Wines from Tuscany

Just 2,100 bottles of this 1.5 ha single vineyard Cabernet Franc "Campo di Magnacosta" (a former riverbed with mainly clay, gravel and crushed stone soil) reach the specialised trade and the menus of the best restaurants worldwide. The vines were planted in the mid-1990s and come from Pomerol. In terms of aromatic intensity, Magnacosta is probably the most sensually elegant representative of the house's three great site cabernets. It has great straightness, but somewhat less power and intensity. It subtly combines black fruit aromas with spicy notes, tar and antique leather. It is already silky and elegant and will certainly gain in finesse over the years. SUPERIORE.DE

Love is madness. And madness, says Francesco Illy, always creates something magical. This sentence is not only behind the name of this wine – it explains the entire Podere Le Ripi project: a nature photographer buys a wild piece of Tuscany near Castelnuovo dell'Abate in 1997, plants it according to biodynamic principles, surrounds himself with a young, hungry team – and created one of the most unconventional Brunello producers in the denomination. "Amore e Magia" comes from the eastern side of Montalcino, where Monte Amiata protects the vineyards like a silent guardian from harsh weather and sends cool downdraughts through the vines at night. The soil here is ancient and salty – oceanic clay and limestone from a time when these hills were still the bottom of the sea. You can taste it. A vibrant, iodised minerality that carries the wine from the inside out. Fermentation with wild yeasts in open vats, 50 days of mash contact – no intervention, just consistency. Then three years in large oak barrels, followed by cement. No new wood to cover up. No compromise that smoothes.

Dark, translucent ruby red in the glass, elegant even at first glance. An inviting aroma of red and black fruit flavours, almost a mix of wild berries and sour cherries. And then again that spiciness so typical of Tenuta di Valgiano, herbaceous and mineral, fresh and yet Mediterranean, simply incomparable. Full-bodied on the palate, very juicy, extract-sweet fruit, again accompanied by this mineral flavour. Juicy, deep, with a silky, elegant tannin structure and a wonderfully balanced interplay of fruit and acidity. A wine with finesse and piquancy, length and ageing potential for a good fifteen to twenty years. This wine should be decanted and left to breathe in the carafe for at least one to two hours before drinking. SUPERIORE.DE

1975 – two years after Riecine’s first Chianti Classico – john Dunkley decided that some years and some grapes deserve more than the usual. The Riserva was born. Since then, it has only been produced when the selection allows: the best vineyards, the oldest vines, two stages of selection – in the vineyard and on the sorting table – before the grapes enter the cellar. The vines for the Riserva are between 25 and 45 years old. After selection, the must is transferred to unglazed Nomblot concrete vats. There, the must is initially kept cool with dry ice for four to five days before spontaneous fermentation begins – slowly, naturally. After fermentation, the wine spends a further ten days on the skins, with the cap submerged. Then comes the centrepiece: the entire Riserva production is transferred to a single large oak cask from Grenier. Untoasted – no toasty aromas, no vanilla, no foreign character. Just the neutral, breathable structure of the wood. 22 months. Then back into concrete for natural stabilisation and clarification. Finally, three months in bottle.

Giacomo Neri's Pietradonice is Cabernet Sauvignon at the highest level and is now a legend, as there is hardly a wine in Montalcino that can even come close to equalling it. Monumental and very concentrated, with hints of sour cherries and a fine cedar wood and liquorice note. The exciting thing: Pietradonice is clearly recognisable as a Montalcino wine and yet, with its herbal and spicy character, it is as typical of Neri as it is of the grape variety and therefore seems to come from another larger world. SUPERIORE.DE

The grapes for Le Ripi's top Brunello come from a 4-hectare vineyard near Castelnuovo dell'Abate on the eastern side of Montalcino, not far from the Lupi e Sirene vineyard.

