wines

A successful transformation of a Burgundian Pinot Noir with all the attributes of the ideal altitude of the Langhe. The grapes for this single-varietal Pinot Noir come from the highest slopes of Piedmont, over 500 metres above sea level, whose vines, unlike in Burgundy, grow on sandy, loamy soil. Bright ruby red in colour. Amarena cherry on the nose, rounded off with a hint of gooseberry and mint. Delicate flavour with a balanced and delicate mix of fleshiness, ripe red berries, refinement and elegance. Even when young, it is complex, rounded and has a delicate tannin structure. Giulia Negri demonstrates all her skills and the potential of her top vineyard "La Tartufaia" using the world's most demanding grape variety as an example. Chapeau! SUPERIORE.DE

At the very top of the Serradenari parcel, the fruit grows for an exceptional Barolo, with which the young winemaker Giulia Negri has truly created a monument to herself. Marassio clearly benefits from the cool climate of Piedmont's high altitudes and will therefore hardly change its character even if the climate continues to change.

The purchase of the Mosconi Cru parcels in Monforte by Pio Boffa is one of the last major decisions taken by the estate – with the aim of complementing the depth of Serralunga (Ornato) with Monforte gravity. Selective hand-picking; separate fermentation in stainless steel with a carefully extended maceration period, malolactic without haste. Classic ageing in large barrels, moderate proportion of French oak as a fine brushstroke of texture. The 2020 vintage fitted in well with the concept: a stable summer, clear nights for ripening and precise harvest – healthy, ripe harvest, polished phenolics and generous, balanced fruit were the result.

Mosconi 2021 comes from one of the most renowned crus of Monforte d'Alba – a site known for its brooding, clay-limestone soils and south-westerly exposure. The terroir here gives the Nebbiolo particular depth, warmth and structural density. The 2021 vintage was almost ideal in the Langhe: a cool, slow start to the growing season, followed by a stable summer without heat stress and a dry, sunny autumn created perfect conditions for the grapes to ripen slowly with high aromatic complexity and finely polished tannins.

The Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019 is a fully impressive creation with a unique and interesting interpretation of this classic vintage. The wine is bold and bright, with great intensity that accompanies it from start to finish. Dark cherry and blackberry flavours stand in balanced contrast to layers of spice, cumin and cardamom. Despite its intensity and richness, this Riserva is very balanced and never oversteps its bounds. The same applies to the mouthfeel. On the palate, it offers a dense, rich texture with complex fruit flavours and bright acidity. The 2019 vintage is once again an exceptional wine from this incredibly ambitious winery! SUPERIORE.DE

High above Sambuca Val di Pesa, just three kilometres south of the famous Tenuta Tignanello, rises the venerable Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo – a bastion of faith since the 10th century, where Giovanni Gualberto, the founder of the Vallombrosan order, once lived and died. Here, where wine of exceptional quality was already appreciated around the year 1000, only the finest Sangiovese grapes thrive on calcareous soils with a clay content at an altitude of 300 metres. The historical importance of this place is documented in hundreds of volumes in the Florentine state archives – centuries of Sangiovese cultivation and rural life, preserved for eternity.

Vigna Elena is a Ravera parcel of 1 hectare in size. Just 5,000 bottles of Cogno's famous Riserva come from here every year. The Vigna Elena 2019 has just the right balance between fruit and wood, which is often a real challenge in this category. The rather bright bouquet has red fruits and nuances of truffle, ash, dried citrus peel and pressed flowers. Elegant, brooding and powerful, as only a great Barolo can be, Vigna Elena possesses a wealth of nuances and dimensions from the very first sip. Exotic spice and orange peel notes, followed later by ripe raspberries, mocha and autumn leaves. The Vigna Elena 2019 is an absolute delight. SUPERIORE.DE

Briccotto is a traditional Barolo from the Bussia vineyard, which used to be sold only in 1.Liters bottles. Even today, the wine is only produced in small quantities; the vineyard covers just 0.3 hectares and is planted with Nebbiolo vines, some of which are 40 years old. Rich ruby colour with a slight garnet rim. Intense, finely characterised nose with pronounced fruity nuances, lots of blackberry, dark cherry, also some cranberry. Dense and polished tannins on the palate, almost silky core, embedded in ripe berry fruit. Earthy notes on the final, savoury and long, an aristocratic wine monument! SUPERIORE.DE

