Wines from Tuscany

On the "hill of the blackbirds" – is the poetic translation of Poggio ai Merli – has been producing one of the most impressive interpretations of the Merlot grape variety in Tuscany since 1999. Here, where Paolo Panerai expresses his vision of international grape varieties on Tuscan terroir, Merlot vines grow on calcareous soils between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, developing a personality that is rarely found even in the best international appellations thanks to their unique location. The name deliberately plays on the ambiguity between "Merli" (blackbirds) and Merlot – a play on words that emphasises the close connection between this terroir and the birdlife that Castellare has always protected and celebrated. Each bottle is labelled with a bird that nests in the estate's pesticide-free vineyards – a symbol of the estate's sustainable philosophy.

1992 was the year in which Tua Rita launched its first wine on the market – not the legendary Redigaffi, but Giusto di Notri, named after the patron saint of Suvereto and the exact location of the winery. A homage to the village church, to one of the oldest vineyard parcels, to the beginnings. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates with eighty per cent, Cabernet Franc and Merlot complement – a composition that has evolved over the decades, away from Merlot and towards more Franc, for flavour and finesse. The vineyards are located on loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton, the higher plots are stonier, the deeper ones more silty, the Merlot in the centre on clay. Long maceration over twenty-five to thirty days to gain concentration and depth. Eighteen months in French barriques, half new, half second passage – then months in the bottle before the wine leaves the estate.

The uncompromisingly selected grapes come from the estate's oldest vineyards. Dark and powerful, yet highly elegant flavours of wild cherries, spices, liquorice, cassis and leather with exceptional balance and purity. A radiant, cosmopolitan Italian. SUPERIORE.DE

Caparzos Riserva 2019 is a big, powerful wine that needs at least a few years to mature. Dark and brooding, this Riserva shows the more masculine side of Sangiovese. Black cherry, plum, leather, spices and tobacco lie on a firm beam of acidity and tannin. This red has the explosive energy and finesse of the dream 2019 vintage and will need some time to mature before all the facets of this highly personalised wine come together – but as always with top wines: patience is rewarded! SUPERIORE.DE

This is certainly unique: one annual production. One barrel. Thirty hectolitres of Slavonian oak – and in it the entire Brunello Annata ambition of the Spina family. No second barrel as a reserve. No possibility to correct, top up or stretch. What matures in this container is the annual production of the Annata: the 2.5 hectares of Brunello vineyard at 380 metres near Castelnuovo dell'Abate, the limestone marl, the manual labour of four decades, the decisions of each year. Sesta di Sopra produces around 4,000 bottles of vintage Brunello – which is less than some estates tacitly allow to disappear into the assemblage. 2021 was the year of transparency in Montalcino. Cool nights and warm days gave the Sangiovese that nervous tension that critics describe with the term "vertical" – energy instead of mass, precision instead of fullness. In the one barrel in which Sesta di Sopra matured its grapes, this vintage could only convince!

"Fragrante, definite e verticale." This is how some Masters of Wine describe the 2021 Brunello vintage – fragrant, precise, vertical. Rarely does an official assessment so accurately capture the essence of a wine. Yet 2021 was not an easy year. An unusually late frost in April decimated the quantities, delayed growth and – and quietly did the wine some good. No extreme heatwaves afterwards. No drought stress to panic the vines. Instead: an even summer, dry ripening, a relaxed harvest from the end of September. The soils on the eastern slopes of Montalcino, a mixture of red clay, limestone and slate, came into their own in 2021. San Filippo's organic certification pays off particularly well in years like these: living soils that retain water and deliver precision.

The organically certified Sangiovese grapes for this Chianti Classico are grown in the legendary Conca d'Oro south of Panzano, that amphitheatrical Golden Valley with its unique microclimate of warm days and cool nights. Giovanni Manetti, president of the Consorzio Chianti Classico, vinifies exclusively hand-picked grapes in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts on the chalky Galestro soils of his 170-hectare Tenuta. After three weeks of maceration, the wine matures for 18 months in French oak barrels of various sizes.

