Vintage 2025

Tramin, a small village in the South Tyrolean lowlands – and one of the great namesakes of the wine world. It is here, at the foot of the Dolomites, that Gewürztraminer originated. It is no coincidence that the Cantina Terlan has included this wine in its "Tradition" line: it is part of the region's DNA. The grapes grow at an altitude of 270 to 450 metres, in vineyards between the Alpine north and the Mediterranean south – a location that creates pronounced temperature differences between day and night and gives Gewürztraminer precisely the tension that distinguishes it from its fuller-bodied relatives. Hand-picked, gentle pressing, slow fermentation in steel, 6–7 months on the lees.

Arneis, the once almost forgotten "Barolo bianco", is experiencing a triumphant renaissance at Vietti and this example celebrates it at the highest level. Produced in Santo Stefano Roero from vines around 30 years old on limestone marl, processed cooler and bottled with care – all characterised by fresh clarity and lively elegance. The Arneis is fermented spontaneously in stainless steel without malolactic fermentation or wood in order to bring out its flowery freshness on the fine lees.

This is one of the most interesting and expressive wines to come out of the Vittoria area of Sicily. The Frappato is tangy and sharp, linear and direct. And it reveals more depth and nuances than you would expect in this price range. Normally, a good Frappato always has an authentic and transparent expression. This unmasked openness is also present here, but there is also an almost accidental hint of balsamic herbs and bitter almonds, which lend it further tension and personality. It's a good thing that Titta Cilia and Giusto Occhipinti leave nothing to chance, and so this finesse-rich Frappato is rightly one of the region's most distinctive wines every year. SUPERIORE.DE

A project from the heart in two senses: Core (Italian for heart) is an elegant blend of 50% Greco Bianco and 50% Fiano, whose contrast and harmony subtly reflect the essence of Campania. The grapes come from chalky, medium to high altitude vineyards in the Sannio region – ripened on cool nights with great aromatic precision. The stainless steel fermentation with bâtonnage on the fine lees brings depth without too much weight. Core is a fresh, harmonious white wine with a great sense of origin that conveys the origin and grape variety in a stylish way.

Scalabrone is generous, but also incredibly fresh. It shows ripe strawberries with a hint of sweet cream, tropical kiwi and lime. It washes over the palate with lightness, carrying ripe red fruit, a hint of melon and a savoury minerality. The finish is long and flanked by lively acidity and salty minerals. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah is perfectly balanced and makes this flavoursome rosato one of the most vibrant in the appellation every year. SUPERIORE.DE

A charismatic representative from the Alba region: this Barbera reflects the diversity of the Vajra vineyards – a spirited expression of the grape variety, vinified with attention to detail and many years of biodynamic expertise. Maturation in stainless steel preserves the varietal purity and natural flavours and ensures an invigorating freshness. The colour in the glass is a bright ruby red with a violet hue. An elegant bouquet of fresh cherries, fine spicy notes and a floral touch on the nose – including delicate violet accents. On the palate, it reveals a juicy fruit structure, supported by a balanced, lively acidity and softly framed tannins. The finish is slightly spicy and persistent with an elegant aftertaste. A Piedmontese all-rounder for everyday enjoyment: charming, clear as a bell and easy to drink – a stylish statement for uncomplicated enjoyment! SUPERIORE.DE

One of the finest Fiano di Avellino in the region comes from the cool, high-altitude vineyards around Lapio – vinified by Clelia Romano with uncompromising precision and respect for the terroir. Old vines on calcareous soils, selective hand-picking and the consistent avoidance of wood allow for an interpretation full of depth, expression and pride of origin. Every year, a great Fiano, which carries the altitude and the volcanic terroir of the region with quiet depth and uncompromising clarity – a character wine of quiet greatness with excellent ageing and maturation potential.

The trilogy is complete: after Core Rosso (since 2011) and Core Bianco (since 2015), Silvia Imparato is finalising her homage to Campania's great grape varieties with the first Core Rosato 2025. Core – neapolitan for heart, for love – also comes from the volcanic vineyards of the Sannio near Benevento, where tuff, volcanic ash and limestone give the Aglianico a unique minerality. Short skin contact, then vinified like a white wine under the direction of Riccardo Cotarella.

