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#19 On The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2024!

95 points Wine Spectator
Strawberry, raspberry and cherry aromas and flavors are beautifully displayed in this charming version, with loam, tobacco and herbs adding detail while the aftertaste goes on and on. Shows balance and formidable length. Best from 2026 through 2042.

Organic / Natural / Orange

Gravner’s cellar methodology for the indigenous Ribolla is simple, if extreme: bunches, harvested by hand, are transferred by gravity into subterranean amphorae, where they macerate for several weeks; the wine is then pressed and moved back into amphorae for five months, then transferred to large Slavonian casks (all well used) for six years before bottling, with nothing added along the way except trace amounts of sulfur, and without fining or filtration of any kind. The wine rests several more years in bottle in Gravner’s deep storage cellar before being released to an adoring public. Gravner classifies his vintages into those affected by botrytis and those unaffected, and he particularly prizes botrytis-affected vintages for the aromatic and textural complexity they lend his wines. 2016 presented Gravner with a gorgeous sunny summer with no major weather calamities, and gentle August rains ushered in the onset of botrytis. Picking wrapped up on the 28th of October, and the finished wine—clocking in at a modest 14% alcohol—offers a beguiling salty-savory quality, with cleanly rendered minerality and a satisfying sense of textural meatiness.

For those who like their reds on the sweet side, this fruit-filled treat is just the thing. Lots of juicy red berries that are hard to resist. You could go ahead and put a chill on this and enjoy it out in the sun, or take it along to your next barbecue. Heck, take it anywhere. This is definitely party wine; no thinking required, just lots of luscious sweet grapes. - PJ

So you hear it bandied about: “There are thousands of native grape varieties in Italy!” That’s true, but a lot of them are merely cute. The most serious native variety Timorasso deserves another category (and it’s white to boot). It’s utterly unique, complex, capable of aging, and transparent to where it’s grown. Walter Massa is the contadino straordinario who brought the grape back to life in the early 1980s. He remains the leading producer and go-to grower for Timorasso.

For Timorasso as a variety: It’s native and unique to the Colli Tortonesi (southeast Piemonte). Before 1980s, most growers were ripping out Timorasso and planting Cortese, as the latter produces more and Gavi was all the rage, so they could sell the grapes easily. Timorasso is one of those grapes (unlike, say, Cortese) that really is delicious and refreshing to eat right off the vine, due to its high sugar content and acidity. When Timorasso is vinified, you get lots of complexity and structure (from alcohol and from tannins – skin contact and thick skins!). Yet there’s plenty of acidity to keep things fresh and a definite counterpoint of what we call ‘honeyed minerality.’ When Timorasso is young, it can be really tight. As it ages, it loses some of its baby fat, and riesling-ish, petrol-like notes emerge. As far as terroir, Walter vinifies each vineyard separately (or tries to if he has enough tanks) and bottles a small portion of three of the vineyards separately.

Native yeasts. Maceration with skins 48-60 hours. Fermentation 18-22°C. Batonnage. Light filtration. Minimum six months bottle aging before release.

Derthona is the ancient name for Tortona, the town in southeast Piemonte after which the appellation Colli Tortonesi (Tortona Hills) is named.

Winemaker Notes:

"Light straw in color with bright yellow highlights. Aromas of golden apples with a hint of white peach. Well-balanced acidity provide a fresh and lively mouthfeel with a clean dry finish."

The grapes are grown in the Veneto region of Italy, in an area near the Valdobbiadene D.O.C.G.area, on the sloping hills just north of Treviso. Soil is alluvial with an important presence of clay.

Founded in 1887 by Francesco Mionetto in the small village of Valdobbiadene, Mionetto has been the preeminent name in Prosecco for over 125 years. In the heart of the Prosecco region, Mionetto produces the exceptional wines that comprise America's favorite Prosecco brand.

Organic / Natural / No Added Sulfites

100% Nebbiolo grapes from our younger and less exposed vines, which produce less concentrated fruit. Vindabeive is our picnic wine! It's the juicy result from a carbonic maceration of Nebbiolo which comes from the higher part of our vineyards and we pick a little earlier then the rest. Grapes spend five days on the skins, roughly half as whole bunches, before being pressed off to cuve for just a couple of months. The wine was bottled just a few months after the harvest, retaining a beautiful vibrancy. With just a hint of tannin, this light, bright and easy take on the grape is just the thing for your next barbecue.

94 points Wine Advocate
Made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tenuta San Guido 2022 Guidalberto gives you a good taste of the same DNA that brings us one of Italy's greatest wines, Sassicaia, but it's offered in a more immediate style here (thanks to the addition of the Merlot). This warm vintage opens to medium-dark concentration and very plump aromas that take you immediately to blackberry and blackcurrant sitting out in the sun at your local farmers market. The wine shows a soft and gentle side with a pretty level of elegance transmitted through the fruit freshness and the light oak spice that is discernible here but delivered with grace…” Monica Larner,

Sweet red.

Winemaker Notes:
The aroma brings a fragrance of spring flowers, pear and apple, while on the palate, a fine string of bubbles is your first indication of the quality of this Prosecco. The flavor is soft, with a creamy fruitiness that hints of almond. This wine is great as an aperitif or with dry sweets and soft cheeses. Serve well chilled.

94 points Vinous
The 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is powerful, savory and intensely linear, in classico Ovello style, and yet it appears to have enough fruit behind its imposing tannins to develop well over the coming years. In this tasting, the Ovello feels pretty closed post bottling, but its inherent balance and qualities are there. Clean saline notes extend the finish in promising fashion.