Eneo is supposed to be the "Grand Vin" of Montepeloso, the Italian answer to the globalisation of wines. And Eneo can do it. The blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon unmistakably expresses its terroir and is recognised worldwide. Aromas of blackcurrant and cherry with fresh flowers and orange peel are followed by a medium to full body with ultra-fine tannins that are wonderfully integrated into the wine and leave a bright, concentrated impression. SUPERIORE.DE

Montalcino is a hill. To be more precise: a single large cone of limestone, marl, slate and sand that rises above the Val d'Orcia – exposed to the north, south-east and south-west, characterised by three completely different climates. Most of the producers in the appellation have access to one of these slopes. Val di Suga has all three. Vigna del Lago in the north-west, Poggio al Granchio in the south-east, Vigna Spuntali in the south-west. Three soils, three microclimates, three characters – and a single winery that unites them all under one roof. The basic Brunello is the result of this unique position: a cuvée from all three sites that does not aim for simplification, but for synthesis. Fermentation takes eight to twelve days at a controlled temperature, with maceration lasting a further two to three weeks. Maturation in traditional 50-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels for 24 months, followed by six months in concrete and then the bottle. The 2021 vintage brought a late frost in April – the harvest was reduced, the quality concentrated. A dry summer without extreme heat, a long, even autumn. The Consorzio and a jury of eight Masters of Wine agreed on three words to characterise the vintage: fragrant, precise, vertical.

Le Cupole offers excellent value every year. You get a glass full of sunny Tuscany and rich intensity at an affordable price. The wine is packed with black fruits, spices and leather, resulting in a classic bouquet, especially for a warm corner of Tuscany, off the beaten track, in Sarteano. SUPERIORE.DE

Chianti Classico by Giovanni Manetti offers a profound, densely woven and still very youthful bouquet of dark and red berries and fine spicy notes. The dry, cherry flavour with long-lasting impressions, well-extracted tannins and the acidity typical of Sangiovese show a clearly recognisable terroir character. Very clear, straightforward, long, always fresh and juicy, with excellent strength and balance. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1090, while Leif Erikson was discovering America and the first universities in Europe were being established, two friends of Abbot Rolando paid "two capons, three loaves of bread and six silver denarii from Lucca" for the annual lease of a vineyard in the divine valley of Dievole. Nine hundred (Novecento) years later, in 1990, this wine was created as a reminiscence of the incredible journey through the centuries. The grapes thrive between 300 and 420 metres above sea level on stony soils of marl, limestone and galestro. The vines, which are on average 15 years old and cultivated organically as in the early days of this domain, undergo a 14-day spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts in cement vats before maturing for 18 months in large, unroasted French Allier oak barrels.

Montalcino in November 2008. Gianni Brunelli's thread broke – as Laura herself put it (he passed away). Anyone familiar with the elegance with which the winery has been run since then will understand that this was not the beginning of an end, but rather a different kind of continuity: quieter, more focussed, perhaps even more resolute. Laura Brunelli, biologist, Sardinian, soul of two institutions for decades – osteria Le Logge in Siena and the wineries on the slopes of Montalcino – has not replaced Gianni. She has carried on. And that's a difference you can feel in the glass.

Prètto. A word from the Tuscan dialect – true, sincere, schietto. Carlo Ferrini could not have chosen a more fitting name for a wine that is exactly that: no gesture, no staging, but Sangiovese in its most direct form. The Prètto is a joint effort – born from the dialogue between father and daughter, between three decades of experience and a young generation that sees Montalcino with new eyes. Bianca Ferrini, born in 1990, has given the Giodo project a very special voice with this wine. Four hectares of Sangiovese in Sant'Angelo in Colle, south-west Montalcino, at 360 metres in south-eastern exposure. Medium-heavy, skeleton-rich soil, 6,600 plants per hectare – a density that creates stress and forces concentration. Hand-picked, 20 days of maceration in steel and cement, délestage halfway through fermentation. Then around 30 months of ageing in 500, 700 and 2,500 Literswooden barrels – medium to large containers that give the wine structure without wood characterisation. Then six months in cement, followed by a further 12 months in the bottle. 12,000 bottles were produced.

Normally, the Sangiovese grapes from the 14-hectare single vineyard are mainly harvested in Ama and San Lorenzo. Since the 2018 harvest, Lorenza and Marco have decided to vinify a small quantity separately. Deep, dark ruby red colour with violet reflections. Extroverted bouquet of blackberry, raspberry and redcurrant, with notes of crushed gravel, tobacco and traces of young leather. Very powerful and beautifully textured on the palate, the various layers of primary fruit only gradually unfold, the wood pleasantly receding into the background. Finely granulated tannins and a well-integrated acidity flank this very harmonious red on an elegant, long final. There is a lot to like here, for us it is once again a typical Ama wine: racy, powerful and elegant! SUPERIORE.DE

A wine of great personality that embodies the entire philosophy of Poggio Bonelli. Poggiassai is the Supertuscan of the house – a modern interpretation of Tuscan winemaking that masterfully combines tradition and innovation. It demonstrates the expertise of a winery that has been honoured over the centuries by the most important noble families in Siena. The vineyards are situated at an altitude of 250 metres in the hills around Castelnuovo Berardenga with a perfect south-west exposure. The carefully hand-picked grapes thrive in ideal conditions on these special soils, where sandy subsoils ensure optimum drainage. Strict selection limits the yield to just 50 centners per hectare - a commitment to uncompromising quality.

