Italy

Abbazia di Novacella 'Praepositus' Riesling is a dry, white, semi-aromatic wine from Italy's Trentino Alto Adige region. It is a straw yellow colour with golden highlights, and aromas of pineapple, peach, yellow pulp fruit, honey and flint. The palate is linear, racy and savoury, with strong minerality.

The grapes for this wine come from the Conca di Bressanone in the province of Bolzano, at altitudes between 650 and 750 meters above sea level. The wine is vinified and aged in stainless steel, and is a regular winner of the Tre Bicchieri award.

The Abbazia di Novacella wine estate dates back to 1142, and has been an important cultural and spiritual center since medieval times

The "Ba-Ne" is a blend of the two top red grape varieties of Piedmont: Barbera and Nebbiolo.  They work together wonderfully in a blend, Nebbiolo bringing high acidity, bold tannins, and elegance. The Barbera provides a richer body, and full plump fruit.

Abbazia's version sports an earthy nose reminiscent of terracotta, a lively wine with cola, raspberry and cherry fruits, a nutty mid palate with a long chalky finish. Superb value too!

Casa Vinicola Abbazia winery is located in Santo Stefano Belbo, a small town between Langhe Monferrato and Roero in Piedmont, Northwestern Italy. The winery was established in 1848, adjacent to an ancient Abbey built in 1028, in honour of Saint Gaudentius, the hermit saint who, around the 6th century, retired to the surrounding mountains to live a life of silence and prayer.

A classically modern rendition of Barolo - arguably Italy's most famous wine. Orange hued cherry colour, complex wine with tar, cherry, earth, red currants and leather, bold ripe tannins, good structure.

Casa Vinicola Abbazia winery is located in Santo Stefano Belbo, a small town between Langhe Monferrato and Roero in Piedmont, North-western Italy. The winery was established in 1848, adjacent to an ancient Abbey built in 1028, in honour of Saint Gaudentius, the hermit saint who, around the 6th century, retired to the surrounding mountains to live a life of silence and prayer.

Dry northern Italian white from the deliciously different Gruner Veltliner grape variety, the most iconic white grape and wine from Austria, which is just over the border from the Abbazia di Novella winery. This is the oldest winery in Italy and makes outstanding dry wines, white and red. 

The Allegrini Valpolicella is a blend of Corvina Veronese 65%, Rondinella 30% and Molinara 5%. It is ruby red in colour, with fragrant red cherry, pepper and fine herbs on the nose. The palate is juicy and vibrant with fresh berry notes and a herbal, peppery element. This wine is an elegant and approachable blend made from some harder to find varietals,

100% Nebbiolo from the commune of Castiglione Falletto where the vines have an average age of between 35 to 50 years and grow at an altitude of 250 to 300 metres on calcareous marl soils facing south west. Vinification is in stainless steel and aging in traditional oak casks. 

Dolcetto is a one of the hidden treasures of Piemonte with its smooth rounded mouthfeel and impressive body and drinkability. This is a deliciously complex example from Dogliani in the region. 

Plantings of this grape declined in the 1990?s in favour of the more expensive, easier to market Barolo and Barberescos. It came down to money, not quality and quietly the wine world mourned. Luckily a few faithful enclaves remained faithful to the grape like in Dogliani just south of Alba.

The wine is jet black in colour with a sumptuous nose of blackberries dusted with exotic spices - fruity with great length and structure.

This lovely smooth Chardonnay is made with grapes grown on the Castello della Sala Estate, which surrounds the medieval castle at Castello della Sala in the region of Umbria, which borders Tuscany. 

The vineyards here are planted in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which both grow well in the clay soils here. 

The 2019 Bram?to Chardonnay is characterized by delicate white flower notes followed by light sensations of citrus fruit. The palate is crisp, fresh and full bodied with lovely mineral notes which provide a long finish with flavours of ripe peach and notes of soft creaminess. 

This wine is sealed with a screwcap; a modern touch used on many wines from Marchese Antinori. 

The name Cervaro comes from the noble family that owned Castello della Sala during the 14th century, Monaldeschi della Cervara. A blend of Chardonnay grapes and a small quantity of Grechetto make a wine that can age over time and represent the elegance and complexity of this unique estate. Cervaro della Sala is one of the first Italian white wines to have malolactic fermentation and aging take place in barriques. The first vintage of Cervaro to be produced was the 1985 vintage.

