wine classics

From one of the region's most famous winegrowers, this sparkling wine from a single vineyard shows the serious side of Valdobbiadene. A single vineyard from the year 2000, located directly in front of the winery and therefore close to the village. San Floriano opens with delicate scents of white spring flowers and white stone fruit. The elegant, unobtrusive palate draws all the attention to itself and offers creamy white peach, ripe green apple and a hint of citrus - and all this together with an extremely refined perlage. Delicious! SUPERIORE.DE

The Counts Bracci left their name and coat of arms to this estate: an armoured arm raising a sword. La Braccesca – the word alludes to braccia, the arm. When the Marchesi Antinori took over the estate in 1990, they brought it into the present without alienating it from its history. The first Vino Nobile from this estate was released in the same year – since then, La Braccesca has been one of the reliable addresses in the appellation. The Nobile di Montepulciano is made from Prugnolo Gentile – the local Sangiovese clone of Montepulciano – complemented by a small proportion of Merlot, which rounds off the wine without dominating it.

Monte Carbonare comes from red volcanic iron soils with plenty of black basalt in the centre. Six hectares of 60-70 year old vines in cooler sites, which continue to rise to the crème de la crème of the top sites as the climate warms. A richer wine than the younger Classico, but without the same cheeky vitality. While the Classico is an unbeatable everyday wine, the Monte Carbonare is a complex wine that demands food and a little more contemplation. Mirabelle plum, apricot pit, a hint of dried mango and plenty of smoky, sharp mineral grip, with dutiful freshness that brings wonderful length. SUPERIORE.DE

Il Randagio (the stray) is wonderfully complex and nuanced. Initially quite closed, the delicately spicy nose creeps up with increasing aeration and opens up further into a wonderfully complex bouquet of dark red to black berries. Rising floral, savoury and spicy accents point to a wine that says more about the style of the house than anything else. The palate is wide-ranging with delicate wild berry flavours, perfectly polished tannins and a fresh, very invigorating acid wire that uninhibitedly enhances the drinkability of this once again typically different red. The best days of this wine still lie in the future. SUPERIORE.DE

Gentle in flavour, powerful in body. La Casa in Collina is Vite Colte's charming statement on Barbaresco. Created from traditional grape variety assemblages from old terroirs in a light southern exposure, this wine combines nuance with poise: around 20 days of slow fermentation and a year in large oak barrels create a balance that allows depth without sacrificing elegance. In the glass, the colour is a rich ruby red that thickens to a fine garnet at the edges. The nose opens with a refined profile: ripe plum, red berry and violet, accompanied by coffee powder, tobacco leaf and a hint of fine woody spices, subtly intense but never overwhelming. Lively and carefully structured on the palate, with well-embedded tannins, fresh acidity and dense fruit. The big wood is noticeable, but nuanced. The finish is long, savoury and pleasantly round, with a hint of subtle vanilla and juicy cherry. This Barbaresco is confident and expressive, yet approachable enough to enjoy today. Optimal value for money – good potential available. SUPERIORE.DE

The Ricasoli family has been shaping the history of Chianti Classico since 1141 – longer than any other winery in Italy. Baron Bettino Ricasoli defined the legendary Chianti formula in 1872, which is still valid today. Rocca Guicciarda was once one of the Barone ' most important feudal estates and today embodies the classic interpretation of this traditional appellation. The grapes for this Riserva come from vineyards on the five most representative soil types in Brolio between 280 and 480 metres above sea level: Macigno del Chianti (sandstone), Scaglia Toscana (Galestro), Monte Morello (Alberese) as well as marine and fluvial deposits create a complex terroir mosaic. 90% Sangiovese forms the backbone, supplemented by 5% each of Merlot and Canaiolo. After controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks with 14 to 16 days of maceration, the wine matures for 21 months in tonneaux and large barrels. The result is a Chianti Classico of an intense ruby red colour with light garnet reflections, whose bouquet combines ripe red fruit, raspberry, pomegranate and fine spicy notes. The palate reveals the traditional character: juicy, red berry flavours with fresh acidity and silky tannins – a versatile food companion with balanced drinkability. SUPERIORE.DE

Swiss precision meets Tuscan passion: Monika and Thomas Bär-Bettschart have been realising their dream at the Antico Podere Gagliole in Castellina in Chianti since 1990. Rubiolo is the certified organic homage to over three decades of winegrowing in one of the most beautiful terroirs in Tuscany. Made from pure Sangiovese grapes from both the historic terraces around Castellina and the famous Conca d'Oro in Panzano, this wine epitomises the synthesis of two exceptional vineyards.

