2013 Italy

It was in Puglia in 2000 that Lisa Gilbee met Gaetano, a passionate wine appreciator, and son of a grape grower in Puglia. One thing led to another and the family was eventually completed with two small Italo-Aussie kids and a winery. The project Morella began experimentally in 2001 with a small batch off an extremely old bush vine plot.

By “Old Vine” we’re talking 75-year-old, free-standing vines, knotted, gnarled and twisted together. This isn’t shy at 16 percent alcohol, yet is lively thanks to the biodynamic approach in the vineyard. The nose is beautifully concentrated with notes of cherry and cinnamon, leading on to a full-bodied, rich, powerful and unctuous palate with bramble fruit, tobacco and chocolate notes.

There is an elegance to this Primitivo, which is made from fruit grown on 70-year-old vines. Stunning kirsch fruit layers with florals reminiscent of purple iris. The tannins are supple and swathed in ripe fruit but the overall feeling is one of refinement. Drink now to 2021. 

The Barbabecchi vineyard is a two-hectare plot of 100-year-old Nerello Mascalese grown at its limit, at 1,000 metres above sea-level. Elegance and richness are balanced with layers of fruit (kirsch, blood orange and cherry pit) and more savoury notes (smoky minerality and tobacco spice). The tannins are refined and seamlessly bound with the fruit on the mid-palate. Delicious in its youth, this is definitely capable of ageing with grace. Drink now to 2025.

Ornellaia is located in one of the world’s most exciting wine regions: Bolgheri. A breathtaking avenue lined by towering cypress trees leads inland from the Aurelia, the old Roman coastal road, up to the walls of Bolgheri’s medieval hamlet. From the village, the view extends far out to sea and on a clear day the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and Corsica can be seen. Often spoken of in the same breath as Sassicaia, in reality the wines couldn’t be more different. Ornellaia is made from all four of the main Bordeaux varieties, with Merlot playing the supporting role to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lots of power, concentration and a depth of ripe fruit are the hallmarks of this wine, which is rounded off with a full, tannic structure. Built to impress, this will age well. Drink 2019-2028.

Lustrous mid ruby. Quite intense nose of red fruit and oak and perfectly integrated. Still quite closed and backward on the palate with bags of powdery tannins. Powerful structure on the finish. Very long and balanced, yet undeniably oaky for the moment.
Walter Speller - jancisrobinson.com, Oct 2016

The best vintages of Solaia are 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and now 2013. Marchesi Antinori's 2013 Solaia is a profound and meaningful wine that is based mostly on Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc in supporting roles. It sports a dark and thick texture with plump fruit and spice, grilled herb and black pepper. The bouquet is intense and layered with the kind of complexity that is best admired as the wine shifts and evolves in the glass. The textual impact is also impressive—you feel the inherent power and the structure, but these elements are never overdone. The best is yet to come; this Solaia is built for long cellar aging.
Monica Larner - The Wine Advocate, 30th Dec 2016

Just mid ruby with orange tinges. A little more fruit driven than the straight Barbaresco. Cherry and raspberry with a cool edge to it and the merest suggestion of oak. Beautiful, supple, mid-weight palate of red fruit, and complemented with quite demanding tannins, at least for the moment. Precise.
Walter Speller - jancisrobinson.com, Oct 2016

Better known for rescuing the traditional expression of Marsala (do try our fabulous one-off Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Vergine Marsala), De Bartoli also make first-class dry wines. Grillo has a ubiquity in the west of the island, but correctly handled, as here, it is both distinctive and impressive. 

A little oak gives a hazelnut nuance to the ripe lemon pith and oil aromas and the dry, subtle saltiness creates an assertive palate, whilst remaining light on its feet.  This is one of those wines that first appear neutral, yet finish full of character. Drink now but will keep for up to at least 2019. 
Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buyer

A blend of Merlot (50%), Sangiovese (30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), the 2013 Le Volte is a wine of great inner freshness and aromas. Most of the fruit used in the blend is purchased from outside contractors (some 20% of the fruit is estate-grown). The wine is a great addition to the Ornellaia portfolio because you get to taste the work of this celebrated estate without paying a hefty price tag of its top shelf wines. Some 500,000 bottles are produced each year making it easy to find.
Monica Larner - Wine Advocate #221 - Oct 2015

