Italy
Italy
Pio Cesare 1964 Barolo
Italian Red
Sand and leather appear on the nose, with sweet fruit, rose, nuts and sweet tar. The palate is slaty and soft, with leathery, savoury fruit, sweetness and acidity. Tannins have receded. Smoothness and balance are also present. Cigar, chocolate, smoke and tar accompany this Nebbiolo from Piedmont's Barolo appellation. The wine is red and listed at 13.5 percent alcohol.
Domenico Clerico 1997 Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra
Italian Red
Dark ruby colour has a garnet edge. Violet, toasty oak, blackberry and plum accompany a full-bodied profile with abundant fruit and ripe tannins. Lead pencil, cedar, black fruit, smoke, earth and vanilla are also present. The texture is velvety, with richness, concentration and sweet tannins. A long finish and a late note of dark chocolate are present.
Montevertine 2011 Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT
Italian Red
Sangiovese comes from historic vineyards planted between the late 1960s and late 1990s. Medium-dense ruby colour accompanies raspberry, sour cherry, strawberry, fennel and aniseed. The tannins are polished and fine-meshed, with juicy ripe raspberry and plum and a long finish. Fermentation takes place in concrete, followed by twelve months in Allier barriques and twelve months in Slavonian oak casks.
Salicutti 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Sorgente
Italian Red
Sangiovese grows in a high vineyard with heavier clay and a gentle southwest incline. Red cherry, molasses, herbs and candied violet accompany freshness, elegant acidity and concentrated fruit. Peony, red-currant blossom, red plum and watermelon are also present. The tannins are suede-like, and the finish is long and complex. The organically grown fruit undergoes extended skin maceration.
Tenuta Luce 2021 Luce Toscana IGT
Italian Red
Intense ruby-red colour accompanies dark fruit, wild blackberry and mulberry, with sweet violet, blossoms and mixed spice. The palate is broad, with silk-smooth tannins, balance and a long spice-infused finish. Merlot and Sangiovese form the blend. Fermentation takes place in concrete for twelve days, with twenty-two days of skin maceration. Ageing lasts twenty-four months in eighty percent new and twenty percent once-used barriques.
Poggio Antico 1997 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
The wine is made from Sangiovese. Plum, berry and cherry aromas are present with a full-bodied palate. Ripe fruit, refined tannins and a long, caressing finish appear in the profile. Dark ruby colour has a garnet core. Clove, juniper berry, white pepper, iris and cedar accompany blackberry, sweet tobacco and liquorice. Dense texture, crispness and firm tannins are also present.
Nittardi 2009 Riserva Selezionata Chianti Classico 1.5 L
Italian Red
Sangiovese and Merlot form a 95/5 blend from the single south-facing Vigna Alta hill at 500 metres. Fermentation lasts fifteen days in stainless steel at twenty-eight to thirty degrees. The wine spends twenty-four months in French oak barriques and six months in bottle. Warm ripe-fruit aromas and freshness are present. This Riserva was produced only in a year selected for its quality.
E. Pira & Figli Chiara Boschis 2020 Via Nuova Barolo
Italian Red
Nebbiolo comes from six vineyards in Barolo, Monforte d'Alba and Serralunga d'Alba. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel with punch-downs and pump-overs. The wine matures for about two years in casks and French oak barriques, then one year in bottle. Dried leaves, bark and disturbed earth appear with violet, liquorice and spice. Elegance and freshness accompany finely shaped tannins and long saline persistence.
Borgo Salcetino 2011 Lucarello Chianti Classico Riserva 1.5 L
Italian Red
Sangiovese and Canaiolo form a 90/10 blend. The grapes ferment and the wine ages in oak for up to three years from harvest. Deep ruby-garnet colour accompanies perfumed red-fruit aromas. Berry and cherry flavours are structured and balanced, with spice and cedar present on the palate. The wine is sweet, soft and supple, and has a very long finish.
Tenute Silvio Nardi 2016 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Sangiovese from Casale del Bosco and Manachiara is blended from twenty separate vinifications. Grapes are hand harvested, then fermentation and maceration last twenty-eight days below twenty-eight degrees. Maturation lasts twenty-four months in large Slavonian oak, followed by eighteen months in bottle. The wine shows dark colour saturation, with dark fruit, plum, soft potting soil and grilled herb, alongside freshness and a tannic backbone.