Chiara Boschis is no stranger to the world of Barolo. Her wines from Castiglione Falletto – including the legendary MGAs Via Nuova, Mosconi and Cannubi – are among the finest in the entire wine-growing region. But the Dolcetto tells its own, more modest story: not a wine with ambition, but with a clear attitude. The grapes come from three of our own vineyards in Monforte d'Alba – ravera, Le Coste and Mosconi – at an altitude of around 400 metres. The soils consist of calcareous clay in pale grey and pink layers, interspersed with pebbles, calcium carbonate and iron. Typical of these older geological formations is a natural minerality that gives the Dolcetto depth and backbone, which is not always expected. Organic cultivation. Vinification exclusively in steel.

In the wide plain around Bolgheri – between the hills of the Alta Maremma and the nearby Tyrrhenian coast – the Vermentino thrives on ideal terrain. The vines benefit from the interplay of sea breeze and warmth, sandy, well-drained soils and careful harvest at optimum ripeness. Guado al Tasso vinifies a precise, clearly contoured white wine with a Mediterranean soul and remarkable tension.

Owner Leonardo Pinzolo cultivates 52 hectares of biodynamically certified vineyards on his family farms in Popoli and Capestrano. The soils here differ from those in the rest of Abruzzo. Combined with the higher altitude of the vineyards and the proximity to the Gran Sasso mountains, these wines have a decidedly cooler expression than is usually found in Abruzzo. In the winery, fermentations are spontaneous and without temperature control. With the exception of a few single-vineyard wines, most of the wines are matured in stainless steel.

Olio Extra Vergine di Biancolilla Sicilia IGP 2025 (BIO) from Sicily is a pure organic olive oil of remarkable finesse and almost floating elegance. Light yellow-green in the glass, with a mild aroma of ripe Mediterranean vegetables, it has an extraordinarily balanced, gentle and almost delicate flavour - an oil of rare restraint and great precision. It reveals its full class especially with light cuisine, fine vegetables, light-coloured fish or even selected desserts and proves how subtle and complex Sicilian olive oil can be. SUPERIORE.DE

Abruzzo is the greenest region in Italy. 36 per cent of the area is protected – three national parks, one regional park and over thirty nature reserves. Valle Reale is located exactly where the Gran Sasso in the north, the Majella in the south and the Sirente-Velino in the north-west meet. Cerasuolo comes from the same vineyards near Popoli and Capestrano that produce the estate's great red wines – demeter-certified, on stony soils with strong drainage, exposed to the cool winds of the mountain passes and pronounced day-night temperature differences. The grapes for the Rosato are harvested earlier than those for the Montepulciano rosso – deliberately to preserve the freshness of the acidity. Only indigenous yeasts are used in the cellar, activated using the pied-de-cuve method: no intervention that is not mandatory.

Owner Leonardo Pinzolo cultivates 52 hectares of biodynamically certified vineyards on his family farms in Popoli and Capestrano. The soils here differ from those in the rest of Abruzzo. Combined with the higher altitude of the vineyards and the proximity to the Gran Sasso mountains, these wines have a decidedly cooler expression than is usually found in Abruzzo. In the winery, fermentations are spontaneous and without temperature control. With the exception of a few single-vineyard wines, most of the wines are matured in stainless steel.

The Petit Rouge grape variety is the backbone of the Aosta Valley. Those who know it only ever know it as Torrette DOC – the oldest and largest appellation in the region. A red wine that has been served for generations as naturally as the mountain cheese fondue next to it. The Charrère family knows this tradition better than most. And yet they made a different decision in 2019. Not a Torrette DOC. Instead, a Valle d'Aosta DOC rosé. The idea: the same indigenous variety, different clones, old vines – but read differently. Not as a red wine, but as something that the mountain can tell in its lightest, freshest form.

Santo Stefano Belbo and Calosso, 400 metres above sea level, on the marly soils of the Langhe: here grows the Moscato Bianco from which I Vignaioli di Santo Stefano – the joint project of the Ceretto family and local winegrowers since 1976 – to produce this Asti Spumante. 41 hectares, harvested by hand. A wine that comes from one of the most precise Moscato terroirs in Piedmont. The second fermentation in pressurised tanks gives the wine its lively, finely sparkling mousseux and raises the alcohol content to 7%. Five atmospheres of pressure during bottling: this is complete sparkling wine character that brings the Moscato flavours to the fore.