Vineyard notes: 

Soil: Originating in the Pliocene period, rich in marine fossils with veins of clay. Castello della Sala is located in the Umbria region, not far from the Tuscan border, about 18 kilometers from the historic city of Orvieto. The Medieval castle?s property extends over an area of 500 hectares (1235 acres), 170 hectares (420 acres) are planted with vineyards at an altitude that varies between 220 and 470 meters above sea level (722/1541 feet) on the gently rolling hillsides that characterize the beautiful countryside in this area. Castello della Sala is the perfect place for growing white varieties. 

The vines grow in clay and calcareous based soils, rich in fossil shells, and they are well exposed to the rising of the sun with excellent diurnal variation. The one exception to the rule is Pinot Noir, the only red variety that has found in this area ideal growing conditions to best express its full potential."

A great Italian red from one of the oldest family owned wineries in the world, which has produced wine since the 1200s. This expressive Chianti Classico is dense and complex with piquant spicy aromas, firm impressive tannins and the energy of a great red from one of the world's classic wine regions.

"Impenetrable dark ruby. Deep, concentrated marasca cherry and cherry liqueur with a minty, oaky note and a hint of cinnamon. A concentrated cherry-fruit palate layered with minty oak notes and lots of sandy tannins building up on the tangy finish. Will disappoint no one."

16.5/20 ? Jancis Robinson Purple Pages

This is one of Marchese Antinori's top Tuscan wines and is made from the Peppoli Vineyard in the Chianti Classico DOCG. This wine was first made in 1985 and is a full bodied Chianti Classico with firm smooth tannins and high acidity, which is balanced by the ripe dark fruit characters and silky finish. 

It was aged in large Slovenian oak barrels with a small portion aged in stainless steel to retain fresh fruit flavours and balance. 

THE CHIANTI CLASSICO APPELLATION

Chianti Classico is the heart of the wider Chianti production zone and its wines are distinguished by a trademarked black rooster on their labels. The wines of Chianti Classico are higher in quality and noticeably so in taste than wines labelled Chianti, which come from a broader area in Tuscany. The wines taste better because the vines are planted on hillsides with a higher degree of  iron rich soils and a greater diurnal temperature range, which provides more powerful, riper fruit flavours, which are balanced by higher acidity thanks to the cooler night time temperatures. 

The Sangiovese grape must make up 80% of all wines labelled Chianti Classico compared to 70% Sangiovese for wines labelled Chianti. 

Chianti was first defined as a wine producing sub region within Tuscany in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, whose wanted to protect the integrity of the wines and prevent fraud. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was formed in 1924 with the distinctive Black Rooster trademark chosen to feature on the labels. 

Bright, shimmering pink. On the nose fresh forest berries, a light citrus scent with spicy undertones. On the palate juicy, crispy with a perceivable saltiness. Clear and fresh on the finish.

Smooth, fruity Italian red blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah grapes. This Tuscan wine is a lovely introduction to the great world of Italian reds in the Antinori stable; a family company that has been continuously producing wine back to the 1300s.

What the critics say...

"It's delightfully fruited and fragrant on the nose with dark plum."

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Once regarded as a renegade wine, Antinori Tignanello has been a trend setter from the start and was the first Sangiovese to be aged in barriques, the first contemporary red wine blended with untraditional varieties (specifically Cabernet) and one of the first red wines in the Chianti Classico region that didn?t use white grapes. Today it is a blend  of Sangiovese (68%) with the balance being Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Complex floral aromas lead into structured dark fruit, mocha and spice flavours in a wine with a medium body and beautifully balanced long finish. 

The history of Tignanello 

Tignanello was the first Sangiovese on the record to be aged in barriques, the first contemporary red wine blended with non traditional Tuscan grape varieties (specifically Cabernet Sauvignon) and one of the first red wines in the Chianti Classico region that didn?t use white grapes in the blend. All up, a big call. 

Piero Antinori first discovered the use of non indigenous grapes, and more specifically, those used in Bordeaux through his uncle Marchese Mario Incisa della Rochetta who had a vineyard at Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri, and was making a wine using grapes better known as Bordeaux classics, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot et al. 

At first, this was for his own personal consumption, however was released in 1968 as the legendary Sassicaia.

Piero went off and forged his own path in Tuscany making wines from the local Sangiovese but also a select few made from Bordeaux grapes. This wine is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc - and as these wines are prohibited in Chianti, the wine is an IGT and not a DOCG.