Wine

In the crypt of a 14th century church, deep beneath the altar of the small San Niccolò chapel, the flagship of Castellare is maturing. Here, where monks once prayed, another act of devotion takes place today – the transformation of grapes into a wine that has awed international critics for over four decades. I Sodi di San Niccolò is more than just a name; it is the essence of Tuscan wine mysticism. "Sodi" – is what the Tuscan farmers called those hard, stony soils that were too heavy for a team of oxen and could only be worked by hand. These barren, calcareous Galestro soils force the vines to fight for every molecule of water and every nutrient. On these inhospitable slopes, which form a natural amphitheatre around the estate, Paolo Panerai cultivated a vision in the 1970s: to create a wine with exclusively indigenous grape varieties that could compete with any international Supertuscan.

"Courageous, stubborn, rebellious" – is how Arianna Occhipinti describes the wine that is most like her. Frappato, this ursicilian grape variety of peasant origin, is rooted here in calcareous sandy soils at the foot of the Monti Iblei. Forty-year-old vines near Vittoria, at an altitude of 280 metres, are cultivated biodynamically. Vinification follows the rhythm of nature: spontaneous fermentation in concrete, thirty days of maceration, then fourteen months of ageing in large Slavonian oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered, the wine retains its lively authenticity.

The single vineyard Guarnaschelli is a 60-year-old vineyard with a slight westerly exposure. A loamy matrix of brown skeletal soils can be found here. This generous soil, characterised by limestone, gives the wines finesse and minerality. Here, the plants produce grapes of consistently high quality every year - the result of deep roots and restrained, intelligent vineyard work. The strong exposure to the sun is tempered by constant winds blowing from all directions. This sets in motion a play of temperature fluctuations from which the old vines benefit to produce complex and aromatic grapes.

Bright red colour. Sweet spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla complement the aromas of dark red and black cherries on the fresh, sexy nose. Lively, juicy and sweet on the palate, but with a tactile mouthfeel and spicy flavours of red cherries, herbs and sassafras. The youthful, crisp finish, which emphasises notable but polished oak nuances, is pleasantly persistent. A real plus point is the balance of this wine, it is a spicy, well-structured Rosso on a clear Brunello level and a real beauty! SUPERIORE.DE

The Aleatico grapes for this very small edition (< 500 hand-numbered bottles) dry slightly on the vine when they are harvested. They are then subjected to further drying in well-ventilated rooms for about 45 days, as in the production of Amarone. The first fermentation takes place in stainless steel, the further course then in new small wooden barrels of medium toasting.

Named after the founder of the estate, Maurizio Zanella Rosso is much more than just a name wine - it is a personal commitment to the idea of modern Italian red wine. Bordeaux grape varieties on Lombardy soil, French vinification techniques and Italian intuition: a cuvée that has been proving since the 1980s that great red wines are not bound by borders. The 2021 vintage is in the tradition of cooler, structured years - with crystal-clear fruit, lively freshness and excellent ageing potential. The blend consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, from single vineyards with poor, chalky soils and natural yield stress. The grapes are harvest strictly and selectively by hand. After fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, the wine matures for around 13 months in small French barriques - around two thirds of which are new. It is then bottled, unfiltered, without fining.

"The best of the best - you don't drink this wine every day. It needs attention, time to mature and likes to play the leading role: as the crowning glory of a festive table or even as a proud solitaire." Michael Graf Goëss-Enzenberg, Weingut Manincor

L'amore mio – my love. Rarely does a wine carry its character so openly in its name. This rosé spumante is Benanti's declaration of love for the Nerello Mascalese – the noble red grape variety that is otherwise synonymous with elegant red wines with a Burgundian grace on Etna. As Metodo Classico, it reveals a completely different, no less enchanting side. The grapes come from the south and south-east slopes of the volcano, where the vines are rooted between 700 and 750 metres in mineral-rich volcanic sands. Hand-picked, whole bunch pressing without destemming, fermentation at 16–18 °C in stainless steel. The base wine rests on the fine lees until late spring, followed by bottle fermentation with selected yeasts. After 24 months on the lees, disgorgement and dosage take place; a further three months of rest complete the maturation.

