Wines from Tuscany

Swiss precision meets Tuscan elegance in this characterful Super Tuscan, which has embodied the Widmer family's DNA for over four decades. The name has a dual meaning: three grape varieties and three terroirs, which Barbara Widmer blends into a harmonious cuvée with inimitable finesse. This blend, comprising 70% Sangiovese, is sourced from the vineyards of Castellina in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and the Maremma, and is enhanced by 15% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The continental Chianti vineyards, situated at altitudes of 230–400 metres with their soils interlaced with clay and galestro, meet the Mediterranean Maremma terroir with its sandy loam soils, which lend the wine its characteristic depth. 

Federico Giuntini-Antinori runs the area's most traditional estate, whose family tree can be traced back to the 15th century. Rufina is the northernmost district in Chianti, where the vineyards grow around the Villa di Selvapiana and in the vineyards of San Martino a Quona, Pian de' Marroni and Cerbognole. Mainly Sangiovese with small additions of Canaiolo, Colorino and Malvasia Nera are harvested between the end of September and the beginning of October, partly by hand. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in steel tanks at 28-30°C with a 25-day maceration period. Maturation lasts 12 months in 25-litre French oak barrels and concrete vats.

Silìneo – a neologism born from the fusion of "sinuoso" (supple) and "lineo" (linear). The name epitomises what this wine is all about: elegance, suppleness, balance and harmony. It is the most classic wine from Fattoria del Cerro and has been the most successful for years. Silìneo is made from 90 per cent Sangiovese (locally called Prugnolo Gentile) and ten per cent Merlot and Colorino, from vineyards in Acquaviva di Montepulciano on soils of marine Pliocene origin with clay and silt between 250 and 400 metres above sea level. After manual harvesting, fermentation takes place with maceration at 24 to 28°C with daily overflow and délestage. The wine then matures for seven months in tonneaux, followed by eleven months in large Slavonian oak barrels.

Monti in Chianti, on the southern tip of the Chianti Classico region, seven kilometres south of Gaiole. Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi has been cultivating the same slopes here for generations – the family's history dates back to the Lombard era, and its winemaking tradition is almost as old. The estate has been certified organic since 2010. The Rosato is made from the same Sangiovese vineyards that also supply the grapes for the Chianti Classico and the Gran Selezione San Marcellino. Hand-harvested, with a short maceration period of 40 to 50 minutes, must clarification at low temperature, around one month's fermentation in stainless steel tanks, followed by three to four months sur lie. The result is not a light summer rosé, but a Rosato with substance: lively acidity, salinity and subtle minerality.

Non Confunditur – "not to be confused with": the family motto on the Argiano coat of arms also encapsulates the ethos of this wine. Founded in 1580, the estate is one of the founding members of the Brunello Consortium and has been cultivating its 60 hectares organically since 2018. The NC blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese from the estate's younger vines – a "Junior Super Tuscan", as cellar master Bernardino Sani calls it. Vinification in stainless steel and used barriques preserves the fruit's freshness.

"Atheist" is a provocative name for a wine that was first produced in 1989 – at a time when international grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot had no official place in the Tuscan wine hierarchy. Anyone who planted and marketed them was challenging the established rules. Ateo was Ciacci Piccolomini's response: a small rebellion that went on to become one of the estate's classics. The wine blends two international varieties with the native Sangiovese: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from vineyards first harvested in 1989, complemented by the Tuscan soul. The soils are medium-grained, rich in Eocene marl, at altitudes of 240 to 360 metres. Fermentation takes place in steel and glazed concrete tanks at a controlled temperature.

A new day, a new vintage – and the first wine of the year to leave the winery each year. While the red wines are still slumbering in their barrels, "New Day" already brings the message of the new 2025 vintage: freshness, joie de vivre and anticipation of what is to come. 100% Sangiovese, harvested by hand and gently pressed. Fermentation takes place at a low temperature in stainless steel, followed by a few months of ageing on the fine lees.

Prugnolo Gentile – is the name given to Sangiovese in Montepulciano. And mammolo simply means violet in Italian. Anyone who knows the aromas of this wine will understand why the Corradi-De Ferrari family uses both: 85% Prugnolo Gentile for freshness and fruit, 15% Mammolo for the floral perfume that makes this Rosso unmistakable. Boscarelli has been producing Prugnolo as Rosso di Montepulciano since 1989 – from the youngest, most fragrant vines in the Cervognano cru vineyard at 280 to 350 metres, on calcareous alluvial soil with sand, silt and clay. Organic cultivation. Hand-picked in crates, selection at the sorting table, natural yeast fermentation in steel, 6 months maturation in glazed cement tanks.

In the heart of Bolgheri, where Marilisa Allegrini and her late brother Walter realised their Tuscan dream in 2001, an ancient tradition is being revived. Cassiopea takes its name from the constellation that shines brightly above the 70-hectare Poggio al Tesoro estate – a cosmic 'W' for Walter or 'M' for Marilisa, depending on your perspective in the night sky over the Costa Toscana. This elegant rosé hails from the prestigious Le Sondraie vineyard, which was once leased to Ornellaia and now forms the heart of the Allegrini vision. The 'soprastrada' site, situated east of the famous Strada Bolgherese, is regarded as the highest-quality area in Bolgheri. Here, where the Seggio stream has carried minerals from the nearby hills for centuries, complex soils of sand, clay and pebbles with a high magnesium content create ideal conditions for both grape varieties.

The owner of Selvapiana, Francesco Giuntini, and the owner of the Petrognano winery, Cecilia Galeotti Ottieri, have been friends for a long time. Their small winery on the border between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna is located in the centre of the Pomino DOC, which was first mentioned in a document in 1716 and is one of the first four protected appellations in Tuscany (alongside Rufina Classico, Carmignano and Valdarno Superiore).

Laura Bianchi's Monsanto Rosso is a 100% Sangiovese and comes from the vineyards in the south-western part of the estate, where Galestro (friable marl) combines with a marked concentration of tufa, a volcanic seabed that releases fossils from the Cretaceous period over time. These soils, which are particularly rich in phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and limestone, give the wine greater complexity and a more characteristic flavour, beautifully articulated fruit and wonderful freshness. SUPERIORE.DE

Virginie Saverys is a lawyer, not a winemaker. When she took over Avignonesi in 2009, it came as a surprise to many – and for her the beginning of a radical conviction. No herbicides, no pesticides, no additives in the cellar, no compromises. Today, Avignonesi is the largest biodynamically certified winery in Italy – over 170 hectares on the hills around Montepulciano, organic since 2016, biodynamic since 2019. What began in 1974 as a traditional Tuscan winery has become one of the most consistent sustainability projects in Italian viticulture under its leadership.

Only one wine ever bears the name of the estate – and there is a reason for this. The Montecucco Rosso Riserva is the centrepiece of production: the wine that most directly expresses the philosophy of the estate. Italian passion meets Swiss precision – is how the Tipa Bertarelli family itself describes its approach. In the glass, this is convincing every year anew. 80% Sangiovese, 10% Ciliegiolo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon – grapes from vineyards on sandstone, marl and clay at 300 metres. Spontaneous fermentation on natural yeast in temperature-controlled steel tanks, followed by 16 months of ageing: the Sangiovese in 40-hectolitre oak barrels, Ciliegiolo and Cabernet in 500-litre French oak Liters.

Barbaspinosa comes from the hills around Poggio la Mozza – characterised by ferruginous clay soils that give the Sangiovese backbone and depth. The wine is aged for twelve months, partly in barriques and partly in large wooden barrels. Ruby red in colour with a slightly lighter rim. The bouquet smells of black cherry, plum, Maremma herbs, some tobacco and a hint of leather. Powerful but well-balanced on the palate, with ripe fruit, grippy tannins and fine spice. The vintage gives fullness, but remains surprisingly fresh thanks to the cool nights. A Sangiovese full of character with a Tuscan soul – down-to-earth, honest and with a distinctive expression of the Maremma. SUPERIORE.DE

The name says it all: "Due lame" – two terraces – refers to the extreme range in altitude of the vineyards, which stretch from 420 to 655 metres. These are the highest-altitude Sangiovese vineyards in the whole of Tuscany, perched on the mineral-rich terraces that gave the village of Lamole its name. The soils, composed of ochre-coloured "Macigno Toscano" interspersed with galestro and alberese, lend the wine its characteristic sharpness and elegance. The estate, situated in the heart of Chianti Classico, has been part of the Santa Margherita Group (Herita Wines) since 1993 and vinifies its wines in the historic cellars of a castle dating from 1350. The grapes undergo visual sorting, ferment in stainless steel with 7–10 days' contact with the skins, and mature on the lees until late winter. A brief ageing period in large oak barrels rounds off the wine. 

In 1984, Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti bought a dilapidated farmstead near Suvereto. No wine background, no generations of tradition – just a conviction: that the Colline Metallifere terroir can do more than it seemed at the time. The metal-rich, ferruginous clays of these hills between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apuan Alps bear a fingerprint that no other growing region in Tuscany can replicate: mineral, salty, with a depth reminiscent of both earth and sea. Tierre is Tua Rita's 100 per cent Merlot expression of this terroir – more accessible than the legendary Redigaffi, but with the same soils, the same hands, the same attitude.

Intense ruby red, complex bouquet with notes of black cherry, blueberry and plum, followed by coffee, liquorice and leather. Powerful and full-bodied on the palate, sweet in its tannic texture, infused with a lively freshness and with a beautiful fruit centre. Persistent on the palate with notes of liquorice and cocoa, giving the Rosso an elegant and full-bodied finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Le Ragnaies Troncone Rosso is a pure Sangiovese that interprets the fruit beautifully and in all its spiciness and red berry flavour. Notes of dried cherries and nutmeg in the glass, along with wild berries and redcurrants. The first sip is a warm potpourri of red fruits and a racy blend of piquant acidity, minerals and spices. The finish is long and grippy, but also delicious and fresh, with savoury berry and mineral notes and a slight tannic kick. On the finish, the pure fruit provides plenty of drinkability, freshness and savouriness. Very successful! SUPERIORE.DE

Pietra nera – black stone. This is the name of the introduction to the world of Piaggia, the small winery in Carmignano founded by Mauro Vannucci in the 1970s and now run by his daughter Silvia. Carmignano, the forgotten DOCG at the gates of Florence, where Cabernet has been permitted in blends since the Medici era – centuries before the Super Tuscans were invented. Pietranera shows this tradition in small format: 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Franc. Fermented with natural yeasts, eighteen to twenty days on the skins, then only three months in used barriques – just enough to smooth the edges, not enough to let the wood taste.