Wine Spectator

Boscarelli's Il Nocio, a Nobile di Montepulciano from a single vineyard, impressively demonstrates the true essence of the Sangiovese grape and has also been one of the region's quality leaders for years.

The grapes for the profound Le Vigne come from Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba (for the power), Villero in Castiglione Falletto (for the precision), Vignane in Barolo (for the purity of the flavours) and Merli in Novello (for the fullness of the fruit). It opens wide with aromas of fresh red fruit and a delicate spicy note. Very intense on the palate, remarkably elegant, fine-grained tannins, extremely clear, structured and long. SUPERIORE.DE

Andrea Franchetti began in the 1990s to position Palazzi as an equal red alongside his flagship Tenuta di Trinoro, with the aim of producing two exceptional wines reminiscent of the left and right banks of Bordeaux.

Those with less patience can open now. Those with foresight should wait. The PS Riserva 2019 is at one of those points where a great Brunello shows what it has in store for the first time – and at the same time makes it clear that not everything has worked out yet. 2019 is considered one of the most substantial vintages in recent Montalcino history: complex, structured, with a concentration resulting from excellent seasonal conditions and perfect tannin maturity. For the one and a half hectares of the oldest parcels in Pelagrilli – whose vines are now over fifty years old – this meant a harvest of rare intensity. Giancarlo's uncompromising selection, optical sorter, double hand-picking, fermentation in steel, 24 months in small French oak barrels: everything serves a single purpose.

"The dynamic vintage produced rich and structured wines, with each of the grape varieties expressing their particular qualities. We got a classic Ornellaia, combining sunny ripeness with elegance in a wine defined by harmony and proportion." Axel Heinz, Gutsdirektor

For Biondi Santis Riserva, the fruits of the oldest vines of Il Greppo (30 years and older) are used, the wine matures for three years in traditional oak barrels. On the nose, initially fine aromas of wild berries, blue flowers, eucalyptus and lightly grilled smoke. The intensity increases in small steps. With time, the wine is magnificent and focused, with a very direct and impressive presentation of its aromas. The wine leaves a lasting impression in the mouth, thanks to the textural tautness of its tannins and the refreshing crispness of the acidity, finally showing more power, volume and persistence than expected on the long final. Subtle and big! SUPERIORE.DE

Classic Sangiovese interpretation with a wonderful balance of elegance and power. Very firm, dark fruit, fine-grained tannins and a well-dosed acid wire. As it progresses, it opens up with a wealth of aromas of forest fruits, violets and freshly ploughed earth. A magical wine from a great vintage with an already recognisable longevity and great potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Giovanni Neri died in 1986, fifteen years after buying Podere Casanova. He had lived the dream – but not long enough to see what became of it. His son Giacomo and his grandsons Giovanni and Gianlorenzo continue to live his dream. And on the fiftieth anniversary of the first vineyard, they dedicated a wine to the founder that bears his name – and his attitude: the belief that Montalcino can do more than the world thought at the time. The vineyard is old and untamed, as the estate itself puts it – vines over fifty years old that have never stopped taking deep roots.

The Falletto vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba is considered the centrepiece of Bruno Giacosa's work. The south and south-west facing slopes with calcareous marl soils produce Nebbiolo with unmistakable depth and structure. The 2020 vintage was characterised by a warm, sunny summer, balanced by cool nights and a long, stable autumn – ideal conditions for fully ripe, aromatically complex grapes with precise acidity.

Brunello Giovanni Neri exudes all the outstanding qualities of the raw material and the winemaker's craft. Man and nature unite here in perfect precision and harmony. Its balance is exquisite. Strong cherry and blackberry notes are followed by crushed minerals, liquorice, smoke and slightly fragrant cedar wood notes. The wine spreads evenly and powerfully on the palate, and its flavour intensity can be counted on for many minutes. Giovanni Neri Brunello is wonderfully concentrated and rich, but never too heavy or even too dense. SUPERIORE.DE

The fruit for Tenuta Nuova is harvested from a south and south-east facing slope at 250 to 300 metres above sea level. The soils are loose and mixed with gravel, which allows access to air and moisture.

Giacomo Neri's rather new top Brunello was born with the purchase of a very special vineyard. True to the winery's philosophy of producing wines only from the best terroirs around Montalcino, a small 7-hectare parcel with over 45-year-old vines was acquired a few years ago. This was preceded by over 40 years of friendship with the previous owners, with whom Giacomo's father Giovanni Neri planted the vines and nurtured them over the past decades.

Rabajà is the most fleshy, full-bodied terroir in Barbaresco. The name has appeared in the archives of Piedmont for centuries – time and again as a reference for exceptional Nebbiolo from the south-western amphitheatre above Martinenga, where the slopes fall towards the Tanaro and the soils of calcareous blue clay with sand inclusions give the Nebbiolo a rare combination of fullness and freshness. Hardly anyone owns land here; Vietti holds just under half a hectare – 2021 was an exceptional year for Barbaresco: "Ottobrate" (golden October days) in the truest sense of the word, uniform ripeness, cool nights into October, 25 days of maceration more than in other vintages – more than in other vintages because the quality allowed it. Then around 30 months in large oak barrels.