Ridolfi 2018 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Hand-harvested Sangiovese comes from the north-eastern side of Montalcino at 300 metres, where the soils contain clay, marine fossils and alberese. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts, and skin maceration lasts forty-three days. The wine spends thirty-six months in large Slavonian oak and at least twelve months in bottle. Dark berries, cherries, violet, sweet spices and balsamic notes accompany an elegant, rich profile with salty tannins and long persistence.
Jurij Fiore & Figlia 2021 PuntodiVista Lamole Chianti Classico
Italian Red
Fifty-year-old Sangiovese grows at a density of ten thousand bush-trained vines per hectare and is co-fermented with a small share of local varieties. Eucalyptus, sandalwood, white pepper and cinnamon are present. Broad, grainy tannins accompany a juicy blood-orange note. The wine is powerful, sinewy and midweight, and comes from the Chianti Classico area of Lamole.
Pio Cesare 1997 Il Bricco Barbaresco
Italian Red
Nebbiolo comes from elevated micro-plots in Bricco di Treiso. Fermentation and long skin maceration take place in stainless steel. Ageing lasts nearly twenty-four months in large French and Eastern European oak, with a small share in French barriques. Powerful, structured tannins meet intense spicy fruit, concentration and acidity. Bottle ageing is also part of the production.
Poderi Colla 2024 Pian Balbo Dolcetto d’Alba
Italian Red
Purple-red colour has violet edges, with cherry, plum, almond and spice. Ripe fruit, fine tannins and vinosity shape the palate. Dolcetto comes from a hilltop vineyard with established plantings. After manual harvest, the grapes are destemmed and crushed. Skin maceration lasts five to seven days, followed by full malolactic fermentation and maturation in stainless steel before bottling.
Riecine 2021 Chianti Classico
Italian Red
Pale purple colour accompanies red and purple florals, red cherry, plum, raspberry, pomegranate, orange peel, herbs, liquorice and sweet spice. The palate is agile and lightly textured, with complex minerality, powdery tannins and lively acidity. Sangiovese comes from high-altitude vineyards in Gaiole. It ferments spontaneously with indigenous yeast in concrete, then matures in unlined concrete and large untoasted oak.
Emilio Vada 2024 Cua Rusa Langhe Nebbiolo
Italian Red
Live ruby colour has light violet reflections, with raspberry, rose and violet. The palate is full, harmonious and slightly dry, with a lingering aftertaste. Nebbiolo grows in calcareous, clay-rich soil. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel with daily pumpovers. Malolactic fermentation follows, and the wine remains in stainless steel before bottling in April or May.
Tenuta di Saragano 2018 Montefalco Rosso Riserva
Italian Red
Sangiovese forms sixty percent of the blend, with twenty percent each Merlot and Sagrantino. Ruby colour tends toward garnet, with black cherry, ripe wild berries, cedar and tobacco. The profile is soft and harmonious, with refined tannins. The twenty-five-year-old vineyard lies at 500 metres on sandstone and clay. Maturation includes French barriques, large barrels and a year in bottle in an underground cave.
Mandirola 1913 2021 Tantèi Timorasso Riserva
Italian White
Jasmine, gardenia, honeysuckle and orange blossom accompany fresh and baked heirloom apples and pears. The profile is lush, with honeycomb, stone fruit, bitter orange marmalade, crunchy acidity and stony minerality. Timorasso comes from a vineyard more than ninety years old. Fermentation starts in concrete, finishes in wood, then returns to concrete before ageing on lees and in bottle.
Cantina Terlano 2022 Monticol Pinot Nero Riserva
Italian Red
Intense ruby red colour accompanies wild strawberry, raspberry and cherry, with restrained spice and flint. The wine is balanced, with mineral elegance and a long finish. Pinot Noir grows at 450 to 650 metres on sandy porphyric gravel. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, followed by twelve months in large wooden barrels and barriques, with blending three months before bottling.
I Vigneri 2020 Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Woodland berries, volcanic stone, unripe cherry and undergrowth appear together. Marked tannins and acidity accompany a mineral character and good persistence. The red colour is vivid rather than intense. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio form the blend, with fruit drawn from mountain vineyards around Randazzo. Day-to-night temperature changes and volcanic soil form part of the growing conditions.
