Opulent on the palate, with dense fruit but never loud, carried by noble, ripe tannins. The finish is long, spicy and characterised by minerals – a confident expression of southern elegance and immense potential. SUPERIORE.DE

The fifth vineyard. The origin of this name is so simple – and so direct is Carlo Ferrini's philosophy behind it. La Quinta is not the little sister of Brunello, but its self-confident counterpart: the same address in Sant'Angelo in Colle at 400 metres, the same Sangiovese from skeleton-rich soils with a south-easterly orientation, the same care in the cellar and ageing. Only the time horizon is different. 2020 brought Montalcino warm, balanced conditions with a good night-day temperature amplitude – a vintage that favoured depth and drinkability in equal measure. 7 days of fermentation, 13 days of maceration in steel, then 12 months in a combination of 700-litre Liters, 2,500-litre Liters barrels and cocciopesto amphorae, rounded off in cement tanks. The baked clay amphora provides the breathable openness that keeps the wine alive without oxidising it.

In the history of the Campolungo vineyard, thousands of years of Tuscan viticultural culture merge with visionary dedication to perfection. These historic terraces between 420 and 580 metres above sea level were already recognised as exceptional by the Romans and have been considered one of the cradles of fine Chianti since the 19th century. The 2018 tells the story of a special climatic favour: after a hot, dry summer, the extreme altitude of Lamole preserved the crystalline freshness that makes Campolungo one of the most exceptional single vineyards in Tuscany. Pure Sangiovese from hand-picked grapes of exceptional aromatic intensity. After careful hand-picking and visual selection of the best grapes, a two-week fermentation with skin contact takes place in traditional wooden vats. Thirty months of ageing in oak barrels, supplemented by a small proportion in French barriques, create a wine of multi-layered complexity and elegance.

Dense, tight and compact with dried and fresh black fruits, walnuts and crushed stones. Full-bodied with fine tannins that have sunk in well, but another year or two of cellaring should complete the job. Flows dense and full-bodied with remarkable depth, breadth and purity across the palate. An opulent wine that lingers long and very harmoniously. Built for eternity. SUPERIORE.DE

The owner and winemaker Alessandro Mori describes himself as a "naturalista". His wines ferment spontaneously with autochthonous grape varieties and age for a long time in large old oak barrels. He lets the natural temperatures of the cellar control the refinement of the wine and uses minimal sulphur throughout. In addition to all its characteristic floral scents of roses and violets, Il Marroneto's 2018 is positively spicy with a peppery, juniper note. On the palate, it is delicately woven while offering deep flavours and good length. Clean and bright, with distinct notes of rosehip and raspberry, while refined tannins sneak up with textured chalkiness. SUPERIORE.DE

Some wines are created according to plan. And some are created because nature wants them to be. Il Merlot belongs to the second category – a wine that is only born when terroir, climate and sun come together in rare harmony. Maurizio Zanella, the visionary behind Ca' del Bosco, has elevated this principle to a philosophy: since the first vintage in 1990, only six vintages have been deemed worthy of being bottled as single-varietal Merlot. 2015 was one of them. That year, Franciacorta challenged its winegrowers: a mild winter spurred the vegetation cycle early, fungal pressure in early summer demanded meticulous foliage work, then sweltering heat until the end of July. Only after Ferragosto did rain bring redemption – and gave the Merlot grapes the final ripeness that distinguishes greatness from favour. The harvest began on 9 September for the three "vigne elette" in Cazzago San Martino and Passirano, whose vines, which are on average 37 years old, are rooted in the calcareous moraine soils of Franciacorta.

Three words: power, intensity and concentration. With a very manageable production of less than 2,000 bottles, this is a full-throttle Tuscan wine that constantly exudes generous black fruits, spices and sweet tobacco. There is also black cherry and plum, which lend the wine soft contours and sweetness. On the palate, it is firm, well-structured and delights with a mouthfulness that is unrivalled. Take a good piece of red meat, marinate it in rosemary and olive oil before putting it on the charcoal grill and then embark on this monumental adventure. SUPERIORE.DE

The wine bears the name of its creator – and with good reason. Andrea Franchetti, the pioneer of modern Etna viticulture who sadly died far too early in 2021, dared to do the unthinkable in the early 2000s: he planted international grape varieties at extreme altitudes on a remote lava slope in Passopisciaro with the aim of producing a wine that would not adapt but set new standards. Franchetti is made from Petit Verdot and Cesanese d'Affile in one of the highest and most radiant areas of the volcano. The lava rock, the light, the altitude – everything here seems more concentrated, more intense, magical, almost supernatural.

Giovanni Manetti was just twenty when he and Oenologist Franco Bernabei pressed their first vintage in 1981: a pure Sangiovese, at a time when the rules of Chianti Classico still stipulated a proportion of white wine. What began as an act of rebellion became a legend. Flaccianello della Pieve, one of the first monovarietal super Tuscans, which proved that Sangiovese can achieve world class without blending. The name comes from the original vineyard, but since 2001 Flaccianello has been a selection of the best grapes from three plots on the estate, especially those at the highest altitudes at 480 metres, where Pietraforte soils dominate. This conglomerate of sandstone varieties gives the wine the freshness and structure that sets it apart from the rest.