Vinum

The Riserva Poggio Lombrone is produced according to traditional winemaking methods and organically. Distinctive bouquet of red fruits, roses, violets and sweet spices. Polished, rich texture on the palate, full of finesse, juicy and with balanced tannins. A great Sangiovese full of character with good ageing Storage potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Sondraie, from which the wine takes its name, is a large plateau from Aurelia to Bellaria in the north of the appellation and one of the best sites for Cabernet in Bolgheri. The Oenologist Luca d'Attoma is considered one of the best interpreters of Cabernet Franc in Italy and his wines are always a clear buy. Bright violet colour. The nose is leafy, with dark chocolate and a characteristic aroma of coffee powder, plus blueberry, raspberry, black cherry and undergrowth. On the palate, melted cloves and cassis in perfect balance. Smooth and ripe, with a hint of chalk thanks to the oak tannins on the finish. Amazingly fresh and endlessly long, simply superb! SUPERIORE.DE

The sandy soils north of Monforte d'Alba give this Barolo its immense power and structure. The bouquet is very open and appealing with dark cherries and raspberries, as well as notes of mint, cedar wood, rose petals and sage. Very lively and expressive on the palate, with deep beauty, seamlessly contoured and spectacular resonance. A fabulous wine from a very good vintage, classic and exotic at the same time. SUPERIORE.DE

The De Ferrari brothers select their Riserva from the oldest vines on the estate's best plots. Ruby red in colour with a garnet hue. The wine opens discreetly with subtle but captivating hints of sage, leather and allspice. On the palate, it is supple and agile and feels confidently extracted, with firm, straightforward tannins, but not overdone. The wood supports rather than imposes on the wine, and the vibrant acidity of the vintage comes through nicely. Long, seductive and delicately spicy on the final. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for the exceptionally deep Vigna del Gris come from vines over 40 years old from the 1-hectare plot of the same name in Monforte d'Alba. The bouquet is beguilingly harmonious, with a convincing attack, weightless and powerful at the same time. Firm tannins and plenty of flavour on the palate, with a great texture and very juicy. Long, rich finish. Don't make the mistake of opening this wine until it has gained in maturity, personality and elegance after a few more years in the bottle. SUPERIORE.DE

On warm days, a resinous, musky scent rises from the hedge edges. Helichrysum – the immortelle, the Italians also call it "Immortelle", the immortal. It grows wild among the rocks and bushes that line San Polino's highest vineyards. When Katia and Gigi were looking for a name for their best wine, they didn't have to look far. The five hectares surrounding the farmhouse lie at an altitude of 450 metres, facing south, surrounded by Mediterranean scrub and forest. The view extends to Monte Amiata – the sacred mountain of the Etruscans, seat of their highest gods, the Tuscan Olympus. The soils tell of two powerful forces: the volcanic eruption of Mount Amiata 180,000 years ago, which left behind quartz and metamorphic clay, and the retreat of the Pliocene sea, which left behind sandy loams and shell fossils. Thin, complex soil – poor in nutrients, rich in character. Up here, the scirocco blows from the Sahara. The temperature differences between day and night are enormous. The grapes ripen slowly, develop thick skins and concentrated flavours. "Ah ... 2018," Katia once said about a cooler vintage, "finally you can smell Sangiovese grapes instead of just blackcurrant and undergrowth." Helichrysum is all about precisely this clarity – terroir instead of heat, soil instead of opulence.

Barolo Ravera comes from a single vineyard with vines that are almost 50 years old. In the glass, it impresses with a strong, aromatic opening flavour. Bright, precise and finely chiselled, the Ravera captures everything good that the vintage has to offer. Cherry, sweet mint, candy and expressive floral notes are given an extra kick of inner sweetness by Ravera's natural energy. There is so much to look forward to as the wine develops over the next few years! SUPERIORE.DE

Deep dark ruby-purple colour. On the nose, cassis, blackcurrants and a strong herbal spice with a good dose of pipe tobacco, tar and crushed gravel. On the palate, dark berries, chocolate and a cornucopia of herbs define the full-bodied palate. This juicy wine monument has precisely integrated tannins, an enormous silkiness and an almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Pacenti's flagship Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2017 is a blend of equal parts fruit from the north and south of Montalcino with great texture and resonance. The aromas are dark and textured through and through. Dark red fruits and stone fruits, new leather and cedar gradually open up in the glass, but it needs time to fully develop, partly because the Vecchie Vigne has slightly more new oak than the Pelagrilli. A powerful, spicy representative of the appellation that will only reach its true top form with a few years of bottle ageing. SUPERIORE.DE

If only it were true. Angelo Gaja's Tuscan masterpiece Magari bears this Italian expression full of longing and hope in its name, and it tells the story of a dream that became reality. When the Piedmontese patriarch first explored the Maremma coast in the 1990s, he saw the potential for something extraordinary in the gentle hills of Bolgheri. Eighteen rounds of negotiations were necessary to acquire the Ca' Marcanda estate – "the house of endless negotiations", as it has been known ever since.

