Wine Enthusiast

Opulent nose of red berries, pleasant smoky notes and fine herbal spice. Opulent and round on the palate, the fine tannins give the wine a delicate but firm structure and the necessary seriousness through to the long, soft finish. The well-integrated wood and the fruit of the Cabernet grape find an exciting symbiosis here in a very harmonious way with the rather strict and taut Petit Verdot style. SUPERIORE.DE

The showpiece of the Zenato winery from the terrific year 2006 with a perfect balance between expressiveness, elegance and almost infinite length. SUPERIORE.DE

Le Volte dell'Ornellaia is far more than just an entry-level wine – it is the stylistic calling card of an icon that has been setting standards in Bolgheri since 1981. While Ornellaia itself is one of the most sought-after wines in Italy, Le Volte embodies the same philosophy and relentless pursuit of perfection, only in a more accessible form. The name – the vaults – refers to the historic cellar vaults of the estate, where the great vintages have already matured. As the third wine from Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, it combines Mediterranean expressiveness with the structural complexity that has made the estate famous.

"Per Bacco!" – by the Bacchus! – is what people shout in Italy when something extraordinary happens. And that's exactly what happens in this glass: a Nebbiolo that carries the DNA of fifteen Barolo Grand Cru vineyards, complemented by selected Barbaresco parcels, vinified like a great Barolo – but accessible, lively and affordable. Each individual vineyard is vinified separately, matured for two years in large oak barrels and then selected for blending.

Barolo Prapò comes from Serralunga d'Alba and is, as expected, the most powerful and structured of the various single-vineyard wines from this ambitious estate. At the same time, it is also the most closed at the beginning and, with its introverted nature, is made for a long ageing period. This site is one of the last where the grapes ripen, giving them plenty of time to develop slowly and carefully each year.

The name Tresette is derived from the fact that only 2,800 bottles of this single-varietal Merlot are produced each year and it is aged in three Liters French oak barrels. The grapes come from old vines on a plot 480 metres above sea level, and it is only vinified in the best years. Tresette is a cool, archetypal Merlot that is very elegant and unique in Tuscany and is entirely in keeping with the house style. Juicy blackberry flavours, clove, herbs and spices on the nose. Enveloped by supple tannins, this fresh red leads into a delicious finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Ceretto's Barolo Bussia comes from one of the most famous cru sites bordering the municipalities of Monforte d'Alba and Barolo, sourcing its Nebbiolo fruit from a 7,000 square metre plot in Bussia Soprana in Monforte d'Alba. Just 3,500 1/1 bottles and 200 magnums are bottled.

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 name says it all – and rarely has a wine deserved its name so consistently. Quartz: a mineral that was formed in fire, has survived for millions of years and is still visible today in Terlan's soils as a fine speckle in the volcanic porphyry rock. 55 to 60 per cent quartz content, slightly acidic pH value, skeleton-rich sandy-loamy structure without carbonate – a soil that allows water to pass through, rations nutrients and puts the vine under controlled stress. This micro-stress is not a deficiency. It is intentional. It forces the plant to produce terroir-specific polyphenols, which give the wine the savoury tension for which Terlan is internationally renowned.

When Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti bought a farmstead in the village of Notri, south of the medieval town of Suvereto in the Colline Metallifere, in 1984, they had no wine plan. They wanted nature, peace and quiet, a piece of land. The passion for wine changed that – slowly, inevitably, as it always does. The first vintage of Giusto di Notri was produced in 1992, named after San Giusto, the patron saint of Suvereto, and after the location of the estate itself. Eight years later, her Redigaffi was the first Italian wine ever to receive 100 points from Robert Parker. Tua Rita had redrawn the wine map of the Maremma.

Poggio Antico's noble new addition to the portfolio makes its debut in the very first vintage with the typical class of the winery: precise and with great personality, it shows a lively fruit of outstanding quality, reminiscent of black plums, blackberries, pressed blueberries, plums, wild myrtle, milk chocolate, roasted hazelnuts and a light vanilla note. Citrus undertones and an elegant acid wire slim down the extract sweetness in the best possible way. Full-bodied on the palate, very well polished tannins and a solid, powerful finish that shows both muscle and relaxation. The grapes come from the small vineyard of the same name at over 550 metres above sea level. 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

The excellent Cabernet-Merlot blend Giusto di Notri is a concentrated wine with an intense, rich flavour. A perfectly balanced bouquet of blackberry, blackcurrant and fine herbal spice. Compact on the palate with a well-tempered balance between fruit and oak, plus a distinctive tannin, promising and powerful in the final. SUPERIORE.DE

There are wines that become living memories. There are grape varieties that only discover their true calling when they are far from home. And there is sibling love that survives death and becomes immortal in liquid form. Dedicato a Walter is all of this at the same time – above all a 100% Cabernet Franc of such moving purity that it is one of the rarest and most precious treasures not only of Bolgheri, but of Italy as a whole. Walter Allegrini died far too young in 2003, just two years after he had begun to realise the Tuscan dream together with his sister Marilisa. But his spirit lives on in those three magical hectares of the Via Bolgherese vineyard, the most prestigious area of Bolgheri, reverentially known as the "Soprastrada". This extraordinary plantation with south-west exposure at only 56 metres above sea level benefits from Bolgheri's unique microclimate, where salty sea breezes meet the intense exposure of the Tuscan coast. The Cabernet Franc – the noble grape variety that traditionally ensures elegance and finesse in Bordeaux blends – finds the ideal conditions here to develop completely independently and in its purest form.

