wine classics

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.

Ugolaia is a 1.7-hectare, south-west-facing plot with a view of the sea, where the temperature fluctuations between day and night are considerable. The estate's oldest vines grow here on red iron soil.

It was 1988 when Bruno and Brigitte Widmer ventured a bold dream that would change the Tuscan wine world forever. Their Il Blu – named after the timeless blue label with orange capsule – became the icon of an entire generation of Supertuscans, a manifesto of modernity in the midst of centuries-old traditions. Today, after more than three decades of perfection, the organically certified Il Blu 2022 epitomises Barbara Widmer's visionary continuity. What once began as a Sangiovese-dominated cuvée has developed into an 80% Merlot blend with 10% each of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon thanks to the ever-growing complexity of the Merlot vines from Radda, now over thirty years old. Only the finest, hand-picked grapes for this exceptional wine come from the two Chianti estates in Castellina and Radda. The clay and galestro soils at an altitude of 230 to 400 metres, characterised by a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters, give the grapes their characteristic intensity. The vinification follows a ritual of precision: each parcel, each grape variety matures individually for 18 months in French barriques – two thirds new, one third used barrels. Only then is the final blend made, followed by three months of refinement in uncoated concrete tanks and at least one year of ageing in the bottle.

Between Sassicaia on the left and Ornellaia on the right, on the Strada del Vino of Bolgheri, lies a vineyard that has rewritten the definition of "perfect location". When Antonio Moretti Cuseri drove through the thick Maremma fog in October 2004 and suddenly emerged into the glistening sunlight of this coastal landscape, he knew: this is where he would make the Orma – his footprint. The third generation of the Moretti Cuseri family had already proven with Oreno at Tenuta Sette Ponti that their passion for Bordeaux cuvées can become an obsession. In Bolgheri, this love of Merlot and Cabernet was to find a new interpretation. On just 5.5 hectares of vines rooted deep in gravel and clay, organically farmed grapes are used to produce the wine that has been delighting international wine critics since its debut in 2005. The 2023 vintage combines half Merlot with 30 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 per cent Cabernet Franc – an assemblage that combines the Mediterranean climate of the Tuscan coast with the finesse of great Bordeaux growths.

Lisini produces four Brunelli. Each one stands for a different conviction – the Annata stands for balance and accessibility, the Ugolaia for the character of a single vineyard, the new Poggio Severo for a cooler, higher parcel. The Riserva stands for something else: for tradition. The estate itself calls it the most traditional wine in the entire portfolio – not because it is older, but because it epitomises the classic Montalcino ideal: Concentration, depth, patience. It is the result of a strict selection of the best grapes from the entire estate – from the vineyards around Sant'Angelo in Colle and the Sesta vineyard near Castelnuovo dell'Abate. No single vineyard, but the sum of the best that a vintage has to offer. The maceration period of 20 to 26 days is longer than for the Annata, and the ageing in large Slavonian oak barrels is correspondingly extended.

Bright garnet colour with a ruby red core. A polyphonic, clear Nebbiolo image on the nose: sour cherry, red forest berries and pomegranate, plus dried roses, white pepper, liquorice and a cool, stony-mineral undertone. Silky and taut at the same time on the palate, the fruit is clear as a bell, carried by lively, straight acidity and fine-grained, chalky tannins; the wood only appears as a textural finishing touch. Very long, salty-mineral finish with a delicate herbal freshness. A Fausoni-Barbaresco from the MGA of the same name with calm authority and precise elegance – transparent, full of energy and with outstanding potential for the coming years. SUPERIORE.DE

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

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

Within the walls of history. The Castello di Bolgheri, built in 1796 and thus the oldest winery in Bolgheri, sits enthroned in the heart of the medieval village like a stone witness to great wine culture. While the world of wine underwent its revolutionary transformation around the Castello – sassicaia and Ornellaia wrote their legendary stories –a treasure lay dormant here that only awoke to its true destiny under Count Federico Zileri Dal Verme. The blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot not only represents the art of blending, but also the philosophy of the house: finesse over power, elegance over opulence. While the best parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon underwent an exceptionally long maceration of 30 days – only possible in exceptional vintages –the wine matured for 20 months in traditional Italian vats and Liters barrels. This choice of large wooden barrels, a deliberate departure from the small barriques of its neighbours, gives the wine the crystalline purity and mineral depth that makes the Castello the "Château Margaux of Bolgheri".

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 name is history. Sapaio – an old Tuscan grape variety, long forgotten, but not its memory. When Massimo Piccin founded his winery in 1999, he chose this name as a sign of his deep connection to the terroir. A tribute to what was and a promise of what was to come. The vineyards extend over the municipalities of Bibbona and Castagneto Carducci, 40 hectares on quaternary deposits, from loose, coarse-grained sand deposits to alluvial soils with calcareous subsoil. Just ten kilometres from the sea, a microclimate that brings Bordeaux varieties to life. Since 2015, Piccin has been going his own way: instead of the prestigious Bolgheri Superiore DOCG, he deliberately chooses the free IGT Toscana, just to be able to add the handful of grapes from Bibbona that make Sapaio what it is today. Sometimes greatness means renouncing titles and regulations.

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

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.

Ugolaia is a name that carries weight in Montalcino. The vineyard is located in the classic Sesta area, exposed to the south-west, in one of the best-sunniest and best-ventilated areas of the entire estate – and it bears a tradition that is taken literally at Lisini: The "veterani" of the company, the most experienced employees who have known the estate for decades, personally graft scions from the company's own massalselection onto wild rootstocks. No clone selection from the catalogue, no technological shortcuts – but knowledge passed on from hand to hand, vintage after vintage.

A wine that takes its name from the estate's last noble family – and thus from a man who left his mark far beyond the world of wine. Conte Guido Chigi Saracini, born in Siena in 1880, was not only the lord of Poggio Bonelli, but also a passionate patron of music. In 1932, he founded the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, still one of the most renowned centres of musical education in the world today. He spent the mildest seasons of the year on his estate in Castelnuovo Berardenga – where the grapes for this Gran Selezione ripen today. It is the highest level of the Chianti Classico pyramid: exclusively Sangiovese from the best south-facing vineyards between 280 and 360 metres above sea level, where sun and wind guarantee even ripeness and aromatic complexity. Strictly limited yields of 50 quintals per hectare, twelve days of temperature-controlled fermentation, a further ten days of maceration on the skins. Then patience: at least 24 months in French oak, followed by bottle ageing.