VINOUS

The name alone reveals the poetry of this vintage sparkling wine. For decades, Perlé has been considered the essence of Ferrari's art, born from a meticulous selection of the best Chardonnay grapes from the Trentino mountains. The grapes for this Millesimato come from altitudes between 300 and 600 metres. Here, where the vines are bathed in mountain sunshine throughout the day but rest at night in the cool mountain air, the Chardonnay develops the mineral depth and aromatic complexity that makes Perlé so unmistakable. The Lunelli family only selects the very best batches – the grapes that most purely reflect the terroir. Perlé matures for almost five years on the fine yeasts – an exceptionally patient maturation period that gives the sparkling wine its characteristic creaminess and delicate yeast notes that harmonise perfectly with the fruity elegance of the Chardonnay.

The Sottimano winery has five vineyard sites, with the Pajoré site near Treiso having the poorest soil of all. These wines are therefore more elegant and mature. Pajoré is a super-classic, explosive wine, endowed with enormous depth and character. Although it has plenty of breadth and texture, it remains light on its feet. Lavender, mint, liquorice and purple berry fruit are beguiling and wonderfully vibrant in the glass. Pajorè is a spicy, elegant and sweet Nebbiolo that is fine yet covers the mouth well - and we are always impressed by its lovely savoury mouthfeel. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1969, Rino Sottimano acquired a vineyard that was to become the foundation of his winery: The Cru Cottà, 2.8 hectares located between the municipalities of Neive and Barbaresco, where south-westerly exposures and sandy soils give the Nebbiolo the fullness and structure that make this Barbaresco so special. The vines, now 80 years old, are spaced unusually far apart, a relic from times when vegetables and artichokes were still cultivated between the rows of vines. A historical planting method that gives the roots room to penetrate deep into the calcareous clay soil. Cottà has always been the most fruit-orientated of the five Sottimano crus, a wine of concentrated power that combines the fleshy polyphenols of the Neive vineyards with the distinctive tannin structure of Barbaresco.

Sand changes everything. In Neive, where many Barbaresco soils are dominated by marl and clay, the Fausoni vineyard is characterised by sandy components – and this difference is not a detail. Sand conducts heat differently, drains faster, contains fewer nutrients and forces the vine to concentrate. At the same time, it gives the tannin a fineness that does not occur in heavier soil. 40-year-old vines planted in this light soil have learnt to grow deep and narrow. The result is the softest, most floral of the five Sottimano-Barbareschi wines. Natural yeast fermentation, long ageing on the skins, natural malolactic fermentation. 18 to 22 months in barriques specially made for the house, half on the lees. Like all five crus: no filtration, no fining, a further year in the bottle. The same care – and a completely different result.

Do you know the Basarin vineyard near Neive? You can expect a bright ruby-garnet colour and a wine from a particularly fine vintage: the bouquet is a cornucopia of wild sour cherry aromas, herbs, a little liquorice and tobacco. Firm and very clearly structured on the palate, muscular and yet with an elegance that never loses control due to its power. Basarin is a highly energetic and precise Nebbiolo that only reveals its complexity with a little patience and aeration. The neighbouring Neive terroir reveals itself with distinguished elegance and blends harmoniously with the volume and weight typical of the site - and with a depth that only vines over 50 years old can produce. SUPERIORE.DE

Gewürztraminer is named after Tramin. This is not a marketing story – this is etymology. The name of the world's most famous aromatic grape variety bears the village itself, where Hofstätter has been based since 1907. And the Kolbenhof plot is located above Tramin, in the hamlet of Söll, on an eastern slope between 360 and 420 metres above sea level – one of the most historic estates in the entire village. This is where the Bolzano quartz porphyry slab meets the limestone of the Mendelzug. A geological interface that does not exist in this form anywhere else in the South Tyrolean wine-growing region. The soils with a high clay content absorb the warmth of the morning sun – the Kolbenhof is exposed to the east, protected from the midday heat – and slowly release it again. Cool, structured, elegant. This is the opposite of a sweet, mass-produced spiced Traminer: dryness with character.