The grapes come from the MGA Rabajà in the municipality of Barbaresco. The soils are calcareous and clayey, with a south/south-west exposure and an altitude of around 235-315 metres above sea level. The average age of the vines is 51 years and they are cultivated according to the Guyot system. SUPERIORE.DE

Tenuta Nuova means "new winery". And the name carries weight: when Giacomo Neri acquired the land around Le Cetine near the Abbazia di Sant'Antimo in southern Montalcino in the early 1990s, nobody had planted Sangiovese there yet. This was not an oversight – it was a judgement that Giacomo Neri wanted to revise. Not out of spite, but out of conviction: that this terrain, this microclimate, these soils have the potential for a Brunello with its own character. What followed was not a gut feeling, but a method. Systematic analyses of the microclimates, the optimal exposures, the soils – clone selection, rootstock research, planting distances, everything scrutinised, everything decided. The first result came in 1993, and a few years later the rest of the world was talking about it.

A Grand Cru of Franciacorta – from a single, high-altitude Pinot Nero parcel, selected and vinified with the utmost precision. The 2013 matured on the lees for more than seven years and was disgorged without dosage in order to reveal the pure character of the vineyard. In the glass, it shines in a rich gold colour with copper reflections, interspersed with an ultra-fine, persistent perlage. The nose is deep and multi-faceted: ripe apricot, candied orange peel, rosehip, fine brioche notes, hazelnut and a hint of smoke. Powerful and focussed on the palate, carried by taut, crystal-clear acidity and a silky texture. The fruit remains subtle, while salty minerality and fine toasted notes create great inner tension. The final is long, cool and complex, with hints of dried herbs and citrus zest. A Franciacorta of rare depth and nobility – uncompromising, clear and of impressive longevity. SUPERIORE.DE

2019 is considered one of the vintage highlights of the last decade in Barolo: cool nights, sunny days and a long vegetation period led to perfectly balanced ripeness. In Bricco Pernice, this meant maximum aromatic clarity and structural depth. The high, south-westerly exposure in the Ravera cru site ensures an interplay of warmth and freshness, while the calcareous marl soils promote a taut, vertical style.

Luce is the iconic wine of the estate of the same name and symbolises the harmonious balance between the elegant structure of Sangiovese and the richness of Merlot. The wine marries the tradition and terroir of the Montalcino region with a personal interpretation of this extraordinary land.

Bricco Pernice, usually harvested a little earlier, is a warm, south-facing plot in the top Ravera vineyard at an altitude of 320 metres. Cognos Barolo offers the depth, richness and concentration that characterise this site and vintage. Blood orange, mint, sweet red cherry, star anise and a range of spicy notes give it an impressive aromatic and flavour complexity. Medium-bodied, refined and expressive on the palate, it has a lot to offer. The best thing is that, despite its potential, it is easy to drink after just a few years in the bottle. It is a graceful wine: polished, nuanced, elegant and impeccably balanced. SUPERIORE.DE

In the quiet of 2019, Paolo De Marchi's decades-long vision of Cabernet Sauvignon as an authentic terroir expression of the Tuscan soul came to fruition. After more than forty years of tireless viticultural revolution, the maestro proved once again that international grape varieties do not become commonplace wines on the Galestro and Alberese soils of Isole e Olena, but express their new home in every drop. Only 10,000 0.75-litre bottles and 240 magnums were produced from the south-west-facing vineyards at altitudes between 350 and 400 metres. The 2019 benefits from an almost ideal vintage: mild winters, balanced rainfall in spring and a classically dry Tuscan summer produced grapes of exceptional concentration and elegance. 24 months in French barriques, forty per cent of them new, followed by three years of bottle ageing – this patience creates a wine of impressive complexity.

Luigi Veronelli would have turned one hundred years old on 2 February 2026. This is no ordinary anniversary for Castellare di Castellina, because without Veronelli, this wine would not exist. It was 1976 when he was walking through the vineyards of Castellare with Paolo Panerai and stopped at the descent to the estate's most beautiful parcel. "Paolo, call it I Sodi di S. Niccolò," he said. And then, even before Panerai could explain the choice of grape variety, he haunting: "Forget the French varieties. Sangioveto and Malvasia Nera – they are better." It was exactly what Panerai himself thought. The first harvest followed in 1977.

The grapes for the "Suolo" Brunello selection come from the vineyard of the same name and from the estate's oldest vines. They lie at an altitude of 320 metres on soils of clay-limestone marl rich in skeletons and fossils. It is the ideal terroir to fully express the character of the old Sangiovese Grosso clones and gives the wine an acidic, spicy profile. Only part of the vineyard parcels are used for this label. Long ageing in 15-hectolitre Allier oak barrels and a resting period in the bottle complete it and prepare it for the market and the challenge of time. Around 5,000 bottles are bottled only in the best vintages.

The single vineyard Falletto in Serralunga d'Alba is one of the centrepieces of the Barolo region. On steep, south-facing slopes, whose marl and sandstone soils store heat and contribute minerality, Nebbiolo matures here into wines of great structure and depth. The 2021 vintage is considered one of the best of the last decade: a stable summer with cool nights and sunny days allowed for long, even ripening and produced grapes of rare balance.

Mazzei's top wine Siepi is not only an outstanding Tuscan wine every year, but also a 6-hectare vineyard in the middle of dense oak forests with an ideal altitude and a unique climate. The sunshine is optimal throughout the day and a constant breeze from the west prevents excessive heat and creates a mild, Mediterranean climate. The oak forests also provide an ideal protective barrier against extreme weather conditions. Rocky soils of marl, limestone and clay from the Pliocene period ensure a special balance of elements in this geological complex.