96 points Kerin O'Keefe
The 2019 Ovello Riserva is succulent and enveloping, offering scents of dark-skinned berry, forest floor, violet and new leather. Full-bodied with impressive structure and fruit, it boasts ripe raspberry, black cherry and licorice supported by firm, close-grained tannins that provide the backbone. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced. Drink 2029?????2044. Abv: 14.5%

Organic / Natural

A fresh and bubbly experience, this Fizzy White lands both crisp and fruity. It’s made up of an easily digestible mix of Trebbiano and Yellow Muscat. Drink it before a big dinner, during those long party nights, on the top of a (reasonably) high mountain, or whenever you feel the call for some celebration bubbles. 10.5% abv. Crafted in Italy from Trebbiano/Yellow muscat.

Organic / Natural

Tired of yet another pale rosé? With the Spritz Rosé you get bubbles and crispness, topped off with a lower alcohol level. Grapefruit, cherries, red apples? Sure, they are all there. But this wine is more about freshness and playfulness. It’s your party pal and reliable companion during those dreamlike summer nights. Drink wine, drink bubbles, drink rosé - but stay razor sharp. 6.5% abv.
Crafted in Italy from Montepulciano.

Organic / Natural

A more quirky experience for the self-proclaimed connoisseurs, but still fun and easy going. The Juicy Orange carries notes of orange blossom and apricot, with a light to medium body. If you’re more into the natty wines of the world, this will probably be your weapon of choice. 12% abv. Crafted in Italy from Grillo/Catarratto/Zibibbo.

Sweet red.

Sweet red.

Organic

100 points James Suckling
This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit is sensational in this young Barolo, offering blackberries, black truffle and iron. Rust too. This is so tannic and powerful with incredible structure. This may be the most structured Barolo from Bruno Giacosa I have ever tasted as a young wine. Speechless. Full-bodied and so intense, yet it remains fresh and agile. Traditional in every sense of the word, but this is clear and clean. A classic in the making. It will be in the market January 2022. Leave this for at least six to eight years. Try in 2027.

98 points Wine Advocate
The Bruno Giacosa 2016 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche sees its fruit sourced from the oldest vines in the Falletto cru. This wine boasts all the signature touches of Serralunga d'Alba with the massive structure, density and the long aging potential that comes with Nebbiolo grown in this village. The wine spreads evenly over the palate, imparting its considerable fruit weight and generally leaving a big impact. This Barolo is really quite lovely and beautiful. The bouquet is fluid and ever-shifting, showing new sides with firm fruit, blackberry, smoke, rusty nail and mineral with every swirl of the glass. I visited this vineyard site shortly before tasting this wine and marveled at the beautiful peacocks that roam free between the rows of vines.

98 points Wine Spectator
This red bursts with juicy cherry, blackberry, floral and mineral aromas and flavors fused to a firm structure, with dense tannins gaining the upper hand on the finish for now. Nevertheless, there is a beam of pure cherry throughout and this finishes long, with fruit and wild herbs gracing the aftertaste. Best from 2026.

96 points Decanter
Bricco Fiasco is a single cru, vinified by itself since 1978, today from vines of 85 years old. The wine, after long maceration and ageing in botti grandi, opens up to smoky woodland notes, with citrus leaf, bark, wild strawberry and rose water delicacy. Full of sucrosity on the palate, the attack is youthful, with firm acidity and grainy, very elegant tannins. Structure and concentration are perfectly woven and poised, giving to this cru terrific balance which will count for ageing. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2050

95 points Wine Advocate
Bricco Fiasco is a proprietary name for a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto with 85 year old vines. Luigi Scavino says, "These vines represent a unique heritage for our family." The 2019 Barolo Bricco Fiasco (with 5,800 bottles released) is a little shy initially, with heavier berry fruit aromas that eventually relax to show campfire ash, pencil shaving and pressed rose. Put this bottle aside for a few more years.

97 points James Suckling
Sweet berries, smoke, cedar and olives on the nose. Floral. Full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and a pretty background and ripe fruit. Flavorful finish. Hints of bitter citrus and smoke, too. Very complex. Powerful for Falletto. Drink after 2026.

97 points Wine Advocate
The Marchesi Antinori 2019 Solaia is another blockbuster success from Tuscany's leading wine estate. The blend sees a slightly higher percentage of Cabernet Franc and a slightly lower percentage of Sangiovese. The current mix is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Franc (which has been creeping up in recent years, especially as the climate changes). The soils at the Solaia vineyard are rich in Galestro rock, which is an especially happy pairing with Cabernet Franc in particular. Managing Director Renzo Cotarella tells me that that a vintage like 2019 is proof that the final character of a wine comes from its surrounding territory, not from the blend. This is a generous and extremely expressive edition with lots of dark fruit, spice and sweet tobacco. The tannins are beautifully velvety and soft. This is a beautiful wine that collectors will love.

97 points Vinous
The 2019 Solaia is fabulous. Deep and exquisitely layered, the 2019 is so expressive right out of the gate. Succulent dark cherry, plum, licorice, incense, pipe tobacco, chocolate and grilled herbs all take shape. Here, too, the aromatics are alluring. Cabernet Franc is bumped up a bit in the blend, and that works so well here. Solaia is often a bombastic, intense wine. The 2019 is incredibly refined and buttoned up. Readers will have to be patient. The 2019 Solaia is the sort of wine I would like to spend a whole evening with. Aging was 18 months in 100% new French oak. (AG)