An exceptional milestone in the art of Franciacorta: Palazzo Lana Extrême is masterfully composed and matured on the lees for 84 months before being bottled without dosage. 100% Pinot Noir from old, optimally exposed parcels, rigorously selected and with historic expressiveness. In the glass, it presents itself with bright gold and amber reflections, supported by a very fine-pored perlage. The bouquet is complex and brooding: candied citrus notes, brioche, almond cream, dried apricot, hay ground and a present salty minerality. The palate shows great Franciacorta style: precise acidity, creamy texture, elegant fruit and cool minerality. The finish is long, spicy and shows flavours of toasted almonds, jasmine and Sicilian sea salt in perfect balance. A solitaire that combines origin, depth and style in timeless harmony – serious, generous and with a lasting effect. SUPERIORE.DE

The Rosso di Montalcino comes from slightly younger Brunello vines and is matured for 12 months in large oak barrels. It undoubtedly bears the signature of the top winery Biondi Santi: delicately sweet, open flavours of red berries, flowers and cloves. Like all of the winery's other wines, the Rosso is classic and firm in style, with a bombastic structure and a brilliant, long finish. True to the house, it also has a long ageing and maturation potential and can compete with some of the Brunello wines of the appellation today and in the future. SUPERIORE.DE

TAL 1930 commemorates the beginnings of the Santa Maddalena winery in 1930: a year of particular significance for the history of viticulture in South Tyrol and for the Bolzano winery. The contrast between mountain and valley – alpine and Mediterranean – determines the character of this exceptional cuvée. The vineyards for the white varieties Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio lie between the valley floor and the sometimes gentle, sometimes steep slopes of the famous Renon near Bolzano. The vineyards are situated at an altitude of 400 to 700 metres and vary greatly in location and temperature, due to the sun from the Dolomites and the sometimes strong winds of the Isarco Valley.

Treiso is not Neive. Once you understand this, you begin to read the Barbaresco appellation differently. Neive gives strength, weight, polyphenols. Treiso – the southernmost of the three Barbaresco communes, higher up, cooler, with more compact, calcareous soils – gives rigour, minerality and a longevity that some other sites lack. The MGA Pajoré is the voice of Treiso in the Sottimano collection: the most traditional, the most persistent and the one of the five cru that requires the most patience. Old vines on calcareous-clay soils, steep and well exposed. Organic cultivation since the beginning. Natural yeast fermentation, long maceration, natural malolactic. Matured for 18 to 22 months in François Frères barriques, half on the lees, minimal new wood. No filtration. No fining. A further year in the bottle. The same cellar method as always – and, as so often, proof that terroir is more important than technique.

Basarin is the latest chapter in the Sottimano story – acquired in 2014, the fifth cru to complete the portfolio. And also the most complex. The small MGA Basarin extends over a heterogeneous terrain with a pronounced slope and considerable altitude – a terrain that appears almost rugged in comparison to the gentle hills of other Neive sites. The soils are of Miocene-Helvetian origin, predominantly calcareous, interspersed with sandy veins – a composition that allows for both mineral tension and aromatic depth. The vines here are heterogeneous in age and exposure, which places additional demands on the vinification: even more precise selection, even more precise harvest harvestthe harvest. Then the consistent Sottimano method: natural yeast fermentation, long maceration, spontaneous malolactic, 18 to 22 months in specially made barriques, one year in the bottle. No filtration. No fining.

This is where it all began. When Rino Sottimano acquired the first plots of land in Neive in the 1970s, Cottà was his first vineyard – the south-west facing site close to the border with the municipality of Barbaresco, where the Nebbiolo benefits from two worlds: the strength and polyphenols that Neive gives its wines, and the tannin balance that the proximity to Barbaresco brings. It is the oldest soil in the family – and the most direct. 40 to 60-year-old vines on gently rolling slopes with light grey and yellowish Tortonian and Helvetic marl. Organic cultivation without compromise, natural yeast fermentation, long maceration with submerged cap. Malolactic fermentation, which is only completed in the spring after the harvest. Then 18 to 22 months in barriques specially made by François Frères for Sottimano, half on the lees, a small proportion new. No filtration, no fining.

The small vineyard is located at an altitude of 500 m above the Galatrona Tower and offers the best conditions for growing the French grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon. Due to the limestone subsoil, this site is also called a luxury site (campo lusso). Intense and generous bouquet of dark fruits, leather and chocolate. Complex and deep on the palate, very focused and with increasing aeration very elegant and aristocratic. A complete red that will delight not only Cabernet lovers. Only about 1,300 bottles of this spectacular drop can be produced per vintage. SUPERIORE.DE

This Riserva is only made available each year in very small quantities to hand-picked specialist retailers and top restaurants. Brilliant ruby red colour. Fine raspberry and floral notes dominate the spicy nose. Very juicy on the palate, tannins and acidity are well integrated. Riecines Riserva has length and suppleness right through to the long fruity finish. The elegance and fine melting texture are impressive. Once again, this is Sangiovese at the top level that Riecine is known for! SUPERIORE.DE

