Tenuta di Carleone

Il Randagio (the stray) is wonderfully complex and nuanced. Initially quite closed, the delicately spicy nose creeps up with increasing aeration and opens up further into a wonderfully complex bouquet of dark red to black berries. Rising floral, savoury and spicy accents point to a wine that says more about the style of the house than anything else. The palate is wide-ranging with delicate wild berry flavours, perfectly polished tannins and a fresh, very invigorating acid wire that uninhibitedly enhances the drinkability of this once again typically different red. The best days of this wine still lie in the future. SUPERIORE.DE

Exciting, balsamic, white cuvée from Vermentino, Trebbiano and Malvasia - with a handful of Traminer and Riesling. Initially reductive on the nose, then dark yellow fruit, some smoke. Very direct, straightforward and grippingly mineral on the palate, with crisp acidity, citrus zest and fine juicy yellow fruit. Lingers on the palate for a long time and, with its race and alpine freshness, makes you briefly forget that this linear and very concise white wine comes from Tuscany. SUPERIORE.DE

Castiglioni, a hamlet near Radda in Chianti, was first mentioned in 1078, having been founded by the monks of the Badia a Coltibuono. Karl Egger, an entrepreneur from Austria, and his family had been visiting Tuscany for decades and fell in love with this very spot. They restored the village, including its old chapel, and established the Tenuta di Carleone in 2012. The vines are situated in the historic heart of the Chianti Classico region on Alberese and Galestro soils, and the cultivation is certified organic. The 100% Sangiovese ferments in stainless steel, concrete and open vats, without added yeasts and with a maceration period of 40 to 60 days. It is then aged for 18 months in steel and concrete before being bottled.

Il Randagio (the stray) is wonderfully complex and nuanced. Initially quite closed, the delicately spicy nose creeps up with increasing aeration and opens further into a wonderfully complex bouquet of dark red to black berries. Rising floral, savoury and spicy accents point to a wine that says more about the style of the house than anything else. The palate is wide-ranging with delicate wild berry flavours, perfectly polished tannins and a fresh, very invigorating acid wire that uninhibitedly enhances the drinkability of this once again typically different red. The best days of this wine still lie in the future. SUPERIORE.DE

Treat yourself to a large glass, or even better: decant the wild and racy Il Guercio, then a dark berry mix with black cherries and a hint of dark chocolate will be in the air. Equally juicy Sangiovese fruit on the palate, full-bodied with fine silky tannins, elegant and finely structured, with animating acidity, very precise and animating in the long finish. Potential for many years in the cellar. Not at all loud, but a highly impressive wine full of elegance and the winery's masterpiece. SUPERIORE.DE

Just outside Lamole, at an altitude of 650 metres, lies an old terraced vineyard. Cool breezes keep the vines cool, significant temperature fluctuations throughout the day help maintain the acidity, and the grapes are harvested late to allow the Sangiovese to reach full ripeness. The wine bears its winemaker's nickname, which reveals a sense of humour: Sean O'Callaghan calls the estate a "one-eyed rascal". Like its namesake, it goes its own way and is said to stand out from the more classic styles of Chianti with its fruity character. The berries are gently crushed by foot, with 30% remaining as whole bunches; everything ferments spontaneously in concrete tanks. Skin contact lasts for at least four months, after which the wine rests for a full year in concrete, with as little sulphur as possible.

Castiglioni, a hamlet near Radda in Chianti, was first mentioned in 1078, having been founded by the monks of the Badia a Coltibuono. Karl Egger, an entrepreneur from Austria, and his family had been visiting Tuscany for decades and fell in love with this very spot. They restored the village, including its old chapel, and established the Tenuta di Carleone in 2012. The vines are situated in the historic heart of the Chianti Classico region on Alberese and Galestro soils, and the cultivation is certified organic. The 100% Sangiovese ferments in stainless steel, concrete and open vats, without added yeasts and with a maceration period of 40 to 60 days. It is then aged for 18 months in steel and concrete before being bottled.

Thirty years. Thirty Tuscan harvests. When Sean O'Callaghan arrived in Tuscany in 1991 – a native Briton, influenced by his viticultural studies in Geisenheim and trained as a cellar master at Schlossgut Diel – he had a vision: not to tame Sangiovese, but to understand it. At Riecine, he spent a successful quarter of a century trying to unlock the secrets of this stubborn grape variety. Today, at Tenuta di Carleone in Radda in Chianti, the winemaker has become a true "whisperer". And the Uno 2021 marks his thirtieth harvest in this region – a quiet anniversary that looks inwards, not outwards.

The Tenuta di Carleone, situated around Radda in Chianti, covers some 100 hectares: wooded hills, small rivers, fertile plains, interspersed with vines – mainly Sangiovese – and olive trees, some of which are over 60 years old. The estate describes "the elegance of simplicity" as its guiding principle, and this is reflected in its selection process: the finest grapes from all the vineyards, grown on limestone-rich soils, hand-picked, a single grape variety, and nothing else. The aim is to produce an elegant wine that is shaped by its terroir and ages well. The wine remains on the skins for up to two months; fermentation takes place in concrete and open vats, without the addition of yeast. This is followed by one and a half years of ageing, with one-tenth of the wine aged in new Literstonneaux, and the rest in steel and concrete tanks.

Treat yourself to a large glass, or even better: decant the wild and racy Il Guercio, then a dark berry mix with black cherries and a hint of dark chocolate will be in the air. Equally juicy Sangiovese fruit on the palate, full-bodied with fine silky tannins, elegant and finely structured, with animating acidity, very precise and animating in the long finish. Potential for many years in the cellar. Not at all loud, but a highly impressive wine full of elegance and the winery's masterpiece. SUPERIORE.DE

This wine is the essence of the Sangiovese from the municipality of Radda and the result of a rigorous selection of Sangiovese grapes from the estate's finest vineyards. An elegant, terroir-driven red which (in Sean's own words) "is made just the way we like it". A bright, luminous ruby-garnet colour. An appealing, precisely defined nose with pronounced notes of raspberry and a hint of pomegranate. On the palate, delicate fruit, freshness and a good acid structure, along with distinctive tannins which, after a few minutes of further aeration, recede with character. Uno presents a dark, robust expression of Sangiovese from Radda. Like all of Sean O'Callaghan's wines, this one, too, has plenty of character and personality. SUPERIORE.DE