Wine Spectator

Of all its wines, the flagship Tenuta di Trinoro offers the deepest insight into the Franchetti family's viticulture. The proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from limestone and clay soils is adjusted each year depending on the quality and quantity of the harvest. The grapes are always the best of the vintage and come from the very best plots. The unique style of this Tuscan wine icon is recognisable with every vintage.

The high density of the vines, planted in a south-facing amphitheatre, ensured perfect ripening in 2021. Costa Russi is full-bodied and fleshy and has a deep red colour. Beautiful scents of peony and lilies, followed by exquisite blackberry fruit combined with raspberry coulis and a hint of pepper. The fruit is slightly darker than the other Barbaresco wines from Gaja with a hint of spice and pungency. Excellent expression, vibrancy, freshness and charm. The tannins are deceptively soft and generous, this wine is wonderful now but will be even better in a decade. SUPERIORE.DE

Altesinos Montosoli displays the famous characteristics of this particular site, which are always characterised by a pronounced mineral intensity, with hints of crushed granite and lead pencil layers. The five-hectare vineyard has a higher concentration of Galestro clay-slate rock, and the altitude contributes to the freshness of the wine.

At the centre of the Via Bolgherese, that legendary wine route where the Tuscan dream and the Bordeaux vision merge into an indelible myth, lies a small kingdom of just 5.5 hectares. Here, nestled between the giants Ornellaia to the right and Sassicaia to the left, Antonio Moretti Cuseri and his sons Alberto and Amedeo tell a story of unbridled passion, a story called Orma. Orma means footprint. And this 2021 truly leaves one in the soul of the taster. The purest expression of an exceptional vintage, this organically certified Bordeaux blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc unfolds like a symphony in purple and garnet. The Mediterranean sun of Bolgheri, tempered by the salty breezes of the Tyrrhenian Sea, gave the grapes that unique ripeness that only a few terroirs in the world are capable of producing.

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

Campo del Drago is a single vineyard of just 1.5 hectares and is located on a high plateau in the Montalcino appellation with a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The grapes from here are only vinified separately in the best years for the Brunello of the same name and the result is then eagerly awaited around 5 years later. Dark, concentrated colour with beautiful saturation and density. The bouquet reveals a unique minerality and complexity. The palate is intense, complex and deep. The tannins are present, but remain very elegant thanks to the Sangiovese acidity. Can still mature, but is already irresistible today. SUPERIORE.DE

Vietti's Ravera is one of the very big stars of Piedmont in its precision and structure. Rose petals, chalk, pepper and a hint of pomegranate make this Barolo one of the most sought-after in the appellation every year. With a little ageing, the strong tannins give way to an elegant impression that does not deviate one millimetre from the coveted style of this great vineyard. A monument of Barolo, which only a few other winemakers in Piedmont besides Vietti and also Giacosa bottle with such consistency! SUPERIORE.DE

Roagna's Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti opens with a bright garnet-red colour and a deep, shiny glow. The fruit of old vines manages to reach the impossible point between power and elegance. The wine shows a delicate and bright bouquet, but also a compact fruit and a long finish. You can feel this extra fullness on the finish. The production is around 2,500 bottles. SUPERIORE.DE

Roagna's Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti opens with a bright garnet-red colour and a deep, shiny glow. The fruit of old vines manages to reach the impossible point between power and elegance. The wine shows a delicate and bright bouquet, but also a compact fruit and a long finish. You can feel this extra fullness on the finish. The production is around 2,500 bottles. SUPERIORE.DE

This breathtaking Barbaresco (total production approx. 1,300 bottles) shows more power and intensity than you would normally find in a Barbaresco. It opens with heady aromas of wild berries, new leather, undergrowth and menthol. On the palate, it shows ripe black raspberries, juicy cherries and liquorice before finishing on a tobacco note. It is still youthfully nervous and somewhat austere, it still needs some time to develop fully. SUPERIORE.DE

Angelo Gaja's 2021 Barbaresco is a wine with poise and grace that has a lot to offer. Expressive spicy and floral notes are the first to open up, but what really stands out is the wine's nuance and delineation. The transparency is unmistakable. Sweet red cherries, mint, cinnamon and rose petals develop in the glass and add further nuances. The flavour is balanced and spicy, the tannins firm and the finish precise and long. This muscular monument of a red wine definitely needs a few more years of bottle ageing, with a little patience it will transform into pure elegance. Put simply, the 2021 is one of the best Gaja Barbarescos of recent times. SUPERIORE.DE

Here, excellence of man and nature come together with perfect precision and harmony. Powerful cherry and blackberry notes are followed by crushed minerals, liquorice, smoke and lightly scented cedar. Spreads evenly across the palate and its flavour intensity, power and volume last for minutes. The exquisite 2015 Cerretalto is concentrated and rich, but never too heavy or dense. It is a highly compelling Italian icon with the truly exciting world of perceived unlimited possibilities still ahead of it. We can be more than excited ... SUPERIORE.DE

When Luca Roagna guides guests through his wines, he serves this one last. Not by chance, not for dramatic effect – but because nothing can come after the Pajè Vecchie Viti. The wine with the most pronounced tannic structure, he says, deserves the final say. The vines from which this Barbaresco is made are 80–90 years old. This is not a marketing term – the law does not recognise "Vecchie Viti" – but a simple truth. Over the decades, the roots have learnt to dig through countless layers of calcareous marl, drawing water and minerals from depths that remain inaccessible to younger vines. What they send upwards is more concentrated, more complex and utterly unique. Between 2,000 and 3,000 bottles are produced annually from this selection in the Pajè amphitheatre. The upper part of the vineyard, where the mineral character is most pronounced, goes into the Crichet Pajè – down here, the Vecchie Viti is made. It matures for five years in large wooden casks and concrete tanks before leaving the estate.