Tenute Guardasole 2017 Boca
Italian Red
Nebbiolo accounts for eighty percent of the blend, with twenty percent Vespolina. Rosehip and black pepper accompany fresh cherry, blackcurrant, floral notes, medicinal herbs and citrus detail. The wine is dry, with incisive tannins, spice and salinity. Its finish is long and broad. Vines grow below five hundred metres, and maturation lasts at least eighteen months in large oak casks.
Podere Sottoilnoce 2020 Funambol
Italian Sparkling
Trebbiano di Spagna comes from certified-organic, twenty-five-year-old vines rooted in clay and limestone. Fermentation is spontaneous, and the wine is bottle-fermented, unfined and unfiltered. Yellow citrus, field flowers, aromatic herbs and mineral notes accompany citric acidity, fine bubbles and a dry, savoury finish. Residual sugar is below one gram per litre, while total sulphites remain under ten milligrams per litre.
Cocchi Barolo Chinato NV 500 mL
Italian Fortified
Cinchona bark, rhubarb root, gentian flowers and cardamom seeds are slowly macerated at room temperature with a Barolo DOCG base. The result balances bitter and sweet elements, with harmonious perfume, an immediate taste and persistent aromatic character. This Piedmont aromatized wine also includes sugar, alcohol, herbs and spices, and carries an alcohol level of sixteen and a half percent.
Roagna 2017 Langhe Rosso
Italian Red
Tart cherry, leather and tar meet zesty acidity and solid structure, with dried red cherry, kirsch, mint, cinnamon and orange peel adding further detail. Fruit is hand harvested from vines between twenty and twenty-five years old. Fermentation lasts about ten days in wooden vats, followed by at least two months of submerged-cap maceration and roughly five years in neutral oak and cement.
Poderi Colla 2021 Pietro Colla Alta Langa Extra Brut
Italian Sparkling
A complex, rich and persistent bouquet brings bread crust, white flowers and aromatic herbs. The palate is dry and vinous, with substantial, elegant structure, full body and acidity. The blend is 90 percent Pinot Noir and 10 percent Nebbiolo. Fermentation and ageing take place in bottle for at least two years. Refilling uses the same wine without liqueur d'expédition.
Lo Sparviere 2016 Franciacorta Brut Millesimato
Italian Sparkling
Green-yellow colour with silver highlights accompanies hazelnut, candied fruit and apple peel. The palate is creamy, direct and linear, while the finish highlights acidity and fruit. Made from Chardonnay and farmed organically, the wine is Brut. The estate's vineyards lie in Monticelli Brusati and Provaglio d'Iseo, on calcareous marl with mineral-rich sedimentary clay for Franciacorta.
D’Angelo 2017 Valle del Noce Aglianico del Vulture
Italian Red
Dark and brooding, musty blackcurrant, dried cherry, cinnamon, clove and cocoa meet ripe red-berry fruit in a racy, sleek profile. Saline mineral notes accompany grippy tension, while the wine is not aggressively tannic. The finish is dramatically long, with mocha and liquorice. Made from Aglianico, this red comes from Basilicata's Aglianico del Vulture appellation in southern Italy.
Giovanni Valentini 2019 Crebesco Toscana Rosso
Italian Red
Raspberry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry and guarana accompany a medium-to-full body, mature tannins and a warm, enveloping finish. Mineral and spice notes sit beside ripe red fruit, chocolate, leather and tobacco. The blend is 40 percent Sangiovese, 40 percent Merlot and 20 percent Syrah. Grapes are hand harvested, while Sangiovese and Syrah are partially dried before fermentation.
I Vigneri 2018 Vinupetra Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Pale ruby colour accompanies Mediterranean herbs, peonies, rosehip, barberry, red and black cherries. The wine is concentrated, with fine-grained, slightly drying tannins, high complexity, refreshing acidity and bright fruit. Pine tar, resin and red tea add further detail. The finish is very long. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically by hand and planted mainly to Nerello Mascalese.
Contrada Santo Spirito di Passopisciaro 2014 Animardente Etna Rosso
Italian Red
Anise, red liquorice, red flowers, dried strawberry, leather, tobacco and walnut shell accompany raspberry, wild cherry and herbal tannins. The Nerello Mascalese comes from ungrafted vines more than sixty years old at 500 to 700 metres on Etna. Fermentation uses wood and stainless steel, followed by six months of maturation. Alcohol is 14.5 percent. The wine is lighter-bodied and textural.