In 1987, Sandro Chia drew a pencil sketch: a Roman centurion in the foreground, the castle in the background. The centurion as a symbol of transience, the castle as a symbol of eternity. He called the drawing "Romito del Romitorio" – the hermit of the Romitorio. And made it the label for the first wine that Castello Romitorio ever produced. Thirty-two years and many vintages later, Filippo Chia decided to rethink the Romito. Until 2018, it was a blend – sangiovese, Cabernet and Canaiolo. Then they reached deeper: Petit Verdot has been growing in the vineyards of Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte in Maremma since then, which Sandro Chia planted in the early 2000s. Soils of Pliocene origin – red clays and gravel at 170 metres. During the day, the Tyrrhenian Sea regulates the heat, while continental currents from the extinct Monte Amiata cool the evenings. A terroir made for a grape variety that is difficult to tame elsewhere. The hand-picked grapes travel to Montalcino, where they are selected and fermented in concrete vats. Fourteen months of ageing in semi-new French tonneaux, bottled unfiltered.

In the heart of the Valdarno Superiore, where the ancient Via dei Setteponti inspired Leonardo da Vinci to create his immortal landscape studies, lies Tenuta Sette Ponti – named after the seven bridges that have linked Arezzo and Florence since Etruscan times. Here, on 300 hectares where history meets modernity, Dr Antonio Moretti Cuseri realised a visionary idea in 1999: to create a Tuscan Bordeaux-style wine that combines international elegance with the soul of Tuscany. Oreno – named after the small river that flows through the estate in that clay-rich area where the Merlot vines put down their deepest roots – was born out of a passion for Bordeaux finesse. Fascinated by his travels to Bordeaux, Moretti Cuseri had existing vineyards grafted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Whilst the Merlot thrives in the clay-rich soils, the Cabernet vines find their home in gravelly terraces that offer perfect drainage and natural temperature regulation. The Petit Verdot rounds off the cuvée with spicy notes and intense flavour.

The Rosso di Montalcino comes from slightly younger Brunello vines and is matured for 12 months in large oak barrels. It undoubtedly bears the signature of the top winery Biondi Santi: delicately sweet, open flavours of red berries, flowers and cloves. Like all of the winery's other wines, the Rosso is classic and firm in style, with a bombastic structure and a brilliant, long finish. True to the house, it also has a long ageing and maturation potential and can compete with some of the Brunello wines of the appellation today and in the future. SUPERIORE.DE

The Sangiovese grapes for this wine come from the vineyard of the Empire of His Royal Highness, the Count of Turin, Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, who planted it in 1935. The soil is a mixture of clay and gravel, rich in marl and rock, which gives the grapes a spectacular minerality. The temperature fluctuations during the day play a decisive role in developing the finest flavours, which are elegant and complex. The wine, bottled in numbered bottles, is not filtered in order to preserve all the typical varietal notes and characteristics of Sangiovese. SUPERIORE.DE

In 2011, Giampaolo Motta created a manifesto of love for both his daughter Carla and that unruly Tuscan diva called Sangiovese. After two attempts that proved unsatisfactory, the breakthrough came in 2011: the birth of a wine that comes exclusively from plot number 6 – a unique terroir of grey slate and sand that rests like a mysterious treasure in the golden Conca d'Oro of Panzano. What Bordeaux romantic Motta and his famous Oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt have achieved here is a completely new interpretation of a single-varietal Sangiovese wine. "This wine is made by the soil, not the vineyard," philosophises Motta – a subtle but crucial distinction between terroir and mere geography.

This Riserva is only made available each year in very small quantities to hand-picked specialist retailers and top restaurants. Brilliant ruby red colour. Fine raspberry and floral notes dominate the spicy nose. Very juicy on the palate, tannins and acidity are well integrated. Riecines Riserva has length and suppleness right through to the long fruity finish. The elegance and fine melting texture are impressive. Once again, this is Sangiovese at the top level that Riecine is known for! SUPERIORE.DE

1172 – the year in which Volpaia is first mentioned in documents. A small, fortified borgo on a hill north of Radda in Chianti, built as a border fortress between Florence and Siena. Today it is a jewel of peace and beauty and one of the most historic wine villages in Tuscany. Here, where soldiers once stood guard, the Stianti-Mascheroni families now press their grapes within the medieval walls. The bottles mature in the vaults of old churches and almost every cellar contains a tank of organic wine. An entire village dedicated to viticulture. So complete that it becomes poetic again. The Riserva is made from 100% Sangiovese from vineyards between 400 and 600 metres above sea level. One of the highest wineries in the region. Up here, where the air is thin and the nights are cool, Sangiovese develops the elegance and minerality that makes Volpaia so distinctive. Sandstone, clay and sandy-loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton. Manual harvest in the second half of September, temperature-controlled vinification, then 24 months in French and Slovenian oak barrels.