1937. Europe was on the brink of disaster, yet someone planted Nebbiolo. These vines still stand today – some on their original roots, protected by calcareous soils in which the phylloxera had never been able to take hold decades earlier. Others were propagated using an ancient technique: a shoot from the mother vine is bent underground, takes root and becomes a vine in its own right. Genetically identical, yet reborn. In this way, the vineyard rejuvenates itself without losing its identity. One and a half hectares within the Pira monopoly position are reserved for these 'veterans'. Antonio Galloni described the 2019 vintage as "one of the most moving, beautiful wines I have ever tasted here" – 99 points for something that is, in truth, beyond rating. For this Barolo is not about power, but about aroma and depth.

Some vineyards are bought. Some are inherited. This one was won at cards. In 1961, a 0.22-hectare plot in the heart of Asili changed hands – the previous owner, so the story goes, had been exceptionally unlucky at cards. Giovanni Roagna had the better hand. Or perhaps he had better luck. The Piedmontese called this site "Asei" in their dialect – one of the historic vineyards south of the village of Barbaresco. The plot lies exactly in the centre of the hill, where Luca Roagna identifies the "most classic" part of the cru. The soil is characterised by calcareous marl interspersed with reddish-yellow veins of sand. The vines, now at least 80 years old, are not tended – they are left to their own devices. Wild grasses cover the ground; Luca does not plough, and the permaculture remains untouched.

Beguiling aroma of sweet, dark berries with hints of cassis, cedar and antique leather. Very balanced on the palate, of beautiful viscosity with an elegant melting. Fine-meshed tannin, restrained mineral tones and a wonderfully polished fruit accompany into a remarkable finish. For all its elegance, it shows pressure and power and, with the right dose of acidity, promises a long life and almost reaches the level of its famous big brother. SUPERIORE.DE

Back then, a dowry changed everything. In 1929, a triangular plot of land changed hands – not through purchase, but through marriage. Since then, Montefico has belonged to the Roagna family, longer than any other vineyard in their portfolio. Almost a century later, this quarter of a hectare remains the most intimate chapter in their history. In the Piedmontese dialect, this plot is known as "Mont der fi" – the hill over there, towards Neive. The small triangle lies exactly in the centre of the amphitheatre, at 230 metres, overlooking the neighbouring village. The soils, consisting of calcareous marl with a high proportion of active limestone, are among the oldest in Barbaresco – the result of seventy million years of marine sedimentation. The vines, all over 50 years old, are deeply rooted in this history. Of the family's four "Vecchie Viti", Montefico is the one with the most intense bouquet.

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

Marco Bacci's Brunello Riserva from the dream vintage 2016 presents itself full and generous on the nose. Cascades of violet and black fruits wash over the senses with black cherry, blackberry jam and smoked tobacco. The opulent overall impression is completed with a hint of bitter almond and suptile notes of smoke and nuts. These give the wine a deep and dark character. Very well structured on the palate and built for a long life with its well-formed acidity-tannin framework. SUPERIORE.DE

Vigna Elena is a Ravera parcel of 1 hectare in size. Just 5,000 bottles of Cogno's famous Riserva come from here every year. The Vigna Elena 2019 has just the right balance between fruit and wood, which is often a real challenge in this category. The rather bright bouquet has red fruits and nuances of truffle, ash, dried citrus peel and pressed flowers. Elegant, brooding and powerful, as only a great Barolo can be, Vigna Elena possesses a wealth of nuances and dimensions from the very first sip. Exotic spice and orange peel notes, followed later by ripe raspberries, mocha and autumn leaves. The Vigna Elena 2019 is an absolute delight. SUPERIORE.DE

Ornellaia has always sought more. More depth in its red wine, more expression of the terroir, more precision in its selection. But at some point, the question arose: what if all this were translated into a white wine? A white wine from Bolgheri, that coastal region which taught the world that Tuscany is more than just Sangiovese? Ornellaia Bianco is the answer. "Italy's most ambitious white wine", according to the estate itself. No modest claim. Sauvignon Blanc, exclusively. Three small plots in Bellaria, north-facing – an unusual choice in a Mediterranean climate. The cool aspect protects the aromas, prolongs ripening and preserves the freshness that distinguishes a great white wine from a merely pleasant one. Sandy loam soils on limestone, 130 metres above sea level. 13 hectares of white wine in a winery that focuses on 80 hectares of red.

Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is a fabulous, incredibly complete wine that rises from the glass with an explosive structure and vertical lift. The tannins are very present, but also beautifully matched by the aromatic intensity and overall drive of the wine. Dark macerated cherry, spice, leather, liquorice, plum and mocha add darker nuances. All elements are impeccably balanced. It is quite simply a majestic wine of true greatness and absolute class, but it is not obvious. The true essence of Nebbiolo! SUPERIORE.DE

A monument of wine! Brilliant dark ruby colour. Fresh, silky, elegant - and majestic. Blackberry jam, violets, bittersweet chocolate, plus crushed rock and minerality. An opulent wine with fabulously polished tannins and considerable ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE