VINOUS

More than two centuries ago, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, Princess of Piombino, had something planted on the ferruginous hills above Suvereto that would change this landscape forever: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon – grape varieties from the Bordelais. The Maremma, still rough and wild at the time, became the testing ground for a woman with a feel for terroir. Francesca Moretti, daughter of Bellavista founder Vittorio, deliberately picks up on this thread with Petra. The name says it all. Petra. Stone. Consistency. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, hand-picked from the Vigneto di Petra in San Lorenzo Alto. Limestone soils with the right balance of clay and skeleton, 10 to 15 per cent slope. Fermentation with natural yeasts in large oak vats, ageing for at least 15 months in French barriques – 25 per cent new – followed by at least 17 months in the bottle. The cellar, a structure by Mario Botta, works with gravity: no pumping, no stress.

San Giusto a Rentennano – the name is of Etruscan origin, and it embodies the passage of centuries. This medieval estate lies in the southernmost corner of Chianti Classico, where the region meets the upper reaches of the Arbia and the hills become more remote, quieter and rougher. A Cistercian monastery – San Giusto alle Monache – once stood here. In 1204, the Florentines fortified the site as a border outpost against Siena. The underground vaults dating from that period now serve as the cellars of Martini di Cigala. The family has owned the estate since 1914. Luca, Francesco and Elisabetta now run it guided by the conviction that has defined the estate since the early 1980s: Sangiovese needs no shortcuts. It requires low yields, fully ripe harvestand time. Organically farmed since 2006, with green pruning in July and August reducing yields by 30 to 50 per cent. 95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo, harvested by hand.

A wine that made history. When Francesco Ricasoli presented Casalferro for the first time in 1993, it marked the beginning of a new era for the venerable Castello di Brolio and cemented Ricasoli's membership in the elite of Italian oenology. Today, almost three decades later, Casalferro 2019 is a prime example of how a French grape variety matures to exceptional perfection on Tuscan terroir. Casalferro is the essence of three exceptional individual vineyards: Vigna Casalferro, Vigna Pecchierino and Vigna Sodacci. These 13 hectares of Merlot vineyards between 400 and 500 metres above sea level are the result of decades of meticulous terroir studies. Each site has its own personality: Vigna Casalferro with its sandstone and limestone soils, Vigna Pecchierino on pure Alberese limestone and Vigna Sodacci on iron-rich sandstone soils. They all share the characteristic altitude, which gives the grapes the crystalline freshness and lively acidity that characterise the DNA of the Brolio terroir.

In the 1990s, almost every winemaker in Tuscany was planting Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. International demand was clear, the prices were right, and old native varieties seemed old-fashioned and difficult by comparison. San Felice did the opposite. On a plot of land near the village of Castelnuovo Berardenga, the Vitiarium was established – an experimental vineyard where over 270 endangered Tuscan grape varieties were planted, in collaboration with the universities of Florence and Pisa. Not for the market. For the future.

Milo. A name that inspires awe amongst connoisseurs. This small village on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna is the only place whose white wines are permitted to bear the designation "Superiore" – as stipulated by the Etna DOC regulations. Here, in Contrada Rinazzo, where steep terraces with dry stone walls made of black lava rock look down towards the Ionian Sea, the Carricante grape perhaps finds its purest expression. At an altitude of 800 metres, just eight kilometres from the sea, the climate is characterised by constant ventilation, abundant light and marked temperature variations.

The place where it all began in 2002. The first vintage of Tenuta delle Terre Nere did not come from just any plot. It came from the Guardiola: the estate's highest vineyard, the most challenging, and the oldest. For the first Etna wine of his career, Marco de Grazia chose the toughest start he could find. And he gave it two further firsts: the first time an Etna Rosso bore the Contrada name on the label. And the first time it was bottled in a Burgundy-style bottle. The Contrada Guardiola lies at an altitude of 900 to 1,000 metres – right on the very edge of the Etna DOC. No grapes grow any higher up. The soils are poor: sand, volcanic pumice, basalt scree – the bare minimum a vine needs. The terraces become narrower with increasing altitude; vineyard work there is carried out exclusively by hand and is exceptionally difficult. The vines have stood on this soil for over a hundred years – on their own roots, ungrafted, because phylloxera never reached these high altitudes on Mount Etna. Pre-phylloxera. Alive.

Brilliant, rich ruby-garnet colour. Inviting nose with multi-layered notes of ripe plums, blackberries and a hint of fine leather. Juicy, ripe fruit in the attack, opens up with powerful, well-integrated tannins, savoury and long, firm pressure. A real long-liver from the top year 2019. SUPERIORE.DE

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 for Tuscan soul, 25 percent Cabernet Franc for Burgundian elegance and 25 percent Merlot for 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.