Monica Raspi remembers: "I took my first steps as a winemaker in the Omino vineyard. The grapes grown here produce the wine that is the absolute benchmark for my very personal interpretation of the Sangiovese grape."

Some wineries tell their story on display boards. At Fuligni, it hangs on the walls. The palazzo in the centre of Montalcino dates back to the 17th century – the Medici resided here and a Spanish princess left a room that still bears her name today. Underneath, deeper than the palazzo itself, are the cellars: built at the end of the 16th century, with vaulted ceilings in tecnica mista, completely naturally insulated. This is where the Brunello matures in Slavonian oak barrels. It also matured here when Giovanni Maria Fuligni came to Montalcino at the beginning of the 20th century – and it matures here, just as his ancestors made wine in the Maremma before him, without interruption, without abbreviation.

The grapes for Le Ripi's top Brunello come from a 4-hectare vineyard near Castelnuovo dell'Abate on the eastern side of Montalcino, not far from the Lupi e Sirene vineyard. Amore e Magia first impresses with its beauty in the glass: deep ruby with violet, fuchsia-coloured accents. The nose then reveals a very clear, concise bouquet with a disarming openness that is immediately captivating. We discover candied fruit, raspberries, roasted nuts and Christmas spices, then notes of leather. The first impression on the palate is rather silky and floral, the fine salinity and wonderfully integrated acidity provide vital freshness and the solidly woven tannin builds up with energy and flanks every sip right through to the multi-layered final. SUPERIORE.DE

Chianti Classico Riserva Castello di Volpaia is a dark, powerful wine. Black cherry, smoke, liquorice, incense, mocha, menthol, lavender and leather give this virile, brooding Riserva plenty of character. The palate is very aromatic with sweet red cherries, cedar wood and nuances of blood orange, yet very powerful and multi-layered with terrific depth and structure. A dream for Sangiovese lovers. SUPERIORE.DE

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.

Pacentis Vecchie Vigne is still one of the most modern wines of the sun-drenched appellation in southern Tuscany. Its fruit comes from old vines that are between 35 and 50 years old. You can taste the richness and smoothness of its dark fruit and the lush blackberry. However, the wine also offers hints of exotic spices, spicy tobacco and even a hint of talcum powder or buttered popcorn that comes from the oak (it is aged for 24 months in French barriques). An unmistakably creamy and rich mouthfeel in the drink through to the long final. SUPERIORE.DE

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

Talentis Riserva is a barrel selection that is aged for 36 months in a combination of 25 and 20 hectolitre oak barrels and a small amount in tonneaux. Pian di Conte 2019 is a classic, stately wine with lots of dark fruits, dried blackberries, spices, tobacco and mentholated herbs. The palate is polished and elegant with sweet plums, cherries and blackberries on the attack. These sweet fruit nuances are followed by spicy cedar wood and campfire flavours, as well as fine tannins and an almost endless depth. SUPERIORE.DE

Massimo Piccin is living the dream of giving new expression to Bordeaux growths from Bolgheri and producing wines that combine power, elegance and longevity. And so the Sapaio offers its full, vital and tannin-rich style magnificently and allows plenty of time for the finish. Once again, some of the grapes come from Bibbona, i.e. outside the Bolgheri DOC, so that this great wine can only bear the addition Toscana IGT.

Here it is, the impressive first Gran Selezione from Riecine, showing more grace than muscle and delivering a Riecine-typical and very precise Burgundian interpretation of the Sangiovese grape.

Gualto 2016 not only reflects the extremely aristocratic exceptional vintage, but is also one of the best Riservas from 2016. On the nose, very clear and straightforward after cherry, herbs and crushed rock. Full and supple on the palate, its texture is elegant and fine, the tannins only come to the fore in the second step and are excellently balanced. This wine will only reveal its true greatness in a few years, but it already offers an extremely tasty and engaging character. For a Riserva, it has a surprising amount of fruit and an elegance that makes it one of the most charming representatives of its kind. This wine (no more than 4,000 bottles were bottled) should not be missing in any well-stocked wine cellar! SUPERIORE.DE