Wine

Marciliano is a truly ambitious Cabernet cuvée from the Sangiovese-dominated Montecchio/Orvieto region and reflects uncompromising quality and craftsmanship. The 2019 vintage was characterised by mild but structure-enhancing weather conditions: cool nights during the harvest phase and warm days that perfectly balanced the ripeness of the aromas. In the glass, it has a dense ruby red colour with a garnet red hue. The nose intones ripe sour cherry, stewed plums, ripe wild berries, and further develops smoke, leather, hints of white truffle and a touch of vanilla and cedar wood. Powerful yet polished on the palate – clearly structured, with fine-grained, ripe tannins, lively acidity and a substrate-rich, spicy texture. The ageing in barriques was selectively dosed and supports the spiciness without masking the varietal typicity. Marciliano is a serious, mature red wine with depth and potential. Expressive, focussed and with a lasting finish – a lasting ambassador of modern Umbria. SUPERIORE.DE

Light ruby-coloured, cherry-fruity and with a lot of character of its own. The red variety also known as Ribolla Nera has been interpreted by Ronco del Gnemiz with a great deal of character. It is soft, delicate, juicy, fruity and wonderfully precise and long. It leaves a hint of sour citrus fruit and ends with a light structure and a colour like liquid lavender. Lovers of Schioppettino will fall head over heels in love with this wine. SUPERIORE.DE

Pas Operé – "not dosed" in the original sense, when it was still dosed by hand. The name is a play on words, as this Extra Brut is very well dosed, but with such restraint that the terroir shines through unadulterated. For decades, Pas Operé has been Bellavista's flagship, the wine that most clearly bears the signature of the house: classic, masculine, timeless. The 2018 Pas Operé is the result of a rigorous selection of around 25 plots on slopes and hillsides with south or south-east exposure, the vines are over twenty years old. 64 per cent Chardonnay for finesse and structure, 36 per cent Pinot Nero for depth and complexity. Half of the base wines are matured in French white oak barriques, which gives the wine its characteristic intensity. The assemblage is followed by five years on the lees – sixty months, during which flavours intensify, textures refine and perlage refines. Only then, at least six years after the harvest, does the Pas Operé leave the Erbusco winery.

Santo Spirito is one of the most striking contrade on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna – less stony than Rampante, but no less impressive. Here, at an altitude of around 700 metres, the old Nerello Mascalese vines are deeply rooted in ashy volcanic soil with a high sand content. The microclimate is cooler, the humidity higher and the east-facing exposure gives the grapes gentle morning warmth. Pietradolce vinifies the single-vineyard wine traditionally with spontaneous fermentation in wooden vats, followed by approx. 12 months of ageing in large French tonneaux.

Feudo di Mezzo is located in the heart of the northern Etna belt – one of the oldest and most traditional contrade around Castiglione di Sicilia. The vineyards are situated at an altitude of around 750 metres on ancient lava flows and iron-rich volcanic soils that produce dark fruit, mineral depth and remarkable elegance. The microclimate is cool, the exposure ideal – large temperature differences between day and night favour slow, complete ripening. Feudo di Mezzo is not considered one of the Grand Cru from the volcano for nothing. The pure Nerello Mascalese comes from vines that are over 60 years old and trained as Alberello. The grapes are harvest manually in small crates, followed by a traditional maceration with a long standing time at controlled temperatures. The wine then matures for 14 months in Liters French oak tonneaux before resting for a further year in the bottle.

The roots of this story go deeper than any memory: the vines are over 80 years old and have been bearing silent witness in the warm alluvial soils of Gries for generations. Here, where thirty visionary winegrowers laid the foundations for a legend in 1908, the masterpiece that has long since become the undisputed icon of South Tyrolean winemaking is produced year after year: Taber Lagrein Riserva. It is a wine that epitomises time. Time in the old vines, which at an altitude of just 250 metres transform the extreme temperature fluctuations between hot days and cool nights into pure concentration. Time in the patient manual labour that selects only the finest grapes for this exceptional Riserva. And time for ageing, where after traditional wooden barrel fermentation, a whole year of ageing in French barriques awaits completion.

Terracotta is not a trend. It is the oldest wine container known to mankind – older than wood, older than stone, older than any wine culture we know by name. Elena Fucci is not looking forwards, but backwards: to a time when clay and volcanic earth were the same substance – and wine did not yet need a method to explain itself. The amphorae come from Impruneta near Florence, the centre of Tuscan terracotta craftsmanship – 700 Liters, untreated, permeable, breathing. No coating, no control over what happens: That's the point.

