Wine Enthusiast

Some of the Alanera grapes are air-dried before fermentation using the appassimento method to promote the concentration of flavours. Dark ruby red in colour. On the nose, the aroma of dried and fresh cherries, with a hint of coffee and sweet tobacco. The palate is berry-fresh with a lovely acid wire and fine tannins. A full, round wine for many occasions. SUPERIORE.DE

Neré comes from organic cultivation on volcanic soils near Noto, where the vines benefit from cool breezes and intense sunlight – a terroir that balances ripeness and freshness. Rich ruby-violet colour, very clear and intense bouquet with strong notes of dark fruit and a hint of violets. Juicy, fresh with lots of ripe berry fruit on the palate. Round, supple and dense with a fruity, savoury final, serve chilled. SUPERIORE.DE

Tedeschi's Valpolicella Lucchine is a lively, fruity red wine without the use of wood. It impresses with juicy cherry and berry fruit, fine acidity and flavours of violets, herbs and spices. Light, fresh and elegant - a classic full of character with great drinking pleasure. SUPERIORE.DE

Ceregio is designed as an early ready-to-drink wine due to its quicker and lighter vinification. Intense ruby red colour. Red fruits in the glass, especially cherry and pomegranate. Good correspondence with the nose on the palate, juicy and vinous, with good tannin density and reasonable length. A "wine for every day" with refinement and an enviable balance, it presents its beautiful concentration and fruitiness without frills. SUPERIORE.DE

The country dance (controdanza) is a typical dance in which man and woman face each other and unite in graceful movements - depending on their gender, the dancers interpret the music in their own way. This wine is exactly the same: Nero d'Aola and Merlot - opposites attract and, with the right sensitivity, can harmonise and contrast wonderfully.

This traditional cuvée is a delight even in its youth. Made from exceptional grapes, it reveals the ripe fruit and richness of the three classic vineyards. A deep ruby-garnet colour with violet highlights. A full bouquet of dusty violets and roses, evolving into spiced confectionery and crushed cherries. On the palate, fresh cherries, mixed herbs and undergrowth emerge – all well-balanced – lending the wine a lightness and, at the same time, a complexity that keeps you coming back for more. SUPERIORE.DE

Elisabetta Geppetti is more than just a winemaker – she is the "Signora del Morellino", the energetic woman who took over the reins of the family winery at the age of just 20 and helped the Maremma region to achieve international renown. When she pressed the first Morellino in 1985, she laid the foundations for a success story that continues to this day. This wine is the quantitative and qualitative calling card of Le Pupille – a constant, authentic expression of the terroir between Pereta and Magliano in Tuscany. The Morellino combines Sangiovese (90%) with Alicante and the autochthonous Ciliegiolo (5% each) from vineyards exposed to the south-west at an altitude of 50 to 250 metres. The vines, some of which are over 40 years old, are rooted in skeleton-rich, clayey and ferrous soils, cooled by sea breezes and strengthened by pronounced day-night temperature differences. After the harvest at the end of September, the must ferments on the skins for 15 days and matures for eight months, mainly in stainless steel tanks with a small proportion in used barriques.

Steep slopes, barren limestone, untamed nature – the Monti Garbi above Mezzane di Sotto are not pleasing wine country. When the Castagnedi brothers opened up these rugged heights in 1989, people in eastern Valpolicella were still focussing on quantity. They focussed on character. The grapes are harvested by hand and gently pressed. In October, the young wine undergoes its second birth: re-fermentation on the pomace of the estate's own Amarone – ripasso in the original sense. Malolactic fermentation and ageing in Liters tonneaux lend depth without heaviness. Ruby red in colour, juicy and enveloping, infused with a spicy freshness that owes its signature to the chalky white skeletal soils. Great value! SUPERIORE.DE

This Sangiovese expression full of character, which bears the authentic face of Chianti Classico, comes from the privileged vineyards around Castellina in Chianti. The Zingarelli family, who have been dedicated to this exceptional terroir for five decades, rely on hand-picked grapes, predominantly Sangiovese with a subtle proportion of Merlot, for their classic wine. Lively ruby red in the glass with a youthful brilliance. The intense bouquet develops ripe aromas of raspberries and wild strawberries, accompanied by notes of violets and an elegant spiciness with subtle nuances of wood. On the palate, the wine is balanced, structured and warm, with a silky body and fine, never intrusive tannins. The lively freshness harmonises perfectly with the fruity concentration and leads to a lingering aromatic finish. A Chianti Classico that masterfully combines tradition and modernity and expresses the typicality of its origin with youthful purity. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1968, a Turin father sent his fifteen-year-old son to the countryside as a punishment – the boy had marched in student protests. The son's name was Aldo Vajra, the land was Barolo, and the punishment turned into a vocation. Three years later, the winery was the first organic winery in Piedmont. Today, Aldo and Milena and their three children Giuseppe, Francesca and Isidoro run forty hectares in the highest vineyards in the municipality of Barolo – and prove with this Moscato that a house that cultivates legendary Nebbiolo crus such as Bricco delle Viole also takes the supposedly light wines seriously.