Incredibly impressive from the outset, the colour is deep for Nebbiolo, reminiscent of Grand Cru Pinot Noir from the Cotes de Nuits. The nose is majestic with notes of ripe black cherries, liquorice, ripe plums and spice. It’s difficult to stop smelling the wine, so compelling is the bouquet. The palate is well worth the wait though, as it is beautiful in the mouth, the same black and red fruit characters on the nose are complimented by more earthy, meaty notes, crisp acidity and the finest and ripest of tannins. Everything is perfectly in balance, with all the elements pulling in the same direction. Long and fine the finish goes on for a minute or more. Effortless superb are the words that springs to mind, like the finest vintages of Bordeaux first growth and Grand Cru red Burgundy this is truly majestic and what fine wine is all about in my opinion.
Chris Pollington - Italian Specialist

Tasted from barrel, the exciting 2013 Bolgheri Sassicaia is shaping up to be an epic rendition of this celebrated wine. You get a clear sense of the quality of fruit with your first twirl of the glass. Even at this young stage, the wine shows impressive intensity and elegance. It boasts dark fruit nuances with bold cherry and blackberry that will gain focus and traction with time. Oak notes of vanilla and cinnamon are beginning to show their first signs of mellow integration. This was a cool but classic vintage that saw enhanced aromas, acidity and all the qualities that lead to healthy longevity. The 2013 vintage promises greatness. Drink 2018-2040
95-97/100 Monica Larner - erobertparker.com

Sassicaia’s “Bordeaux blend” is unusual in that it contains no Merlot and is simply made from the two Cabernets; Sauvignon 85% and Franc 15%. The success of the latter in Bolgheri has been a real revelation, normally difficult to ripen, it has found a niche in Bolgheri and is able to lend a cool sophistication to the blends. Sassicaia’s first commercial vintage was 1968 and can rightly claim the title “the first Super-Tuscan”, made, as it was, outside the traditional production zones and from non-traditional grape varieties.

Tignanello’s origins lie in a single vineyard Chianti Classico known simply as “Vigneto Tignanello” made for the 1970 vintage. From 1971 the wine was classified as lowly Vino da Tavola, and the Cabernets were added to the Sangiovese for the first time. The original Super Tuscan was born. The 2013 is the first release since the passing of the great Giacomo Tachis, Head Winemaker at Antinori from the late 1960s through to the 1990s and creator of Tignanello, Sassicaia, Solaia and many of the notable wines of Tuscany and Italy. The 2013 is a fitting tribute to this very talented man.

From one of the most southern points of Europe comes a delicate, ‘light-on-its-feet’ wine, which tastes like it comes from much further north. Floral notes of roses with red-berry fruit and white pepper greet the nose. Ripe, summer fruit with a savoury, saline edge on the palate, this is delicate and fresh with notes of raspberry, red cherries and spice, while crisp acidity and light tannins round this out perfectly. Drink 2015-2018
Chris Pollington – Private Account Manager

Located in Sicily ’s south-eastern Val di Noto province, the landscape of which is dominated by the red-loam-over-whitelimestone soils and dry-stone walls of the Iblei Mountain plateau, and by such beautiful towns such as Siracusa, Vittoria and Modica; this is a world away from Etna, which looms on the horizon. The Occhipinti family is synonymous with the Frappato grape that underpins Siciliy’s only DOCG: Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Arianna kicked off in 2004, making wines in a family farmhouse, before transferring, in 2013, to a purposebuilt winery, where her 22 hectares of Frappato and Nero d’Avola, along with 1.5 hectares of intense Albanello and Zibibbo white grapes, are vinified using cement and Stockinger barrels (made of Slavonian, German and Austrian oak)

Classically Montornello, from the eastern sandy clay slope that lies beside the Bibbiano estate, it's cool and discreet, yet the 2013 vintage is deliciously present in the form of spearmint (mentuccia) freshness and zip, alive with hay-like notes and suave elegance.

Vinified in stainless steel with a 22-day maceration, the wine is then aged in tonneaux and barriques. Drinking now but should develop nicely in bottle for years to come.
Drink 2016-2022.