The cork oaks still grow on the hills of Gavorrano today – silent, gnarled, enduring. They gave this wine its name. "Le Sughere": the cork oaks. A tribute to the landscape that supports and characterises this estate, long before a Renzo Piano wine cellar was dug into the rock here. The wine itself is the second label of Rocca di Frassinello – and what Oenologist Alessandro Cellai could call the heart of the estate: not the grand gesture, not the introduction, but the substance. Sangioveto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot – the same triad as in the entire estate, the same philosophy of the link between Tuscany and Bordeaux. But this is where the wood comes in for the first time. Twelve months in partly new barriques, then nine months in the bottle: patience as a method.

A wine that made history. When the first vintage of La Selvanella Riserva was presented in 1969, it was a revolution in Chianti Classico – the very first cru from a single vineyard in the entire region. Today, over 50 years later, this Sangiovese classic is still regarded as a benchmark for the elegance and purity of the Radda terroirs. The 50 hectares of the La Selvanella vineyard sit at an altitude of 350 to 550 metres above Radda in Chianti in one of the most privileged positions in the entire region. Wines of exceptional structure and lively acidity are produced here. The perfect south-west exposure and the temperate continental climate create ideal conditions for the capricious Sangiovese to develop its full aromatic complexity.

In 1991, Luca and Valeria Orsini gave up their work in Milan to produce wine in Tuscany. Their winery comprises 10 hectares of south-east facing vineyards in Panzano and the wines have been certified organic since 2000. This outstanding Annata opens discreetly on the nose with subtle scents of cherry blossom, heather and roses. On the palate, it is decidedly red-fruited with redcurrants and raspberries, embraced by finely structured, powdery and persistent tannins. It has a lovely energy and above all lets the true charm of Sangiovese shine through. A real high-flyer in terms of authenticity every year! SUPERIORE.DE

Riserva does not simply mean more time in Gracciano. It means different soil. The Maramai and Podere Rovisci crus provide the grape material for this wine – and Rovisci is the core of the whole: heavy clay content, brooding, water-retaining, with a ripening dynamic that elicits the densest, most concentrated side of the Prugnolo Gentile. Vines, some of which have been planted since 1970. 300 to 350 metres, south to south-east exposure, 30 hectolitres per hectare – consistently limited yields. Only in the best vintages does the della Seta Ferrari Corbelli Greco family decide to bottle a Riserva. 2021 was such a year. Prugnolo Gentile 90%, Merlot 10%. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts, 20 to 25 days of maceration in steel. Then aged for 24 months: the first twelve in French tonneaux of 3.5 and 5 hectolitres, the second twelve in large Slavonian oak barrels. Subsequent maturation in the bottle for at least six months.

Tasting the Riserva from Fattoria del Cerro takes you stylistically to those higher vineyard sites where fossil-rich soils full of pebbles and ancient shell remains lend the Prugnolo Gentile a special mineral depth. The crowning glory of the Montepulciano hierarchy is created from these favoured plots – a wine that requires time and patience to reveal its multi-layered nature. After careful selection, the wine undergoes 18 months of refinement, combining tradition and innovation: Eight months in French barriques and tonneaux, followed by a further twelve to sixteen months in large wooden barrels. This combination creates a character of remarkable elegance and the wood integrates seamlessly without overshadowing the varietal fruit. A final twelve months of maturation in the bottle completes the harmonious development.

This red classic from Montepulciano already bears its claim in its name: nobile. No other wine in Italy has this adjective written into its specifications – and hardly any other producer has honoured it as consistently in recent decades as Federico Carletti and his Poliziano winery. Founded in 1961 by father Dino, today under Federico's leadership and long since anchored in the next generation – with Francesco and Maria Stella, who have been helping to shape the future since 2019 and 2021. Poliziano has been certified organic since the 2021 harvest – not a marketing decision, but the logical conclusion of decades of work without chemical weedkillers and insecticides. Prugnolo Gentile, the local variety of Sangiovese, grows on clay and limestone soils between 300 and 450 metres above sea level. Hand-picked, careful selection in the vineyard and in the cellar, fermentation with indigenous yeasts in conical concrete vats – minimum intervention, maximum expression. Maturation in large barrels and tonneaux: the wood frames, it does not dominate.

