Vinous | 95–100 Points

Sugarille 2019 is certainly one of the greats of its vintage. A crescendo of dark berries, Amarena cherries, tar, liquorice and smoky notes on the nose. The intensity continues on the palate: Sugarille is uncompromisingly powerful, with multi-layered fruit, striking tannins and wonderful acid wire. With increasing aeration, the impressiveness and opulence give way to a wonderful finesse that will continue to refine and develop with further years of bottle ageing. A wine as wonderful as it is today - and guaranteed to be even better tomorrow! SUPERIORE.DE

Empatia. A wine name that describes neither a grape variety, nor a terroir, nor a style. Rather, it describes an attitude. The ability to put oneself in someone else’s shoes – into the soil, into the vine, into the moment of harvest. An attitude that suits a winery which calls itself ‘Gentle Souls’ and for which biodynamics is not a certification, but a way of life. Merlot at 500 metres. In the volcanic and calcareous soils of the Colline Metallifere, where the heat has a different quality to that of the flat Maremma coastal plains, where the nights are cooler and the winds blow down from the Metallifere hills. 30 hectolitres per hectare – the same radical yield restriction as for the Ampeleia Cabernet Franc. Cordone speronato. Harvest in the third week of September. Then the most unusual decision in the cellar: whole berries. Not whole bunches with stems – whole berries – the individual, undamaged berry. An extraction method that gives the wine a freshness and an inner tension that crushed grapes can never produce.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento from the dream 2015 vintage is dark, rich and seductive. It smells of ginger and hints of leather and tobacco before opening up further to reveal black cherry fruit and wild berries. Although cool and supple, it has a velvety texture that strikes a wonderful balance between the tart blackberries and exotic spices within. Its complexity is remarkable: sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, framed by youthful grippy tannins and hints of cranberries, spices and subtle saltiness. SUPERIORE.DE

Madonna del Piano is a top wine from a top vintage, what more could you want? We are deeply impressed by its energetic tension and complexity, plus a harmony only imagined in the wildest dreams. Focused and racy bouquet of dark cherries, herbs, smoke and mineral hints. Very animating in the drink, the acidity plays around the primary fruit, then the polished tannins set in and glide this beautiful red into its almost endless finish. An extremely characterful and polished wine that is already one of the most beautiful of its appellation. SUPERIORE.DE

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

Ceretto's Barbaresco Asili (approx. 4,000 bottles) is the clearest and most complete of the winery's impressive Barbaresco collection. It reveals a fine sweetness of cherries and redcurrants on the nose, followed by an extremely silky and fine texture on the palate. Following on from the bright berry fruit, its bouquet reveals subtle notes of gravel and delicate, salty flavours. Overall, an accessible and highly elegant approach with great freshness, fine tannins and great ageing potential. 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.

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.

In that year, when the wine world still believed in rules and traditions seemed sacrosanct, Sergio Manetti did something unheard of: in 1977, he vinified pure Sangiovese. One hundred per cent. No white grapes, no Canaiolo to round it off, no compromises. In Radda in Chianti, in the heart of Chianti Classico, where such boldness resonated particularly loudly, the region’s first pure Sangiovese was born – le Pergole Torte, named after the crooked pergolas in the steep vineyard. Giulio Gambelli, the legendary Sangiovese whisperer, stood by Manetti’s side. Together they created a wine that rewrote the rules of the game. The Consorzio del Chianti Classico, of course, balked, as this wine did not comply with the regulations, lacking the prescribed blend of other varieties. Yet critics and collectors worldwide cheered. What began as an affront became a legend. In 1981, Montevertine left the Consorzio – not out of defiance, but out of conviction. Out of love for Sangiovese in its purest, unadulterated form. Since 1982, the labels have been adorned with portraits of women by Alberto Manfredi, a friend and artist from Reggio Emilia. A new face for every vintage, a work of art on every bottle.