Since the exceptional 2019 harvest, Luca Sanjust has taken another step towards "quality without compromise" with his Boggina C. The yields per plant have been reduced even further and the selection of grapes from the identified parcel has been made even stricter. This led to a reduction in the number of bottles available to around 3,000. The same meticulousness was also applied in the cellar by selecting the most suitable 7 hectolitre barrels for ageing "sur lie". Great attention was paid to their wood grain and toasting in order to achieve the harmony and flavour that a pure Grand Cru Sangiovese should have.

Giacomo Neri's Pietradonice is Cabernet Sauvignon at the highest level and has become a legend, as there is hardly a wine in Montalcino that can even come close to it. Monumental and very concentrated, with hints of sour cherries and a fine cedar and liquorice note. The exciting thing: Pietradonice is clearly recognisable as a Montalcino growth and yet, with its herbaceous spiciness, it is just as typical of Neri as it is of the grape variety and thus again as if from another larger world. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Testamatta are selected and sourced from the winery's 6 best vineyards: Vincigliata, Londa, Lamole, Montefili and Siena. Each vineyard, which is divided into plots, is harvested up to 8 times to ensure that all the grapes are harvested at the perfect point of ripeness. These five vineyards (up to 80 years old) are located in different areas of Tuscany: Lamole and Montefili in the heart of Chianti Classico at 600 and 400 metres above sea level, Vincigliata near Florence at 280 metres above sea level, Londa north of Florence towards the Rufina Valley and Siena, in the south of Tuscany, at 250 metres above sea level.

Sondraie, from which the wine takes its name, is a large plateau from Aurelia to Bellaria in the north of the appellation and one of the best sites for Cabernet in Bolgheri. The Oenologist Luca d'Attoma is considered one of the best interpreters of Cabernet Franc in Italy and his wines are always a clear buy. Bright violet colour. The nose is leafy, with dark chocolate and a characteristic aroma of coffee powder, plus blueberry, raspberry, black cherry and undergrowth. On the palate, melted cloves and cassis in perfect balance. Smooth and ripe, with a hint of chalk thanks to the oak tannins on the finish. Amazingly fresh and endlessly long, simply superb! SUPERIORE.DE

In the heart of the Val d'Arno lies Campo Asciutto – the "dry field" that agronomist Giorgio Perrin described in 1834 as the pearl of this terroir praised by Cosimo III de' Medici. It was here that engineer Gastone Bazzocchi planted his vision of a great Sangiovese in 1952, a dream of five hectares that is now considered the oldest and best Sangiovese vineyard in Petrolo. The "C" stands for Classico – the traditional interpretation of this exceptional crus.

Pacentis Brunello Vecchie Vigne radiates with attractive aromas of black berries, dark cherries and coffee. Extremely delicious and very elegant in flavour with silky tannins and considerable length. Siro Pacenti is one of the most historic houses in the region and it is precisely with this solid expression that Vecchie Vigne enchants the senses. SUPERIORE.DE

The De Ferrari brothers select their Riserva from the oldest vines on the estate's best plots. Ruby red in colour with a garnet hue. The wine opens discreetly with subtle but captivating hints of sage, leather and allspice. On the palate, it is supple and agile and feels confidently extracted, with firm, straightforward tannins, but not overdone. The wood supports rather than imposes on the wine, and the vibrant acidity of the vintage comes through nicely. Long, seductive and delicately spicy on the final. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Testamatta are selected and sourced from the winery's 6 best vineyards: Vincigliata, Londa, Lamole, Montefili and Siena. Each vineyard, which is divided into plots, is harvested up to 8 times to ensure that all the grapes are harvested at the perfect point of ripeness. These five vineyards (up to 80 years old) are located in different areas of Tuscany: Lamole and Montefili in the heart of Chianti Classico at 600 and 400 metres above sea level, Vincigliata near Florence at 280 metres above sea level, Londa north of Florence towards the Rufina Valley and Siena, in the south of Tuscany, at 250 metres above sea level.