If the white Annamaria Clementi is the backbone of the house, then the rosé is the colourful counterpart - a counterpart full of independence, depth and almost aristocratic discipline. The Cuvée Rosé 2015 is a sparkling wine that goes far beyond what is commonly understood by rosé sparkling wine. Pinot Nero in its purest form, vinified according to the Méthode Saignée - one of the most demanding techniques that must harmonise fruit, structure and noblesse. The 2015 vintage in Franciacorta was characterised by ripeness, density and remarkable balance. The Pinot Nero grapes come from high-altitude vineyards with limestone-rich subsoil. After a short maceration, only the free-run must is processed, fermented in small French oak barriques and matured on the fine lees for seven months. This is followed by a second fermentation in the bottle - and then patience: over 8 years on the lees before the wine is disgorged as extra brut, with minimal dosage.

Brunello di Montalcino by Poggio di Sotto is an explosive wine, full and dark. Black cherries, menthol, spices and freshly tanned leather are just some of the diverse aromas. The palate is dense, enveloping and fantastically flowing. Accentuated acidity, perfectly integrating the tannins, finishes on notes of ripe stone fruit, leather and mushrooms. An absolutely fascinating, sublime wine (for the advanced) at the highest level. SUPERIORE.DE

There are moments in the history of Italian viticulture that shine like beacons through time. 1962 was one such moment when Fabrizio Bianchi, driven by a vision and surrounded by the scepticism of his contemporaries, made a decision that would change Chianti Classico forever. He dared to vinify the grapes from a single vineyard separately: Il Poggio. What began as an experiment became a revolution – the first cru of Chianti Classico was born. Il Poggio – "the hill" – lies in the heart of Monsanto like a natural amphitheatre, surrounded by wild cypresses, juniper bushes and strawberry trees. Here, on the characteristic Galestro soils between 280 and 320 metres above sea level, the Sangiovese vines have driven their roots deep into the slate-like rock over the decades. These soils – a gift of geological history – give the wine the mineral depth and structural complexity that have made Il Poggio a living legend.

"This vintage has confirmed once again that a great harvest is produced when perfect conditions are created before the harvest, and this was the case in 2017. The result is a wine with great personality, generous on the nose, enveloping and sensual, which surprises on the palate with its freshness and the surprising balance that makes it so pleasant. Fire and ice, sweetness and juiciness, balsamic and fruit, a mix of ingredients that make this vintage very pleasant, but also give it the seriousness of a great Brunello di Montalcino." Francesco Ripaccioli

This is more than just a sparkling wine. It is the vinified legacy of a visionary. In 1902, Giulio Ferrari dreamt of Italian sparkling wines that could rival the French greats in his small cellar in Via Belenzani. In 1980, the Lunelli family dedicated the house's most precious label to him – the Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore. 100% Chardonnay. No compromise, no cuvée, just the purest essence of the white king grape variety of Trentino. The grapes come exclusively from the highest sites of the Lunelli family vineyards, where the mountains frame Trento and where drastic day-night temperature fluctuations guarantee the acidity that makes world-class sparkling wines possible in the first place. So subtle and nuanced that there is really no doubt that "Giulio" is the most elegant label in the Italian sparkling wine world.

Dark ruby colour with a light rim. Dark red fruit, cedar wood and crushed rock with a fine grilled flavour on the nose. A well-balanced wine to which the cooler sites and the light sea breeze give both profile and contour. SUPERIORE.DE

Coming from one of the most historic vineyards in Neive, Albesani is a Barbaresco with a classic character and great precision. The south-western slope with calcareous and clayey soils gives the Nebbiolo here a powerful structure without masking its delicate flavour. Thanks to balanced temperatures and a long growing season, the 2021 vintage produced grapes with optimal phenolic ripeness.

1172 – the year in which Volpaia is first mentioned in documents. A small, fortified borgo on a hill north of Radda in Chianti, built as a border fortress between Florence and Siena. Today it is a jewel of peace and beauty and one of the most historic wine villages in Tuscany. Here, where soldiers once stood guard, the Stianti-Mascheroni families now press their grapes within the medieval walls. The bottles mature in the vaults of old churches and almost every cellar contains a tank of organic wine. An entire village dedicated to viticulture. So complete that it becomes poetic again. The Riserva is made from 100% Sangiovese from vineyards between 400 and 600 metres above sea level. One of the highest wineries in the region. Up here, where the air is thin and the nights are cool, Sangiovese develops the elegance and minerality that makes Volpaia so distinctive. Sandstone, clay and sandy-loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton. Manual harvest in the second half of September, temperature-controlled vinification, then 24 months in French and Slovenian oak barrels.

On the nose, dark red cherries, cherry brandy, menthol, pine wood and spices. The silky finish is enveloped by sweet, floral notes. The top 2016 vintage is characterised by its fine texture and impeccable overall balance with equally high density. For us, it is one of the most rounded, precise and rich Brunello of this vintage, with an ageing potential that will meet every expectation. SUPERIORE.DE