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Issue 447 - November 18th - 22nd 2019 - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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Once again, no Italian wine convinced all the national guides: the best ones, capable of being rewarded by seven publications (out of nine), are two icons like the Sassicaia 2016 of Tenuta San Guido of the Incisa family of Rocchetta and the San Leonardo 2015 of Tenuta San Leonardo of the Guerrieri Gonzaga family, awarded the highest quality awards by the 2020 guides of Gambero Rosso, Slow Wine, Doctor Wine by Cernilli, Vitae-Ais Italian Sommelier Association, Bibenda, Veronelli and L’Espresso (with its “Top 100”). A result that substantially reaffirms the bizarre nature of the “guide” panorama of the Belpaese.
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In the top 100 wines ranked, there are 21 Italians (like the record year 2001, when Ornellaia 1998 was number one, ed.). Chianti Classico took the lion’s share with 4 wines of course, Barolo (3 wines), and the variety of Italian territories represented a triumph of diversity.This is the Italian story of Wine Spectator’s “Top 100” 2019, considered the most influential of the international wine rankings (based on quality, price, availability on the market and “excitement”). Number one position goes to St.-Julien 2016 of Château Léoville Barton, while Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder 2015 by Mayacamas took the second position, and Italy is in position number 3 with San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti Classico 2016, the first standard bearer of a territory, that is, the Black Rooster. The second Italian wine went to Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin 2015 at number 11, while Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico 2017 is number 17, and Bibbiano Estate Chianti Classico Riserva 2015 is number 19. And, once more from the heart of Chianti Classico, even though it is a Super Tuscan, Tolaini Cabernet Sauvignon Toscana Legit 2013, at number 26, just ahead of Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 2013 at number 27, then Petra Toscana Zingari 2017 at 29 and again Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico 2015 at spot number 33. Following these there is a quartet of Piedmont wines, Nervi Conterno Gattinara 2015 is number 36, Ca’ del Baio Barbaresco Autinbej 2015 at spot 39, G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2015 at spot 48 and Marquis of Barolo Barbera del Monferrato Maraia 2017 at number 50. Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2016 at spot number 54. Mirabella Brut Rosé Franciacorta NV, is at 68, ahead of Marotti Campi Verdicchio of the Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Luzano 2017, confirming the quality of the Marche region white, at 72, then Vincenzo Ippolito Cirò White Mare Chiaro 2018 at 77. Going up and down from North to South closing out the Italian group, Casa Vinicola Triacca Valtellina Superiore Sassella 2016 is at spot 80, continuing to Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2017 at 83, followed by one of the iconic Sicilian wines, San Martino Aglianico del Vulture Arberesko 2015, at 85, Cantina Terlano Pinot Grigio Alto Adige Tradition 2018 at 87, and Benanti Etna 2017 at number 96. |
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Italian collectable wines continue, step by step, to grow in international markets. As in Hong Kong, one of the most important markets for wine auctions, where the growth of the Italian wine in the consideration of collectors is also witnessed by the latest auction of Gelardini & Romani Wine Auction, the only Italian company active on foreign markets, with a catalog almost 100% made in Italy, which has collected 550,000 euros in “The Collector’s legacy sale”. Where the two top lots, paid 6,000 euros, are both signed by Bruno Giacosa: one for three bottles of Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda 1990, and one for two bottles of Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda 1989. “And the price of 3,000 euros per bottle, paid for 1989 by a local collector, is an absolute record for a 0.75 litre bottle of Italian wine at an international auction”, comments Raimondo Romani at WineNews. |
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Prosecco DOCG is on top of the world: Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Nino Franco NV Rustico Brut is n. 1 on the 2019 “The Enthusiast 100”, the ranking of the best wines on the planet according to the US magazine “Wine Enthusiast”, whose Italian editor is Kerin O’Keefe. The top position has been awarded in the year of the 100th anniversary of one of the most historic wineries in the area, as well as the recognition of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites for the vineyard hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. The motive is very simple, as Kerin O’Keefe explained to WineNews, “it offers an unbeatable quality / price ratio”. “The recognition is for the company and the territory, and we are very pleased. More than anything else, it is a message to those who are still looking down their noses at this simple, but extraordinary Italian wine”, Primo Franco commented to WineNews. There are a total of 17 Italian wines on the ranking (Italy is second only to the US, at 30, and ahead of France, at 16), with wines signed by producers such as Adriano Marco & Vittorio, Salcheto, Tiefenbrunner, Paltrinieri, Marangona, Renato Ratti, Giovanni Rosso, Elena Walch, Mustilli, Le Chiuse, Castello di Volpaia, Rivera, Zaccagnini, Donnafugata, Contesa and Villa Sparina. |
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A tribute to the universal language of music: this is the inspiration for the work of the Greek artist Mikis Theodorakis, born in Chios in 1925, musician, politician, theorist and philosopher, dedicated to the 37th edition of the Artist’s Label. He created the label for Vigna Doghessa 2017 by Casanuova di Nittardi, renewing one of the oldest relationships between art and wine, which, since 1981, has involved artists of international renown (Emilio Tadini, Valerio Adami, Guenter Grass, Dario Fo, Yoko Ono, Igor Mitoraj), among the vineyards that once belonged to Michelangelo Buonarroti. |
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Vineyards for all budgets: between the rows of the Belpaese, abysmal price differences from territory to territory, from denomination to denomination, often also between “neighbors”. It is one of the possible readings of the survey on “The trend of the land market in Italy in 2018” signed by Crea, from which emerge, however, quotations far from the real market values, as evidenced by the many trades told by WineNews in recent years, especially in the most valuable areas of viticulture in Italy, where the “real” prices are often well above those developed by Crea, which, however, puts Barolo at the top, with prices ranging from 200,000 to 1.5 million euros per hectare, followed by Brunello di Montalcino (250-700,000 euros per hectare), while on the other hand, one hectare of Cannonau, in Sardinia, is worth just 11-15,000 euros. |
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When the harvest is over, the picture of how much wine is really in the cellar is becoming increasingly clear. The data of the telematic register, updated to November 15, 2019, speak of 43 million hectoliters of wine, plus 14.5 million new wine still in fermentation, and 15.5 million hectoliters of musts. More than 60% of the wine in Italy is physically held in the northern regions. In Veneto alone there is a quarter of the national wine while in terms of denominations (with the world Prosecco on the top), the top 10 (out of a total of 524) account for 39% of the total. |
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