PRODUTTORI DEL BARBARESCO Riserva Paje, Barbaresco DOCG

PRODUTTORI DEL BARBARESCO Riserva Montefico, Barbaresco DOCG

PRODUTTORI DEL BARBARESCO Riserva Montestefano, Barbaresco DOCG

It’s no coincidence Pillastro is one of our bestselling Italian reds – customers love all that richness, warmth and bold, ripe fruit. Pillastro comes from Puglia, in Italy’s deep south, best known for big, smoky wines made from prized local varieties Primitivo and Negroamaro. It is made by Angelo Maci, a leading figure in the quality revolution of the last two decades, whose cellar Cantine Due Palme has twice been named Winery of the Year. Angelo made this wine purely from Primitivo, which produces rich, powerful reds with plenty of ripe fruit. A period of oak ageing has infused the wine’s generous plum and damson character with notes of spice and vanilla. Enjoy with hearty casseroles, pasta with a rich tomato sauce, or garlic roasted lamb.

Roberto Voerzio Fossati Barolo The Fossati is a descentdaent of the Fossati Case Nere 10 Anni Riserva. This wine offers a dual education in the power and robustness of relatively younger vineyard Barolo (it is more Barolo than La Morra) and the lamentable predictability of Italian bureaucratic nonsense. Owing to a change in the regulations, Roberto Voerzio had to change tack from his doppio cru reserve Barolo, known as Fossati Case Nere, as producers can only put the name of the winery, the region, sub-region or the particular cru on the label. You might think this is a reasonable stipulation, and, in truth, it is. What was so predictably lamentable is that it took so long. Now Roberto keeps the Case Nere for his Riserva and the Fossati for the Young Turk of Barolo that we may enjoy now. The 2015 was the first vintage of this wine.

Roberto Voerzio Cerequio Barolo The south/southeast-facing vineyard of Cerequioone of the most prestigious Crus in the commune of La Morra if not all of Barolosits at 270-320m asl. The older vines are pruned for low yields with an aggressive green harvest followed by trimming the bunches to about 500g of fruit per plant. The fruit is harvested by hand (in late September, early October) and fermented on indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged for two years in older French oak barrels and 20 hectolitre botti followed by an additional eight months in tank. It spends further eight months in bottle before release.

Giodo La Quinta Toscana IGT La Quinta comes from younger vines (7-12 years old) and spends 12 months in 700-2500 ltr oak barrels. It is a brilliant wine; if ever there was a wine with the Carlo Ferrini stamp on it, the La Quinta would be it. Its vibrant, pure and elegant; it is the pure essence of Sangiovese.