530 metres. This is the highest point in the entire Barolo region. Here, at the summit of Serradenari, where the Alps are visible to the north and the "Nebbia" of the Tanaro Valley lies below like a sea, grows the Nebbiolo that Giulia Negri calls her greatest surprise. When she vinified the parcel for the first time, she expected little – too high, too barren, too cold. What she found changed her idea of Barolo. The soil is silty-loamy, interspersed with strong limestone layers, sub-alkaline pH – the opposite of the sandy acidity of Serradenari, the opposite of the alkaline softness of Tartufaia. Limestone at this altitude, exposed to the west, with extreme daily temperature fluctuations: This results in grapes of extraordinary concentration and at the same time extraordinary freshness. 45 days of maceration in conical wooden vats, 30 months in Austrian oak.

Emanuele Pangrazi is probably Lazio's most ambitious winemaker at the moment. With his extreme planting density and radical yield restriction, he is following a path that is trend-setting for Lazio. After he had fundamentally analysed his terroir and also the climatic conditions, it was clear to him in 2006 that he would plant mainly French grape varieties here according to the principle of the great wines of the Rhone. In addition to his famous Cuvée Habemus (Etichetta Bianca) and the San Giovenale Rosso (assemblage from two vintages of Habemus), he also vinifies four single-varietal Habemus wines, but these are absolutely small.

In Andrea Cortonesi's own words, 2019 was the first vintage since the legendary 1990 that gave him the feeling that everything was in balance. A slow start to vegetation after a rainy winter, a summer without heat peaks, even ripening until September. Harvest from 25 September – clean, healthy, concentrated. Already a stroke of luck for the Annata. For the Riserva: a perfect invitation. But not every vintage becomes a Riserva. And not every grape in the best vintage. Cortonesi only uses the oldest vines for the Riserva – planted in 1975, back when the word Brunello was hardly known outside Montalcino. Seven hectares, spread over sites between 150 and 350 metres in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, calcareous-clayey soils with marl and mineral structure. What grows here has decades of life in it.

Annamaria Clementi is not just one Franciacorta among many – but the opus magnum of the Ca' del Bosco house. Named after the mother of founder Maurizio Zanella, this wine bears not just a name, but an attitude: uncompromising selection, maximum precision, radical calm. The 2016 brut nature cuvée, i.e. without dosage, is the expression of a philosophy that sees time as a decisive ingredient. The grapes – 83% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Nero, 2% Pinot Bianco – come from old vineyards with low yields. After meticulous grape washing, the base wines ferment in small barriques and mature on the lees for seven months. This is followed by what makes this wine so exceptional: a second fermentation in the bottle with over 8 years of ageing on the lees.

Historically, the vineyards of Castello di Fonterutoli are located in the areas of three neighbouring municipalities of Chianti Classico: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Radda in Chianti. With the 2017 vintage, the Mazzei family vinified all three large vineyards separately as Chianti Classico Gran Selezione for the first time in order to recognise the diversity of the terroir: Castello di Fonterutoli, Vicoregio 36 and Badiòla.

Viettis Barolo Riserva with grapes from Castiglione Falletto is matured for two years in large wooden barrels, then in steel tanks and then for several years in the bottle. Classic bouquet of wild berries, cherries and rose petals. Rusty minerals are accompanied by violets and candied orange peel. Juicy on the palate and extremely fresh and agile for its age, with wonderful balance and equilibrium. An inspiring wine that still has many good years ahead of it, but is already completely convincing today. SUPERIORE.DE

Pecorino – an autochthonous grape variety from the border region between southern Marche and northern Abruzzo, traditionally cultivated at high altitudes, where it develops its characteristic fullness and generosity. For the pepfamily, this wine was a new challenge when they planted one and a half hectares of vines in 2007: to vinify an unknown grape variety according to the same radical biodynamic principles as Trebbiano and Montepulciano and to subject it to the test of long maturation, which Emidio pepsees as the key to refinement and elegance. The first vintage, 2010, proved that Pecorino not only has immediate beauty, but also the ageing potential that Emidio describes as "the wine of the future". Today, this Pecorino is the winery's smallest production – a white rarity that shows how this noble grape variety can reach its peak under the hands of uncompromising craftsmen.