Serralunga d'Alba. Anyone who hears this name knows that this is where the masculine, powerful side of Barolo is born. Not the Burgundian elegance of La Morra, not the finesse of Barolo – but structure, tannin and longevity. The Cerretta vineyard is located on the south side of Serralunga, surrounded by legendary crus such as Lazzarito and Vigna Rionda. Sandstone, limestone, chalk – a terroir that gives Nebbiolo strength and depth. Elio Altare has been cultivating 20-year-old vines with a southern, south-eastern and south-western exposure here for decades. The "Vigna Bricco" – the highest point of the vineyard, where the sun shines the longest, where the grapes reach perfect ripeness.

Terlano I (pronounced Primo) Grande Cuvée is the name of the white flagship of Cantina Terlano. In recent years, the winery has made a name for itself worldwide with its long-lasting, mineral white wines. Even years later, the wines still present themselves with top freshness and great complexity. With this long history of white wines, since the 2011 vintage there is now a wine in which the essence of Terlan is expressed in an even more focussed way. Terlaner I Grande Cuvée combines the Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon grape varieties from the Winkl, Kreuth and Vorberg vineyards to create a masterpiece which, due to its limited and exclusive nature, will only be available from hand-picked retailers and in selected top restaurants.

Bricco di Treiso 2021 comes from the single vineyard of the same name, one of the highest parcels in the appellation, where the vines are rooted on calcareous marl soils in a cool microclimate. The 2021 vintage brought ideal conditions: a cool spring, followed by a balanced summer and a long, dry autumn – perfect for the slow ripening of the Nebbiolo. After a long maceration period, the wine matured in large oak barrels and a small proportion of barriques. In the glass, it is garnet-red in colour with delicate orange reflections and notes of rose, sour cherry, liquorice and light spice on the nose. On the palate, it is powerful yet finely characterised, with precise acidity, cool fruit and saline depth. The tannins are present but silky and interwoven – a Barbaresco of austere beauty, great transparency and with long ageing potential. 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.

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

The grapes of UnoPerUno come from the cru vineyards Arborina in La Morra, Cannubi in Barolo, Pernanno in Castiglione Falletto, Sarmassa in Barolo and Cerretta in Serralunga d'Alba and are individually destemmed. As a result of this intensive manual work, only 1,300 bottles of this exceptional wine are sold in well-stocked specialist shops, and only in the best vintages. Due to the manual destemming, no green overtones of the stems get into the mash, making the tannins silkier and creamier than in the conventional process. The result is something to be savoured: UnoPerUno is of high fruit intensity, has an incredible depth and structure and is a benchmark of the appellation every year in its purity and clarity on the nose and palate. SUPERIORE.DE

This wine from the single vineyard of the same name is probably the most opulent of the house's selection line. On the nose, an almost brushstroke-wide presence of ripe fruit, spices and hints of crushed rock. On the palate, impressive suppleness, complexity and richness, plus a whole bouquet of dark fruit flavours flanked by firm, structured tannin. The Merlot content gives it additional depth and power. 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.

Castello Romitorio has cool vineyard sites and is one of the few wineries that also achieves consistently good results in warmer years. The winery has also refined its winemaking style over the years to produce ever more elegant and slender wines. In the terrific2019 Riserva, there is finesse, but also powerful cherry fruit, damp earth, cured tobacco and grilled herbs. The mouthfeel is silky and soft, with good acidity on the almost endless finish. A masterpiece! SUPERIORE.DE

Granato has been an exceptional Teroldego for years: It convinces in the bouquet with its rich balsamic scent of sour cherries and red currants. Extract-rich and intense, powerful and extremely precise on the palate. A great wine that reflects the long-standing consistency and competence of this winemaker. SUPERIORE.DE

Andrea Franchetti loved Merlot – and Palazzi is his purest homage to this grape variety. From the estate's higher vineyards, from five to seven hectares of old Merlot vines, one of the greatest Italian Merlots ever is produced year after year: opulent and mineral at the same time, powerful and yet silky smooth. The name refers to the historic "Strada Vecchia" vineyard area, where dense clay soils give the wine its characteristic richness. Eight months in new French barriques, followed by eleven months in concrete tanks – a vinification that lends the wine complexity without disguising its natural opulence.