After the Montalcino dream year of 2016, things quietened down around the famous appellation for a while, even though some winemakers bottled amazingly good Brunellos in 2017 and 2018, which the dedicated Brunello community will enjoy for a long time to come. These two vintages will possibly be like the 1998, which initially caused disillusionment immediately after the proclaimed dream year of...

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After a monumental 2019 vintage that produced wines that, for reasons of common sense, need to disappear into the cellar for a few years to develop their full power, intensity and class, most of the Barolo 2020s are now on the market. It is an almost cheerful vintage, the wines are generally more accessible and fresher. They have everything that makes a Barolo, but they are less austere in...

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UGA stands for Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive (supplementary geographical unit). It describes the specific vineyard designations in Chianti Classico. The area is located in the centre of Tuscany and, at 70,000 hectares, covers around a third of the region. The boundaries of the growing area, which stretches between Florence and Siena, were established as early as 1716. The Sangiovese grape...

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The wine-growing region of Sicily is characterised by boundless expanses and contrasts such as the damp, foggy coolness of Erice and the hellish heat of Randazzo at the foot of Mount Etna. Which brings us to today’s topic: The Etna region has probably held the most exciting position within Sicily for some years now. The wines are often less opulent, have a very special texture, acidity and...

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Prosecco is not just Prosecco. Millions of Liters of often banal sparkling wine are produced under this protected name every year, which in recent years has prompted some top winemakers from the core zone around Conegliano Valdobbiadene to radically abandon this generic designation in the names of their products. As a result, the DOCG products from this small core region are increasingly...

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When Eric Guido (Vinous.com) talks about the current status of the Veneto wine region, he rightly calls it “a constant process of development”. He writes: “Whether it is Valpolicella, Soave or one of the smaller production areas in the region, Veneto has undergone an enormous change in a seemingly very short period of time – mostly in a positive direction. However, in a region like...

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“You never turn your back on challenges." - This quote from Wladimir Klitschko is the best way to describe the commitment and the results achieved by our winegrowers in 2023, which was not always an easy year. The 2023 grape harvest in Italy and elsewhere in the world showed that farmers, and winegrowers in particular, face considerable challenges in times of climate change. The more...

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If there is one Italian wine region where red wine lovers will find everything their heart desires, then it is the Valpolicella zone in Veneto, located east of Lake Garda near the Soave area between the towns of Bardolino and Verona. The name Valpolicella itself is derived from the Latin term “Vallis Poli Cellae” and translates as “the valley of many cellars”, whose growing area hides a rich...

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Even if the (Vino) Nobile is not exactly one of the best-known of Italian red wines, it deserves the glamour and reputation of the historic noble wine with which high society, popes and even presidents have filled their wine cellars since the 16th century. In recent years, there seems to be a joyful return to a classic and pure Sangiovese style. Many winemakers are producing an increasingly...

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As every year, Antonio Galloni dedicates a separate tasting report to the exciting Tuscan west coast. And as always, we have brought you the wines available with us from this exciting report “The new wines from the Tuscan coast will give readers much pleasure. The 2020 vintage is somewhat uneven, but the best wines offer remarkable freshness and aromatic intensity, with less weight than is...

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Dott. Daniele Cernilli, internationally renowned Italian wine journalist, co-founder and long-standing editor-in-chief of the renowned Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso, has had a new project close to his heart for a few years now: “Doctor Wine” - a very active and successful online platform about Italian wine, which is also published in English. In October 2014, his 550-page “Guida...

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Anyone who thinks that no prickly pears grow in the north of Italy has never been to the Valtellina. The Valtellina - as it is called in German - lies on the border to Switzerland in northern Lombardy and looks back on a wine-growing tradition that is over 2,000 years old. Sheltered by the Rhaetian Alps, the vines here thrive in an optimally sunny southern exposure and benefit from the warm...

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At the end of February, Monica Larner published for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate her first ratings of the Brunello di Montalcino 2017 and Riserva 2016 that came on the market this year. She rightly asks in her article and also immediately gives the answer: “And what is the soul of Brunello? The ideal is elegance. Few wine regions in the world have the potential to produce wines with such...

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This is what we call a hat trick: After we were able to enjoy the very well-balanced, fruit-driven and almost perfect 2015 vintage last year, the appellation is now doing it again. In terms of elegance, complexity and finesse, the 2016 vintage brings wines to the market that are more comparable to the great 2010 vintage. Compared to the fruity, warm and very harmonious style of the rightly...

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“It is a vintage full of strength and purity, the result of a long growing season without extreme events. One that was warmer than 2014 and with much less rain, yet the water reserves were high due to the rainfall during the winter months. These reserves helped the vines through the dry, warm and sunny summer months, supplemented by cool night temperatures and just the right amount of rainfall...

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“The 2015 vintage is a historical year for Brunello di Montalcino that nobody should miss. The wines show impressive precision of vivid fruit, fine tannins and freshness in acidity despite their ripeness and richness which makes them some of the most exciting in years. Winemakers in Montalcino were never better prepared to produce outstanding wines in a year like 2015 with their exactness in...

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