Giulia Negri would certainly not have the nickname "Barolo Girl" if this wine did not exist. The grapes for this archetype of a modern-traditional (sic!) Barolo come from the top vineyards of Brunate and Serradenari, the latter of which lies at an altitude of up to 520 metres and the soils are clayey-sandy. The grapes are fermented spontaneously and then matured in large oak barrels. Barriques? Not a chance.

A monument from Montepulciano – and yet not a stylistic muscleman: Kurni is the expression of an uncompromising philosophy that aims for density, balance and expression rather than volume. The vines are deeply rooted in the clay-limestone soils of the southern Marche region, are meticulously tended and produce minimal yields. The hand-picked grapes undergo a long maceration period before the wine matures for 18 months in new French barriques.

A Nerello from the flanks of Etna – radical in its origins, resolute in its form. Alberelli di Giodo is the Sicilian expression of the signature of Carlo Ferrini, one of Italy's most respected Oenologist. The vines are rooted in Contrada Rampante, 950 metres above sea level on the northern slopes of the volcano – one of the most prestigious sites on the north side of Mount Etna. Grown in the traditional Alberello system, the vines stand on mineral-rich, sandy-volcanic soils interspersed with ash, basalt and pumice. They are ancient vines from times before the phylloxera plague – each one a gnarled, living testimony to the volcanic earth.

Outstanding terroir, terrific grape quality and technical mastery in the cellar have made this one of the most highly prized wines! Beguiling aromas of candied cherry fruit with notes of spice and tobacco. Dense on the palate, very concentrated with fabulous fruit sweetness, subtle acidity and fresh tannins. A hedonistic and at the same time very contemporary dream of finesse and elegance that lingers with long and incredibly deep flavours. SUPERIORE.DE

Marco Bacci's Brunello Riserva from the dream vintage 2016 presents itself full and generous on the nose. Cascades of violet and black fruits wash over the senses with black cherry, blackberry jam and smoked tobacco. The opulent overall impression is completed with a hint of bitter almond and subtle notes of smoke and nuts. These give the wine a deep and dark character. Very well structured on the palate and built for a long life with its well-formed acid-tannin framework. SUPERIORE.DE

The Riecine vineyard in Gaiole in Chianti has a history dating back to the 11th century. Today's vineyards grow between 430 and 600 metres above sea level on stony, alluvial limestone soils over a subsoil of pure limestone - rock that was once washed here from the Monterossi hill by the ancient Massellone river (once called "Clante", the origin of the name "Chianti"). Since 2006, La Gioia has been a pure Sangiovese, a decision that perfectly reflects the philosophy of the estate: absolute concentration on the noblest of all Tuscan grape varieties.

Vintage Tunina is predominantly made from Sauvignon and Chardonnay. There are also small amounts of Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit. Bright golden yellow in colour, the intense, very elegant bouquet shows notes of honey and meadow flowers. Dry, soft, very fruity flavour with excellent persistence, fine spiciness and full body. SUPERIORE.DE

Capo di Stato has long been a legend thanks to its top quality and history. The cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbech was created by Conte Loredan Gasparini. A wine rich in finesse in the classic Bordeaux style, dense and of outstanding structure with flavours of spices and red fruits. Fascinatingly ripe tannins, skilfully integrated into the new French barrique in which the wine was matured for two years. SUPERIORE.DE

Graci's fourth vintage Sopra il Pozzo is a "selection from the selection" and comes from the Arcurìa vineyard. It is the red archetype of an Etna Rosso, a Nerello cru with the clear DNA of the volcanic-stony terroir. Light ruby with orange reflections, candied fruit on the nose, cooling firewood, some aniseed and herbs. The palate is silky without being smooth, its subtle wood and delicate acid wire harmonise perfectly with the flanking tannin until the unforgettable, mineral-salty finish. Only 2,300 bottles were bottled. SUPERIORE.DE