Vinum

The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has selected and worked the Sangiovese with passion over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, is distinguished from all other vineyards by its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-eastern exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi followed and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s. It is a wine with intense and persistent character, ruby colour, fine and elegant tannins. After ageing in tonneaux for at least 24 months, it is bottled until it is released to the market. SUPERIORE.DE

A farewell and a new beginning at the same time. Cepparello 2021 marks Paolo De Marchi's final vintage as master of his life's work before the winery was transferred to the French EPI Group. After more than four decades of tireless work, the maestro from Piedmont completed his testament with this wine – a Sangiovese of paradoxical brilliance that retains an astonishing freshness and elegance despite its powerful fifteen per cent alcohol. The name Cepparello, which originates from the small stream at the highest point of the vineyards, has carried the revolutionary vision of one hundred per cent Sangiovese since 1980. What began as a rebellion against the Chianti Classico regulations – the absurd rule of adding white grapes – developed into an icon of pure Sangiovese expression.

This is a wine where the label speaks its own language. Filo di Seta is adorned with an oil painting by Sandro Chia from the early 1980s – now in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It shows an androgynous figure leaping backwards into the Grotta Azzurra on Capri: weightless, suspended between sky and water. Below it, Chia's verse: "In strange, dark water – when a white dot shines, when a doll jumps – i fly by her side." Wine, the winemaker tells us, is supposed to be just that: a sensation that overcomes the obvious.

Pinot Noir, which originates from France, has been cultivated in South Tyrol since 1850. The best sites, low yields, meticulous care and perfectionism in the cellar guarantee a fine, extremely sensual Pinot Noir with considerable ageing potential. In his constant search for perfection, cellar master Hans Terzer presents the fourth edition of the Pinot Noir Riserva "The Wine Collection" this year.

Chiara Boschi's Cannubi 2020 beguiles on the nose with layers of fragrant fruit. A sensual Barolo and yet quite typical in its vineyard character. Soft, silky tannins frame the long finish. A wonderful wine, characterised by its balance and above all by the sweetness of its tannins. Very full-bodied, focussed and with great length. SUPERIORE.DE

Coltassala Gran Selezione is an impeccable representative of the royal class in Chianti Classico. The immensely fragrant bouquet shows black fruits, spices and ploughed earth. All the aromas are on the dark and spicy side, but the wine always remains fresh, dense, buoyant and very linear. Shows rich volume and a strong personality and precision. SUPERIORE.DE

Poggio Rosso Gran Selezione has an enormous abundance of fruit that is beautifully layered. A very beautiful interpretation of the Sangiovese grape with a dense core and plenty of padding around it. Rich ruby-garnet colour, very fine texture and structure on the palate, which only reveals itself fully with the necessary time in the glass. It is full of tension and power in its youth, the acidity and the well-built tannins are programmed for development, as it will only develop its full elegance and greatness in a few years. SUPERIORE.DE

Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi, the 37th generation of a family that has lived in Gaiole in Chianti since the Lombard era, dedicates this wine to an ancestor of the 10th century: Ridolfo, son of Geremia, founder of the Firidolfi branch. A wine as a family memory – and an experiment. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Pugnitello. Pugnitello, an indigenous Tuscan variety that almost disappeared from the vineyards, grows on the chalky-clay hills of Gaiole, certified organic, between 340 and 510 metres. In the blend, it gives wild cherry fruit, pepper and rusticity – characteristics, which the Cabernet frames with linearity and fine herbal depth. Hand-picked, wild yeasts, 24 months in Allier barriques and tonneau, 36 months bottle ageing. Exclusively in magnum, hand-numbered.