When Paolo Panerai realised his vision of a great Tuscan red wine made exclusively from indigenous grape varieties at the end of the 1970s, hardly anyone suspected that this wine would make history. As early as 1988, the Wine Spectator catapulted it into the international wine elite with sixth place in its first Top 100 – a triumph for a Supertuscan that deliberately eschewed Cabernet and Merlot in favour of the genetic purity of Tuscan vines. The name itself tells of the terroir: "Sodi" is what Tuscan winegrowers call those hard, stony soils that were too heavy for teams of oxen and had to be laboriously worked by hand. Here, on calcareous Galestro soils between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, around the medieval church of San Niccolò, the vines fight for every drop of water – 85 per cent Sangioveto, the original, small-berried form of Sangiovese, and 15 per cent Malvasia Nera, an almost forgotten grape variety – an almost forgotten grape variety that was abandoned in many places due to its low yields – result in a cuvée of unnerving power and unmistakable race. The 2021 vintage perfectly embodies this philosophy: After 18 to 25 days of maceration in steel tanks, the wine matures for up to 30 months in barriques, two thirds of which in new wood, before resting for a further twelve months in the bottle.

Some vineyards carry their history within them like annual rings in an old tree. Vigna 10 on the Brancaia hill near Castellina is such a place. When Brigitte and Bruno Widmer bought the abandoned estate in 1981, they immediately recognised the potential of this plot of land – a gentle south-facing slope at 230 metres, clay soils that retain water and an exposure that allows the Sangiovese to reach full maturity without overtaxing it. Eighteen years later, in 1999, the vineyard was replanted – not with just any clones, but with five of the most promising Sangiovese selections from the ambitious "Chianti Classico 2000" research project, which has been researching and preserving the genetic diversity of this grape variety since the 1980s.

The grapes come from the historic MGA Bussia in Monforte d'Alba – steep, well-ventilated slopes between 300 and 450 metres, characterised by calcareous marl with clay veins and sandy inclusions. The year 2020 brought a stable summer without extreme peaks, clear nights during the ripening phase and a calm, dry autumn allowed for a late, precise harvest. The result is healthy, fully ripe phenolic grapes with bright fruit and balanced acidity – the ideal basis for a transparent yet powerful Barolo.

Piante a Lapio is a rich and complex white wine produced in small quantities (about 3,000 bottles per vintage) from the grapes of a single vineyard parcel of just under one hectare in the municipality of Boschi in Lapio (AV). It consists of 35-40 year old vines planted on stratified and complex calcareous soils with basaltic subsoil at an altitude of about 550 metres. The vineyard is protected at the back by a namesake forest, which contributes to the vineyard's special microclimatic conditions. Here, in the heart of Irpinia, white wines are produced with great freshness and good acidity levels, which, vinified with the necessary care, can age for over 20 years.

Pian dell'Orino's Rosso di Montalcino 2021 impresses with bright and crisp fruit that is impossible to resist. If a Rosso can taste this good, we can look forward to great things when the 2021 Brunello wines come onto the market. The fruit is bright, firm and pure. Wonderfully tactile mouthfeel with spicy flavours of red cherries, herbs and sassafras. The youthful, crisp finish, which highlights notable but polished oak nuances, is pleasantly persistent. A real plus point is the balance of this wine, it is an absolute beauty. SUPERIORE.DE

A white wine that challenges everything you think you know about Puglia. While the region is known for powerful red wines from Primitivo and Negroamaro, this Fiano shows that great whites can also be produced here – perhaps even the best in the entire region. The organically cultivated vines are rooted in the barren limestone tufa soils of Tenuta Bocca di Lupo near Minervino Murge, at an altitude of 250-300 metres in the heart of the wild Murgia. Harsh winters, striking day-night fluctuations and the proximity to the extinct volcano Vulture characterise a terroir that produces white wines of rare minerality. The grapes are gently destemmed and pressed. The must rests for 24-48 hours at 10 °C for natural clarification before fermentation begins in stainless steel and is completed in French tonneaux. There the wine matures on the fine lees, followed by further bottle ageing.