Le Redini Rosso consists mainly of Merlot and a small proportion of Alicante. The wine opens with dark intensity and a velvety texture with lots of fresh blackberry, plum, earth and wild rose. Pure red fruit on the palate, very supple, the delicate wood note well integrated. The refined notes of a Merlot from the Conca d'Oro come across wonderfully. SUPERIORE.DE

Dievole's new Chianti Classico Casanova, just released with the debut 2020 vintage, is the result of a quest to highlight the identity characteristics of particularly suitable vineyards, leading to ever more precise expressions of Sangiovese. The Casanova grapes come from a vineyard at an altitude of about 400 metres, with an ideal south-west to south-east exposure and composed mainly of sandstone rocks Macigno del Chianti. The result is a Chianti Classico that is very immediate and direct, with a beautiful acidity to boot. It has the elegance and freshness and the bright, radiant fruit of Chianti Classico "as it used to be".

Dievoles Chianti Classico Petrignano is the result of the endeavour to highlight the identity characteristics of particularly suitable vineyards, leading to ever more precise expressions of Sangiovese. Petrignano is the name of a characteristic area with a soil rich in minerals and stones. At an altitude of around 330 metres, rocks protrude from the ground that are typical of the geological formation of Monte Morello. The abundance of stones, the depth of the roots and the low growth of the vines result in an expressive and lush wine from this characteristic and authentic cru site.

Dievoles Chianti Classico Catignano is the result of the endeavour to highlight the identity characteristics of particularly suitable vineyards, leading to ever more precise expressions of Sangiovese. Catignano is a plateau at 370 metres above sea level, with vineyards of different ages and a large proportion of Alberese. The exposure is westerly and south-easterly, which means plenty of sun during the day, but also cold temperatures at night, with a good temperature range that favours the aromatic development of the grapes.

Strong, bright straw yellow colour. Characterful, youthful and rich bouquet of dried nectarines, peach, yellow apple, mint and a fresh hint of almonds. The depth of its texture is in perfect contrast to the savoury acids, minerals and notes of sour apples, but a feeling of balanced ripeness always remains. The finish is long and structured and seems to melt slowly on the palate, leaving savoury spices and a fine tannin behind. It already has a lot to offer today, but should mature a little more in the bottle for more structure and elegance. A wonderfully exciting interpretation of Garganega from a small single vineyard in the Carbonare region. SUPERIORE.DE

Before there was Soave, there was this wine. In the fifth century, the Roman senator Cassiodorus praised a sweet wine made from dried grapes at the court of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric – acinaticum, the original form of what is now called Recioto di Soave. Fifteen hundred years later, in 1998, it became the first Venetian wine with DOCG status. And yet very few people know it. The story has been reversed: Amarone, which originated in the 1930s as a "runaway" Recioto – a barrel that accidentally fermented through –became a world star. Recioto, its ancestor, remained in the shadows. Guerrieri Rizzardi's version comes from old pergola vines in Costeggiola, planted between 1960 and 1998 on volcanic gravel. Only a third of the harvest is deemed worthy of drying in fruttaio for three to five months – a selection within the selection.

Brilliant ruby red colour. Lively nose of small, primary fruity red berries, subtle use of wood and impressive race and complexity for the price. Precise and taut on the palate, showing its origins boldly and decisively. Then a harmoniously balanced mix of tobacco, leather, cedar and, of course, cherry and plum. The finely balanced tannins carry this powerful and impressive Riserva into a long final. Impressive! SUPERIORE.DE

Trentasei means thirty-six. This Lambrusco spends at least this many months on the lees – in the bottle, at a constant 12°C, according to the Metodo Classico. Christian Bellei is not a winemaker who takes the easy way out. The idea of vinifying Lambrusco di Sorbara according to the Metodo Classico is a conscious commitment: that this grape variety should be – delicate, acidic, with a structural elegance that makes it unique among Lambrusco clones – has the potential to deal with Champagne methodology. 100% Sorbara from the alluvial soils of Secchia, hand-picked in 15-kilogram boxes, gentle pressing, first fermentation in steel, then at least six months waiting time before bottle fermentation. Rémuage, dégorgement, dosage: 5 g/litre. Everything as in Épernay – except that the grapes come from Bomporto.