The name refers to the depths of the family history: Ridolfo, son of Geremia, progenitor of the Firidolfi branch, lived in the 10th century. Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi, the 37th generation, still cultivates the same hills in Gaiole in Chianti today – and distils in this wine the most intimate expression of its terroir. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Pugnitello: internationality and tradition in equal parts. The Pugnitello, autochthonous and almost extinct, grows here organically certified on chalky-clay soils between 340 and 510 metres. It gives wild fruit, pepper and mineral depth. The Cabernet gives linearity and silky tannin. Hand-picked in three phases, fermentation in upright wooden tanks with wild yeasts, 24 months in Allier barriques and tonneau, 36 months bottle ageing. Magnum, hand-numbered, only in outstanding vintages.

Taurasi Riserva Della Società is a powerful and complex Aglianico, the grapes for just 3,500 bottles per vintage come from a vineyard parcel of 1.2 hectares in Paternopoli. It consists of "piede franco" vines over 100 years old, planted on stratified and complex calcareous soils with a basalt substrate at an altitude of around 550 metres. The special characteristics of this Irpinia region, with the volcanic nature of the soil, the altitude of the hills and the strong temperature fluctuations, produce red wines of great vigour, but also elegance and longevity.

It was Eugenio Campolmi who, in 1989, plucked up the courage to give his flagship the name of a wild herb that grows on the Tuscan coast. Eugenio Campolmi (†2002) was not originally from the world of wine. He came from a family of restaurateurs and should have taken over his parents' restaurant and trading business. Instead, he and his wife Cinzia Merli took a bold leap into the unknown in 1983. Paleo – a name that stands for unbending identity and the will to achieve any goal. What began as a classic Bordeaux blend found its true destiny in 2001: 100% Cabernet Franc, a revolution in the still young Bolgheri.

The Piero selection was created as a tribute to the work of Pierluigi Talenti, who has passionately selected and cultivated Sangiovese over the years. A 1.95 hectare vineyard near the centre of the winery, with unique pedoclimatic characteristics, stands out from all other vineyards for its consistent quality. The gently sloping terrain is surrounded by woods rich in marl, with a south-easterly exposure at an altitude of 410 metres above sea level, where Pierluigi pursued and cultivated his personal clonal selection in the 1970s.

Syrah Suisassi is rich and expressive. The bouquet is convincing with aromas of sage, rosemary, wild flowers, liquorice, violets and plums. On the palate very full and round with memories of berries, chocolate and nuts. Elegant and intellectual. SUPERIORE.DE

The Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019 is a fully impressive creation with a unique and interesting interpretation of this classic vintage. The wine is bold and bright, with great intensity that accompanies it from start to finish. Dark cherry and blackberry flavours stand in balanced contrast to layers of spice, cumin and cardamom. Despite its intensity and richness, this Riserva is very balanced and never oversteps its bounds. The same applies to the mouthfeel. On the palate, it offers a dense, rich texture with complex fruit flavours and bright acidity. The 2019 vintage is once again an exceptional wine from this incredibly ambitious winery! SUPERIORE.DE

Historically, the vineyards of Castello di Fonterutoli are located in the areas of three neighbouring municipalities of Chianti Classico: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Radda in Chianti. With the 2017 vintage, the Mazzei family vinified all three large vineyards separately as Chianti Classico Gran Selezione for the first time in order to recognise the diversity of the terroir: Castello di Fonterutoli, Vicoregio 36 and Badiòla.

In Andrea Cortonesi's own words, 2019 was the first vintage since the legendary 1990 that gave him the feeling that everything was in balance. A slow start to vegetation after a rainy winter, a summer without heat peaks, even ripening until September. Harvest from 25 September – clean, healthy, concentrated. Already a stroke of luck for the Annata. For the Riserva: a perfect invitation. But not every vintage becomes a Riserva. And not every grape in the best vintage. Cortonesi only uses the oldest vines for the Riserva – planted in 1975, back when the word Brunello was hardly known outside Montalcino. Seven hectares, spread over sites between 150 and 350 metres in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, calcareous-clayey soils with marl and mineral structure. What grows here has decades of life in it.

Graci's fourth vintage Sopra il Pozzo is a "selection from the selection" and comes from the Arcurìa vineyard. It is the red archetype of an Etna Rosso, a Nerello cru with the clear DNA of the volcanic-stony terroir. Light ruby with orange reflections, candied fruit on the nose, cooling firewood, some aniseed and herbs. The palate is silky without being smooth, its subtle wood and delicate acid wire harmonise perfectly with the flanking tannin until the unforgettable, mineral-salty finish. Only 2,300 bottles were bottled. SUPERIORE.DE

Historically, the vineyards of Castello di Fonterutoli are located in the areas of three neighbouring municipalities of Chianti Classico: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Radda in Chianti. With the 2017 vintage, the Mazzei family vinified all three large vineyards separately as Chianti Classico Gran Selezione for the first time in order to recognise the diversity of the terroir: Castello di Fonterutoli, Vicoregio 36 and Badiòla.

Barolo Ravera Vigna Elena Riserva DOCG 2018 is a monument to precision craftsmanship and at the same time a rare one-off: it comes from a pure planting of the historic Nebbiolo variety Nebbiolo Rosé – an independent, genetically distinct variety that almost disappeared from the Barolo vineyards over the course of the 20th century. Elvio Cogno and his family have consciously preserved this rare grape variety in the Vigna Elena monopoly position. The parcel is located in the upper Ravera zone near Novello, on poor, calcareous and clayey soils with optimal south-west exposure. The result is low yields, late-ripening grapes and a distinctive style: lighter colour, beguiling floral depth, fine, almost silky tannins and enormous aromatic precision.

Produced in small quantities, Vallocchio clearly stands out from pure Brunello di Montalcino. Darker, deeper and more mystical, it shows notes of ripe blackberries and plums, complemented by exotic brown spices and a hint of lemon confit. Its texture is like velvet stretching across the palate, black-fruited and ripe, underpinned by minerals and cooling herbal notes. It is youthfully monolithic and dense, revealing its austere tannin core only towards the end, where notes of black tea, liquorice and a hint of cocoa emerge. SUPERIORE.DE

The top-quality Vigneto Erchi Riserva comes from the small vineyard of the same name, which has belonged to Fattoria Selvapiana since 1998. The owners spent a long time searching for a vineyard whose terroir impressively demonstrates the complexity of Sangiovese in the Rufina region, making this wine a high-calibre addition to the famous Selvapiana collection.

A railway station from the 19th century still stands on the estate – silent, fallen out of time, functionless. The wine that is produced here has something of this image: it doesn't hurry, it waits. And the 2021 came quietly anyway – no record-breaking summer, no headlines, just a cool spring, moderate heat and day-night fluctuations that gave the Sangiovese exactly what it needed: room to mature. Tenuta Pian delle Vigne is located six kilometres southwest of Montalcino, on calcareous clay soil with fine gravel, exposed to the southwest, around 130 metres above sea level. Antinori-owned since 1995 – and has been unyieldingly committed to the same principle ever since: large wooden barrels of between 30 and 80 hectolitres that preserve rather than dominate the Sangiovese fruit. No barrique dictates, no fashionable make-up. Only conviction.

Medium, radiant ruby red. Complex nose of sweet and cedar wood, paired with Mediterranean maquis and delicate sweet cherry. In the mouth, balsamic notes, very finely woven tannins and a wonderful complexity that envelops the juicy fruit core and gives the wine an impressive depth and length. The elegance is also very impressive and will certainly increase with further maturity. SUPERIORE.DE

As a result of extensive soil research, Francesco Ricasoli was able to identify three micro-vineyards, which will be vinified separately from the 2015 vintage onwards. The range of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione now includes, in addition to the famous Castello di Brolio, three cru sites (Colledilà, Roncicone and Ceniprimo), all of which are 100% planted with Sangiovese. They differ in structure and taste in close correspondence with their terroir and impressively demonstrate the complexity of the Chanti Classico region.