A clockwork that ticks once a year and strikes once a millennium – designed for 10,000 years. Brian Eno and a group of thinkers founded the Long Now Foundation in 1996 to broaden the view: away from the immediate and towards the long now. Giorgio Pelissero recognised this as the essence of his profession – because there is time in wine. In 1999, he acquired Cascina Tolino between Treiso and Neviglie, steep terrain divided by a municipal border: Only the Nebbiolo on the Treiso side is allowed to become Barbaresco. He combined the rest with Barbera to create perhaps the oldest assemblaggio in Piedmont – only rethought. Vinified separately, ten days of maceration for the Nebbiolo, up to twenty-five for the Barbera, then fifteen months in small oak barrels.

In the house, they simply call him "A". As if he didn't need a name. As if the letter was beginning enough – the beginning of everything Schiopetto has to say. Amrità is a Sanskrit word: the immortality potion of the gods, the mythical nectar that gives eternal life to those who drink it. The fact that a Friulian winery calls its flagship wine this is not coquetry – it is a commitment. Wine is not simply made here. This is where it becomes essential what Capriva del Friuli has to say. The basis: Chardonnay from old vines, complemented by a small portion of Friulano – the variety with which Mario Schiopetto started everything in 1965. Both together, as if they had always been destined for each other. Fermentation in steel, nine months of ageing in steel and large barrels, followed by at least six months of bottle ageing. The 2022 was produced in a warm, dry year – and yet it shows no heat, but subtle maturity. Friuli has its own laws.

After "A" comes "M". This is not a weak alphabet exercise – this is strong hierarchy. If Amrità is the immortality potion, then "M" is the monument. The man himself, in bottle form. The legacy of MARIO Schiopetto, born in 1930, died in 2002, lies in every vintage of this wine – in the Ponca soils of Capriva, in the philosophy of the cellar work, in the conviction that a great white wine needs no compromises, only the courage to achieve total perfection.

"For the Barolo DOCG Parussi, we left the confines of Serralunga and opted for a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto. Thanks to the characteristics of Nebbiolo, which is perfectly capable of capturing the differences in microclimate and soil composition and translating them into sensations, the result amazed us. Structured, important, austere. Made with Nebbiolo grapes from our vineyard in the MGA Parussi in Castiglione Falletto." Franco Massolino

"The Barolo DOCG Margheria comes from the calcareous soil with a slightly higher proportion of sand than in our other sub-areas, which has a strong influence on its character. It was produced for the first time in 1985 and has great ageing potential. The grapes come from our vineyard in the MGA Margheria in Serralunga d'Alba." Franco Massolino

"For the Barolo DOCG Parussi, we left the confines of Serralunga and opted for a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto. Thanks to the characteristics of Nebbiolo, which is perfectly capable of capturing the differences in microclimate and soil composition and translating them into sensations, the result amazed us. Structured, important, austere. Made with Nebbiolo grapes from our vineyard in the MGA Parussi in Castiglione Falletto." Franco Massolino

Cerretto is a fruit-driven wine of virile, explosive power that shows, among other things, how different the wines of Serralunga can be. Black cherry, plum, sage, menthol and liquorice hit the palate in a firm, tannic Barolo that will require some patience, but already presents itself with remarkable freshness, purity and nuance. Cerretta is the embodiment of the richness and structure of Serralunga. SUPERIORE.DE

The winery's first Riserva is produced from a selection of two plots at the highest altitudes on the estate (450 metres). The steep, south-facing plots lie on stony, ferrous soils. SUPERIORE.DE

2006 was the year in which Franco and Roberto Massolino had the courage to leave the confines of Serralunga. Parussi – a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, one and a half hectares at an altitude of 290 metres, situated on the crest of a hill where the vines fluctuate between south-east and south-west. A challenge. Because anyone who has spent a lifetime studying the calcareous soils of Serralunga has to rethink things in Castiglione: there is less lime here, but more clay and magnesium. Richer soils. More energetic vines. A different terroir – and the Nebbiolo, this sensitive grape variety, translates every nuance into sensation.