High above Sambuca Val di Pesa, just three kilometres south of the famous Tenuta Tignanello, rises the venerable Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo – a bastion of faith since the 10th century, where Giovanni Gualberto, the founder of the Vallombrosan order, once lived and died. Here, where wine of exceptional quality was already appreciated around the year 1000, only the finest Sangiovese grapes thrive on calcareous soils with a clay content at an altitude of 300 metres. The historical importance of this place is documented in hundreds of volumes in the Florentine state archives – centuries of Sangiovese cultivation and rural life, preserved for eternity.

As always, Castiglione is mainly based on grapes from Ravera, with smaller portions from Ginestra, Mosconi, Bricco Ravera (in Monforte), Le Coste, Costabelle, Meriame, Briccolina and Codana. Every year it is a dazzling wine that shows how convincing even an "entry-level wine" from a top producer can be. Rich, voluptuous and explosive, it has enormous fullness and resonance from the very first sip. On the nose, bright red cherry and plum fruit, wild flowers, mint, blood orange and spices. Its silky tannins are accompanied by a beautiful, mentholated brightness. A real charmer! SUPERIORE.DE

Maroccoli, around four hundred metres above sea level near Sambuca di Sicilia – where limestone with sandy layers forms the foundation and cool night air from the sea provides finesse, while the days are flooded with Sicilian sunshine. Diego Planeta recognised early on that Syrah on this island could be more than just an international variety: a hymn to the Mediterranean light, dry heat and barren soil that forces the vine to fight. The microfauna here is extremely active, the vines have to conquer their water – and produce grapes of exceptional ripeness and concentration.

Poggio San Polo Brunello is a selection of the best grapes from the estate's various vineyard sites. It opens very engagingly with dark fruit, including plenty of black cherry and dark plum, optimally rounded off by a fine balsamic herbal spice and notes of white pepper. The palate has an almost perfect texture, a suppleness and silkiness that is refreshed and carried by a well-proportioned, refined Sangiovese acidity. Dark berry flavours, long, deep and with a very remarkable, slightly mineral final. SUPERIORE.DE

The Fontalloro is a single-varietal Sangiovese that is matured for up to 20 months in new and two-year-old barriques.brilliant ruby colour with a light garnet rim, mineral, woody-fruity aroma of cherry, cedar, blueberry and hazelnut. With aeration, the flavours become increasingly complex and the terroir influence very clear. Compact and very present on the palate with fine-grained tannins and classic proportions. Very high ageing potential and one of the best Sangiovese in central Tuscany every year. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1974, a decision was made that nobody really understood at the time. Herbert Tiefenbrunner had the grapes from the Fennberg – a high plateau at 1,000 metres above sea level in the municipality of Margreid – a single-vineyard wine. Müller-Thurgau. At a time when single vineyard sites for white grape varieties were virtually unheard of in Italy. At an altitude where hardly anyone expected great wine. Named after Field Marshal Joseph von Fenner zu Fennberg, the Austrian officer who once owned this high plateau. Fifty years later, Feldmarschall is one of Italy's most iconic white wines.

A white wine from Trinoro? Andrea Franchetti planted Sémillon in 2001 on a tiny sandy plot in the forest, 630 metres above sea level – originally with the vision of creating a sweet wine. But year after year, the harvest yielded dry, concentrated grapes. What followed was a wine that Franchetti initially kept to himself: tasted, analysed and perfected for years. It was not until 2017 that he dared to bottle it commercially for the first time. Today, after more than two decades, Trinoro Bianco is considered one of the most fascinating white wines in Tuscany. Fermented partly in steel tanks, partly in small wooden barrels, matured in concrete tanks – a vinification process that preserves purity and structure in equal measure.

This impressive Sangiovese comes from the single vineyard "Vitticciana", which was specially created for a pure Sangiovese wine by the "Godfather of Carmignano" Ugo Contini Bonacossi due to its perfect orientation. It is only produced in the best years, when it presents itself as a multi-layered wine with fine fruit and fine-grained tannins. After a few years of ageing in the bottle, it can easily hold its own with some of the best Brunello di Montalcino. SUPERIORE.DE

There are vintages that you can sense even whilst in the vineyard. 2021 was one of them: April frosts reduced yields by up to a third; what remained ripened slowly and fully under a long, hot, dry summer. No rain in September, no rush to harvest – a luxury afforded by this vintage and one that is rare in Montalcino. For Giancarlo Pacenti and his north-facing Pelagrilli vineyards, this meant ideal conditions for a Brunello of classic elegance.