For three years, the team at Tenuta San Giorgio got to know their vineyards. Not as an end in itself – but because they needed to know which plots had what it takes to produce a Riserva. The Brunello Disciplinare is clear on this point: the Riserva must be the exceptional, not the standard. It was not until 2018, after three years of careful observation and selection, that the answer was clear enough to take the first step: the first vintage of Ugolforte Riserva was put into the barrels. Climatically, 2018 was not an easy year in Montalcino. But in oenology, it is often the case that the most challenging vintages produce the most elegant wines. Selection of the best grapes from the best plots, fermentation in oak vats and concrete tanks with long maceration periods, 30 months in 30-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels, bottled in November 2021, released in January 2024. A Brunello that was shaped over six years before leaving the estate.

A debut is followed by confirmation. The second vintage of Ugolforte Riserva shows that 2018 was no fluke – and, at the same time, that every vintage speaks its own language. Whereas the 2018 was fresh and vertical, the 2019 is deeper, spicier and more full-bodied. A different character, the same origin. Castelnuovo dell’Abate, south-east of Montalcino, 250 to 400 metres. Views over the Val d’Orcia. The complex soils – clay, tuff, galestro, red soils – and the temperate Mediterranean climate, cooled by a constant breeze. Organically farmed since the estate’s first certified organic vintage. Hand-harvested with careful selection in the vineyard, fermentation in oak vats and concrete tanks with long maceration periods, followed by 30 months in 30-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels. The same philosophy: minimal intervention, maximum expression of the terroir.

Just 2,100 bottles of this 1.5 ha single vineyard Cabernet Franc "Campo di Magnacosta" (a former riverbed with mainly clay, gravel and crushed stone soil) reach the specialised trade and the menus of the best restaurants worldwide. The vines were planted in the mid-1990s and come from Pomerol. In terms of aromatic intensity, Magnacosta is probably the most sensually elegant representative of the house's three great site cabernets. It has great straightness, but somewhat less power and intensity. It subtly combines black fruit aromas with spicy notes, tar and antique leather. It is already silky and elegant and will certainly gain in finesse over the years. SUPERIORE.DE

Chiara's Barolo from the Mosconi single vineyard of the same name is powerful, muscular and full of opulence. Rich, bright ruby red colour. Rich aromas of eucalyptus, wild rosemary, plum and black cherry. Deep and powerful on the palate with beautiful spicy accents, dense tannins and a very juicy structure. For us, this Barolo belongs in the top class of the appellation, it always carries its great weight with maximum elegance and is highly authentic, completely in the style of Chiara Boschis, who has once again delivered something really great here. Please leave it in the cellar for a few more years! SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Le Ripi's top Brunello come from a 4-hectare vineyard near Castelnuovo dell'Abate on the eastern side of Montalcino, not far from the Lupi e Sirene vineyard.

In 2011, Giampaolo Motta created a manifesto of love for both his daughter Carla and that unruly Tuscan diva called Sangiovese. After two attempts that proved unsatisfactory, the breakthrough came in 2011: the birth of a wine that comes exclusively from plot number 6 – a unique terroir of grey slate and sand that rests like a mysterious treasure in the golden Conca d'Oro of Panzano. What Bordeaux romantic Motta and his famous Oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt have achieved here is a completely new interpretation of a single-varietal Sangiovese wine. "This wine is made by the soil, not the vineyard," philosophises Motta – a subtle but crucial distinction between terroir and mere geography.

In the heart of the Valdarno Superiore, where the ancient Via dei Setteponti inspired Leonardo da Vinci to create his immortal landscape studies, lies Tenuta Sette Ponti – named after the seven bridges that have linked Arezzo and Florence since Etruscan times. Here, on 300 hectares where history meets modernity, Dr Antonio Moretti Cuseri realised a visionary idea in 1999: to create a Tuscan Bordeaux-style wine that combines international elegance with the soul of Tuscany. Oreno – named after the small river that flows through the estate in that clay-rich area where the Merlot vines put down their deepest roots – was born out of a passion for Bordeaux finesse. Fascinated by his travels to Bordeaux, Moretti Cuseri had existing vineyards grafted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Whilst the Merlot thrives in the clay-rich soils, the Cabernet vines find their home in gravelly terraces that offer perfect drainage and natural temperature regulation. The Petit Verdot rounds off the cuvée with spicy notes and intense flavour.