L'Olionovo – this is how the farmers describe the state of the oil when it leaves the oil mill freshly pressed after the authentic stone grinding process. The Olio di Oliva Extra Vergine from the Castellare di Castellina estate is made from fruit of the Frantoio, Pendolino, Ascolane, Moraiolo and Leccino varieties. When the olives are cold-pressed, the fruit reveals its intensely bright emerald green colour. The aroma is grassy and stimulating. The flavour is fruity, of medium intensity, with a hint of artichoke. Rich in polyphenols, it perfectly reflects the authentic spicy notes of a high-quality olive oil. This oil is a real treat for the palate with fresh bread, but also a great accompaniment to grilled vegetables or fish. SUPERIORE.DE

Donnafugata – a name that epitomises the poetry of Sicilian wine. The fact that the Rallo family also produces outstanding olive oil at their Tenuta di Contessa Entellina is less well known, but no less remarkable. The Milleanni combines four autochthonous olive varieties from the Valle del Belice: Nocellara del Belice, Biancolilla, Cerasuola and the rare Pidicuddara – a quartet that combines the aromatic diversity of western Sicily in one cuvée.

The Greeks called the island Iolaia – after Iolaus, the nephew and companion of Hercules, who, according to tradition, led colonists to the island and left his name behind. Cantina Argiolas has dedicated an olive oil to this myth, which comes from the same Sardinian soil on which the vines for Turriga are rooted: calcareous, stony soil in the hills around Serdiana, Mediterranean warmth, wind from the sea. The olives are hand-picked and then immediately cold-pressed in a modern continuous process at low temperatures – quickly and gently so that the volatile flavours are preserved.

The Tenuta Regaleali of Tasca d'Almerita is perhaps Sicily's best-known winery – and one that produces its olive oil with the same care as its wines. It is located in the hilly hinterland of the province of Palermo, at 450 to 900 metres, far from the sea and its influences. A terroir that gives intensity and character. Seven olive varieties give this extra virgin its complexity: Biancolilla as the main variety with 67%, supplemented by Piricuddara, Nocellara del Belice, Coratina as well as Nerva, Ogliarola, Carolea, Leccino and Frantoio.

In Tuscany, olive oil was never a by-product. Together with grain and wine, it was the third pillar of the rural economy – and Lisini has never abandoned this principle. The estate's 28 hectares of olive groves follow the traditional "impianto promiscuo": olive trees not in specialised monocultures, but in alternating rows between vineyards and fields – a cultivation method that reflects the balance of the entire farm and preserves the Tuscan cultural landscape as it has grown for centuries. Around 8,000 trees, some of which are in inaccessible terrain, which is used exclusively to preserve the soil. Moraiolo, Leccino and Correggiolo – harvested entirely by hand, cold-pressed.

The olive groves of the Iacobucci family grow on the same clay hills of Guardia Sanframondi as the vines – sannio Beneventano, one of the oldest olive-growing regions in southern Italy, long overshadowed by the more famous coastal olive groves, but with its own character and deep tradition. Ortice, Ortolana, Racioppella and other Beneventan varieties, all of which are indigenous. What defines the Classico is speed and care: the olives are hand-picked and cold-pressed no later than 24 hours after harvesting – without the addition of water, using an integral process. Only periodic decanting instead of filtering, so that the oil breathes without losing its natural structure. Acidity below 0.5 per cent.

A photo from 1955 adorns the bottle: Elliott Erwitt's "California Kiss", two lovers in the mirror of a car. When Trudie Styler tasted the first sip of this Vermentino, she spontaneously found the name – "like a kiss on the lips". The fact that the wine was released in March 2021, when the world was hungry for closeness, lends it additional poetry. Incidentally, it is the first white wine that Riccardo Cotarella vinified for Il Palagio – a tribute to Trudie's love of elegant Bianchi. The hand-picked Vermentino grapes ferment at a controlled temperature in stainless steel, and a short maturation period preserves the vibrant freshness.