Located in the south of Montalcino, Ciacci Piccolomini's sprawling estate is characterised by warm, fragrant afternoon breezes from the Mediterranean. The wines are typically very fragrant and have a higher alcohol content, but also plenty of freshness and focus. In the aromas we find sun-kissed cherries and raspberries, red roses, tobacco, sage and thyme. Light-footed on the palate with grainy tannins that dissolve easily, this wine is already very accessible. It is literally fuelled by the golden light that falls on this part of Tuscany in the last hours of the day. A wine full of personality and identity. SUPERIORE.DE

The site near Buttrio, where the grapes of the autochthonous Friulano grape variety originate, is one of the Grand Crus of the Friuli Colli Orientali appellation together with Rosazzo. Not only are there no regulations here, but also a poor, loose marl soil that ensures extremely low yields every year. In good vintages, however, the rewards are all the greater: the volume and fruit concentration, the lower acidity and the unmistakable salinity of the wines will lead to enjoyable heights after a few years of bottle ageing, making lovers of complex, energetic white wines dizzy. SUPERIORE.DE

The name Cont'Ugo refers to a Tuscan nobleman named Ugo della Gherardesca, whose family has been linked to the Bolgheri area for centuries. It symbolises the aristocratic character of the Maremma, which can still be felt today in combination with the wild coastal landscape. For Marchese Antinori, owner of the Guado al Tasso winery, the name is a tribute to origin and character: noble, independent and deeply rooted. The 2022 vintage of this single-varietal Merlot comes from high-altitude, well-aerated plots with loamy soils and is matured for 12 months in French oak, partly new and partly used.

Swiss precision meets Tuscan passion: Monika and Thomas Bär-Bettschart have been realising their dream at the Antico Podere Gagliole in Castellina in Chianti since 1990. The Rubiolo 30 anni is a certified organic homage to three decades of winegrowing in one of the most beautiful terroirs in Tuscany. Made from pure Sangiovese grapes from both the historic terraces around Castellina and the famous Conca d'Oro in Panzano, this wine epitomises the synthesis of two exceptional sites. The grapes ripen on soils rich in galestro between 350 and 450 metres above sea level, facing south-west, where the centuries-old dry stone walls – uNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019 – between vines, olive trees and roses create a unique microclimate. After temperature-controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts and 20 days of maceration, the wine matures for ten months, half in French barriques and half in concrete tanks, followed by three months of bottle ageing.

Prunotto's Barolo is a very beautiful, ethereal wine. Rose petals, spices, blood orange, mint and crushed red berry fruit keep it firmly grounded. On the palate, it is saturated and rich with dark flavours that are firmly connected to spices, liquorice and crushed blue flowers. There is power and richness deep within this wine, the well-proportioned tannin is fresh and firm, giving it energy and drive. SUPERIORE.DE

The Riserva represents the roots of Fattoria Le Pupille – it is the very first wine produced and marketed by the winery. Originally launched in 1978 as "Rosso di Pereta", it became the foundation of a terroir with the establishment of the Morellino di Scansano discipline, which Elisabetta Geppetti led to international recognition with passion and vision. As the first woman to head the Consorzio Morellino di Scansano, she not only shaped the denomination, but also the entire Maremma wine culture. Sangiovese (90%) with Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) from the La Carla, Maiano, Bozzino and Vecchie Pupille vineyards at an altitude of 50 to 250 metres. The soils vary from clayey-silty to sandy-loamy structures with a limestone marl component. After 25 to 30 days of maceration at 26 degrees, the wine matures for twelve months in Slavonian oak barrels with a capacity of 20 to 40 hectolitres.

The structure of Cabernet Sauvignon, the spiciness of Cabernet Franc, the power of Syrah and the softness of Merlot combine here to create a red wine full of character, Mediterranean aromas and elegance. Dark red with a violet edge, fresh fruit bouquet of pomegranate and red currant with balanced hints of thyme, bay leaf and cedar. Initially very fresh and powerful on the palate with memories of raspberry and redcurrant, then round and harmonious, well structured and with soft tannin. SUPERIORE.DE

The Brunate vineyard, located between La Morra and Barolo, is considered one of the region's great Grand Cru. The combination of calcareous marl soils, optimal south to south-east exposure and the altitude gives the wine a fine interplay of ripe fruit, spicy depth and silky-textured tannin structure. The 2016 vintage produced wines of rare harmony in the Barolo region: a cool spring, balanced summer weeks and a long, golden autumn created conditions in which Nebbiolo could mature slowly. The result is wines of precision, depth and longevity.

The vineyard on the western side of the Montalcino hills is so secluded that you can enjoy the starry sky to the full without being disturbed. It is therefore not surprising that this supple, very classic Brunello bears the name "Sky of Ulysses". As is well known, Odysseus had the ability to navigate the seas without a compass and by simply orientating himself by the stars.

Manfro's bouquet combines dark ripe fruits, sweet spices, some mocha with spicy herbs and violet flowers. Silky, full-bodied and energetic on the palate with cooling acidity and minerals that play superbly around the ripe black cherries. Finishes on an elegant bitter note, fresh with violet flowers and wild berries. SUPERIORE.DE

A rare and very limited wine that is more than just a Barbera: it is a living monument. The vines come from a tiny plot in the hamlet of Berri near La Morra, which was planted before the phylloxera catastrophe (prefilossera) and survived it – the vines are ungrafted, without rootstocks, a rare treasure that is almost unique in Italy today. The sandy, chalky soils and southern exposure give these grapes an intensity and clarity that is incomparable to any younger vineyard. The 2022 vintage brought sunny, warm days in which the old vines used their deep roots to tap into water reserves. harvest was strictly selective and in small crates to preserve the delicate structure of the berries.