The Sangiovese grapes for this wine come from the vineyard of the Empire of His Royal Highness, the Count of Turin, Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, who planted it in 1935. The soil is a mixture of clay and gravel, rich in marl and rock, which gives the grapes a spectacular minerality. The temperature fluctuations during the day play a decisive role in developing the finest flavours, which are elegant and complex. The wine, bottled in numbered bottles, is not filtered in order to preserve all the typical varietal notes and characteristics of Sangiovese. SUPERIORE.DE

1961: Beppe Colla makes a decision that will set a precedent in the history of Barolo: no more blends from different vineyards, but a wine from a single vineyard – bussia. An amphitheatre in Monforte d'Alba, seven hectares, at around 350 metres, exposed from south-west to south. Soils of limestone, marl, the famous "Marne di Sant'Agata Fossili". Terroir that gives the Nebbiolo strength without taking away its soul. 2021 was the year that the classic needs: a snowy winter with a good water supply, a long, temperate summer without heat peaks, strong temperature fluctuations in autumn. The light frosts in April reduced the yield – and concentrated what remained. Harvest from 29 September to 13 October, in perfect condition. Destemming in the cellar, maceration for 8 to 10 days at a maximum temperature of 30°C, malolactic fermentation before winter. Then 18 months in large oak barrels of various capacities – traditional, unobtrusive, serving.

Some wineries tell their story on display boards. At Fuligni, it hangs on the walls. The palazzo in the centre of Montalcino dates back to the 17th century – the Medici resided here and a Spanish princess left a room that still bears her name today. Underneath, deeper than the palazzo itself, are the cellars: built at the end of the 16th century, with vaulted ceilings in tecnica mista, completely naturally insulated. This is where the Brunello matures in Slavonian oak barrels. It also matured here when Giovanni Maria Fuligni came to Montalcino at the beginning of the 20th century – and it matures here, just as his ancestors made wine in the Maremma before him, without interruption, without abbreviation.

Rose petals, spices and red-coloured fruit float in the glass, supported by fine, racy tannins. On the palate, the typical, medium-bodied characteristics of Bricco delle Viole are evident, while the contours are soft and the wine's personality demands the next sip. Vajra fans should give it a few more years to mature, despite its current accessibility. SUPERIORE.DE

The Serra site is located in the heart of Serralunga d'Alba, in the direct neighbourhood of some of the most renowned cru parcels in the municipality. At an altitude of around 360 metres and with a predominantly south-westerly exposure, the vines benefit from optimal sunshine in the afternoon, while the cool downdraughts at night ensure delayed, even ripening. The subsoil of calcareous marl with sandy inclusions gives the wines from the Serra vineyard their fine, almost silky texture. The 2020 vintage showed its balanced side: a moderate summer, a long growing season and a stable autumn ensured flawless grapes with perfect phenolic ripeness. After careful manual harvesting and selection, the grapes were gently pressed and fermented in concrete for a good three weeks. The wine then matured for two years in large oak barrels to preserve its elegance and terroir fidelity.

Talentis Riserva is a barrel selection that is aged for 36 months in a combination of 25 and 20 hectolitre oak barrels and a small amount in tonneaux. Pian di Conte 2019 is a classic, stately wine with lots of dark fruits, dried blackberries, spices, tobacco and mentholated herbs. The palate is polished and elegant with sweet plums, cherries and blackberries on the attack. These sweet fruit nuances are followed by spicy cedar wood and campfire flavours, as well as fine tannins and an almost endless depth. SUPERIORE.DE

Some wines bear the name of their creator and thus a silent commitment. Gualto is Gualtiero Ghezzi's personal signature: a strict selection of the best exposed Sangiovese Grosso plots near the Castello, at an altitude of over 300 metres, from sandy limestone marl soils with fossil inclusions. Matured for 36 months in oak barrels and a further two years in the bottle – the fact that this Riserva is being released while 2020s are already on the shelves elsewhere is not an oversight, but an attitude. 2019 was the year that rewarded such patience. Spring rains created the water reserves for a warm but never excessive summer. A radiant September with large day-night fluctuations brought full phenolic ripeness – slowly and without haste. International critics are celebrating the 2019 Brunello vintage as one of the most important since 2010 and 2016.