This strictly limited Riserva is only bottled in the best years. The bouquet is perfect and profound with aromas of dried fruit, blackberries, white smoke and crushed rock. Wonderfully structured on the palate with exact proportions and an almost weightless elegance that makes it one of the best red wines in southern Italy. Still youthfully intense, it still has plenty of time ahead of it. SUPERIORE.DE

2022 was the year of the drought. Not the first, not the last – but one that told its own story at Roccamonfina. Week after week without rain, soils as yellow as straw under the sun. And yet: the springs in the volcanic rock never dried up. The soil that Galardi works holds water deep beneath the stones, invisible and inexhaustible. Allegra Selvaggi, who runs the estate today, described this vintage with Monet – not the motif, but the air around it. The multicoloured landscape despite the drought. The beauty that arises when a terroir is stronger than the weather.

If Montosoli is the great Montalcino cru in the north, then the Sesta area between Castelnuovo dell'Abate and Sant'Angelo in Colle is its southern counterpart. This is where the Lisini vineyards are located.

Ronco della Chiesa is another inspiring expression from one of Italy's most exciting white wine artists: the wine is made from 100% Friulano and is aged for 10 months in barriques. Its complexity is extraordinary. The wine grows in intensity with every passing minute, with notes of white peach, nectarine, poached pear and crushed limestone. As it progresses, there are hints of baked sweet bread or buttery croissant. On the palate, a very pleasing, medium fruit weight with beautiful, balanced acidity. Its quality clearly comes more from the fruit than from the winemaking. Only 2,600 bottles of this great Friulano were produced. SUPERIORE.DE

This is the top wine from Il Poggione, and it is a must for anyone who collects wines from this famous vineyard. The estate's oldest parcel, Vigna Paganelli, is a 12-hectare vineyard that was planted back in 1964. It boasts a rich variety of old Sangiovese clones, which are used for the newer plantings.

Querciabella's Riserva, with an annual production of 10,000 bottles, is a selection of the best lots. It blends fruit from Greve, where the vineyards lie between 350 and 550 metres above sea level, with grapes from the stony high altitudes of Radda and the chalky soils of Gaiole. Tantalising aromas of spring flowers, cranberries and potting soil are accompanied by vanilla and smoke. On the palate, it is polished and pure, with a delicious, tangy acidity and sinewy tannins. As every year, one of the most refined wines of the appellation. SUPERIORE.DE

Hardly any Brunello is as authentic as the wines from Le Potazzine - they reveal the whole truth of the Sangiovese grape. The result is neither completely polished, nor is it boring or predictable. The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino achieves a degree of extreme authenticity and originality that you don't find on every corner in the appellation. It is a wine full of understatement and equally great personality, for which one must take time and leisure to discover every last nuance. On the nose, it reveals a subtle and well-composed bouquet of red roses, spices, earth and wild mushrooms. As always with Le Potazzine, there is also a wild hint of rusticity. On the palate, this Brunello reveals its powerful fruit and perfectly integrated tannins. Like a friend you can rely on, this Brunello is both a role model and a lovable buddy. SUPERIORE.DE

Crosara Breganze 2017 is a textbook Merlot: full of ripe dark fruits, blackberry pie, liquorice, chocolate, toasted oak and grilled herbs. Offering superb inner sweetness, it is both powerful and elegant, with a lush, super-soft mouthfeel. Pleasingly, a wonderfully focused mineral component saves the wine from ever being overdone. SUPERIORE.DE

Pàtrimo is no ordinary southern Italian. Vinified purely from Merlot, this exceptional wine comes from ancient, ungrafted vines that Feudi di San Gregorio once discovered at high altitudes in Irpinia – a viticultural rarity and the foundation of one of Italy's most iconic red wines. Deep dark ruby colour with a violet rim in the glass. The bouquet shows Merlot in an unusual, Mediterranean way: Black cherry, ripe plum, liquorice and rosemary, underpinned by mocha, tobacco leaf, vanilla and graphite. Structured and opulent on the palate, but never overloaded: velvety tannins, extract-rich fruit, dark spice and a hint of balsamic freshness that balances the richness. The long ageing in new French barriques lends the wine noblesse without putting it in uniform.

Gabbro, produced in small quantities of just 2,500 bottles each year, is the essence of Montepeloso's finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the vines are over 40 years old. Impressively complex bouquet of dark fruits, smoke and grilled vegetables. Powerful and muscular on the palate, revealing its pedigree and great class. Exquisite, complex, nuanced, persistent, long ... Gabbro really does offer everything you need for an unforgettable wine experience at world-class Cabernet level. SUPERIORE.DE