Light red bitter liqueur made from various herbs and fruits, such as sweet oranges, bitter oranges, rhubarb, marjoram and thyme. Aromatic and balanced. For mixing with dry frizzante, water, freshly squeezed orange juice and as an ingredient in countless cocktails that want to be flavoured with a bitter note. SUPERIORE.DE

Brilliant ruby red colour. Intense bouquet of small red berries, cherries and a violet-spice component. Warm and full flavours of forest fruits and cherries on the palate, flanked by a solid tannin structure. The finish is soft and long, medium-bodied and very elegant. SUPERIORE.DE

The hill. A solitary, 50-metre-high ridge south of Margreid, which gives the Pinot Grigio its name and character. The soil is unusual: grey, loamy sand with a high clay content – —no porphyry, no limestone gravel—but a soft, nutrient-rich deposit that gives the Pinot Grigio a richness and freshness that poorer soils simply cannot provide. Margreid’s Mediterranean climate – — warm summers, mild winters, and the afternoon ‘Ora’ breeze from Lake Garda – ensures the grapes ripen evenly and develop their aromas. Hand-harvested, clarified must, three weeks’ fermentation in stainless steel, five months on the fine lees.

The classic from the heart of Chianti Classico: Brolio combines the excellent drinkability of a young Chianti Classico with a complex, complete structure. The vineyards grow on the historic Castello di Brolio between 280 and 480 metres above sea level on five representative soil types – from sandstone to galestro and marine sediments. Intense ruby red colour. Fresh, floral nose with notes of chinotto, violets and mimosa, leading to fruity nuances of black cherries and sweet mint. Velvety and complex on the palate with great harmony, elegant structure and a long, mineral final. A textbook Chianti Classico from a historic terroir. SUPERIORE.DE

Only one wine ever bears the name of the estate – and there is a reason for this. The Montecucco Rosso Riserva is the centrepiece of production: the wine that most directly expresses the philosophy of the estate. Italian passion meets Swiss precision – is how the Tipa Bertarelli family itself describes its approach. In the glass, this is convincing every year anew. 80% Sangiovese, 10% Ciliegiolo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon – grapes from vineyards on sandstone, marl and clay at 300 metres. Spontaneous fermentation on natural yeast in temperature-controlled steel tanks, followed by 16 months of ageing: the Sangiovese in 40-hectolitre oak barrels, Ciliegiolo and Cabernet in 500-litre French oak Liters.

Harmonious, velvety Pinot Noir from vineyards at an altitude of around 450 metres. These hills with special conglomerate soils of clay and limestone and the very suitable microclimate form the ideal conditions for a clear Pinot Nero full of character. Bright ruby to garnet red in colour. Fine, ripe aroma of dark berries and sour cherry. Harmonious and soft on the palate with a good balance of fruit and body. SUPERIORE.DE

Federico II di Svevia, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Sicily, had a special affection for the hills around Monte Vulture. Here, in Basilicata, he had castles built that still stand today. And he loved the wines of the Vulture – those deep, mineral reds that came from the lava soils of the extinct volcano. The Terre degli Svevi estate, founded in 1998, honours his legacy with the name of its flagship wine: Re Manfredi – king Manfred, his son, the fearless warrior. 100% Aglianico, grown at 420 metres in Venosa, on volcanic soil rich in calcium, nitrogen and tuff – the mineral foundation on which the character of this wine is built. A continental climate with harsh winters, hot summers and pronounced temperature fluctuations.

In 2010, Marco Cirese, grandson of Noelia Ricci, started a project within Tenuta Pandolfa: nine hectares of the best plots, a radical focus on Sangiovese, back to the origins. The label is adorned with a wasp – the insect that lives in the vineyard like no other. The vines are planted at an altitude of 250 to 300 metres, on ochre-coloured clay soils with limestone marl, in 2002. Spontaneous fermentation, 18 days of maceration, then six months in stainless steel – without clarification, without filtration. Purism as a principle.

Expressive Vermentino from naturally farmed vineyards in Castagneto Carducci. The 2024 vintage featured mild weather with sunny days and cool nights – an ideal profile for freshness and aromatic clarity. The wine fermented in stainless steel at a low temperature and then matured for several months on the fine lees to optimise the fruit and structure.

Where the salty breezes of the Tyrrhenian Sea meet the last foothills of the Colline Metallifere, the Mediterranean character of this exceptional red wine unfolds in all its splendour. The name Mediterra says it all: it embodies the flavours of the Tuscan maquis and that enticing saltiness that only wines from the immediate vicinity of the sea are capable of developing.

The little cherry. The name reveals its personality: this autochthonous Maremma variety openly bears its flavour in its name, and it means business. Ciliegiolo was at home in Maremma for a long time, but then fell out of fashion because Cabernet and Sangiovese virtually monopolised the region's attention. Now it is returning – and Belguardo is one of the first houses to take it seriously again. The vineyards are situated at 100 metres, west-facing, on sandy Arenaria soils with a fine pebble content. The western exposure gives the wine a freshness and lightness that cannot be taken for granted in the Maremma. Francesco Mazzei describes it as "exceptionally lively and fresh – and surprisingly deep at the same time."

A deep yellow colour; the bouquet is elegant and fragrant, with notes of exotic fruits, peach, lemon zest, hazelnut and chalk. Medium to full-bodied, with layers of ripe fruit and bright, penetrating acidity. A polished, long and delicate finish. SUPERIORE.DE