Wines from Tuscany

San Leolino was already considered a cru site 200 years ago. Above the thousand-year-old Pieve, the Romanesque chapel that has been documented since 982, terraces run through the upper part of the Conca d'Oro. In the 15th century, Giovanni Manetti found drawings in the University of Florence that proved that this slope was once completely planted with vines. What followed was a rebirth: the terraces were renewed, 4.5 hectares at an altitude of 450 to 500 metres, on Alberese limestone. These soils are fundamentally different from the slatey Galestro of the Vigna del Sorbo – here, hard limestone dominates, giving freshness, brightness and mineral precision. The pandemic years gave Giovanni the leisure to walk through his vineyards, to reflect. He realised that this parcel has its own identity, a terroir that calls for separate vinification. The first vintage was 2019, the fourth now 2022. Production remains small: only 5,000 bottles.

Here is another outstanding 2020 Brunello from a winery that is still considered an insider tip given its small size and limited annual production. Medium, bright ruby red colour. Exotic aromas of minerals and citrus fruits reminiscent of red cherries, blood oranges and Asian spices, with a floral nuance that gains strength with air. The palate is supple and expansive, with sweet flavours of red cherries and dark plums carried by a powerful acidity. Densely packed, at once fleshy and broad, but also lively and precise. On the strikingly long finish, it shows excellent power and cut, characterised by youthful, dusty tannins and a hint of candied violets. As is so often the case, this is one of the best Brunellos of the vintage and still completely under the radar of many Sangiovese lovers. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1967, Sergio Manetti, a Milanese industrialist and passionate art collector, bought an abandoned estate in the hills of Radda in Chianti. He knew little about wine. He knew a great deal about quality. And he decided early on that his wine would make no compromises – —not even those demanded by the appellation. When the Chianti Classico DOCG stipulated that white grapes must be blended in, Manetti refused. From then on, his wine was called Toscana IGT. Not for lack of pride in Chianti – but because he had too much of it. What grows at Montevertine are the three indigenous reds of Chianti: Sangiovese as the soul, Canaiolo for elegance, Colorino for colour and structure. No additions, no international compromises. Martino Manetti, Sergio’s son, runs the estate with the same conviction: “Simplicity, respect, care for every detail and savoir-faire” – is how the estate itself describes its philosophy. Words that sound simple, yet are so difficult to put into practice.

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.

Poggio ai Merli is a single-varietal Merlot that relies entirely on the terroir of central Tuscany and consistently embodies the Castellare style. Deep ruby garnet. Pure, clear, with refinement, the wood well integrated, elegant and free of fashionable monotony. Great ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

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

Helichrysum is a selection of the best grapes from the highest parcel of the estate, where the soils are both clayey and of volcanic origin.

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 situated 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

"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.

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!

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.

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.