WOW: Percorso Castagneto Carducci
Continue readingWOW: Percorso Castagneto Carducci
Palazzone: 95 Pts by Doctor Wine
Palazzone: 95 Pts by Doctor Wine for the beautiful Orvieto Classico Superiore Campo del Guardiano 2022.
Continue readingPatrizia Cencioni’s awards’ update
Patrizia Cencioni ‘s awards’ update.
Kerin O’ Keefe rated their beautiful Rosato Toscana 2023 with 93 Points while Brunello di Montalcino 2019 received 98 Pts by Doctor Wine.
ROSATO TOSCANA 2023
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“Made entirely with pre-harvsted Sangiovese destined to make Brunello, the fantastic 2024 Rosato from Patrizia Cencioni has an intense color recalling pink rose petal and intense floral aromas of lavender and rose that mix with small red berry and spice. Dry, savory and linear, the full-flavored palate delivers succulent red cherry, pomegranate and orange zest before a saline close. Bright acidity keeps it vibrant and balanced. Drink through 2027. Abv: 12.5%”
Kerin O’Keefe June 2025
©kerinokeefe.com
….and ther is more…..
With a ratings of 93 Points,
Patrizia Cenzioni’s Rosato Toscana 2023 reached the 8th place in the Top 25 Italian Rosato.
BRUNELLO MONTALCINO 2019
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THE WINERY:
Founded in 1989, the winery Patrizia Cencioni is now managed by three women who continue a tradition started by their grandfather, Giuseppe Cencioni, one of the founders of the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino.
The estate spans about 50 hectares, including 8 dedicated to Brunello di Montalcino vineyards and 7 to olive groves.
Patrizia, Annalisa and Arianna
Last but not least, the winery offers tours and tastings at their location at Podere Capanna, 102 – 53024 Montalcino.
New label Solarianne
New label Solarianne: Patrizia Cencioni‘s Rosso Toscana has a new label.
Rosso Toscana IGT Solarianne 2022
“Solarianne: a singular wine for the mouth as well as on the label.
A project that changes every year – not only in the choice of the final blend but also in its aesthetics: year by year, We choose a different bottle label together with the Sienese painter Alessandro Grazi“
– Patrizia Cencioni-
THE WINE
Grapes: 50% Sangiovese – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vinification: in steel
Staying on small lees: 36 months in 2.5 oak barrels (French oak)
TASTING NOTES:
Colour: clear, deep ruby red with violet reflections.
Bouquet: floral and fruity, particularly in evidence the scent of black cherry and fresh violet.
Taste: it is a structured wine, intense and with good persistence. It is elegant and fine, well balanced between softness and tannicity.
Food pairings: red and white meats, cheeses and cold cuts.
THE WINERY:
The winery is managed by the owner Patrizia and her 2 daughters, Annalisa and Arianna. Thanks to the long family experience and the entrepreneurial skills of Patrizia, a refined feminine touch is added.
There is feminine elegance in the wines from this cantina.
THE LAND:
The vineyards date back to 1989, the year in which the company was born, which draws its origins from an ancient company in Montalcino created in the 1950s by grandfather Giuseppe Cencioni, one of the founders of the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium.
Located a few kilometres from the town center of Montalcino at about 350 meters a.s.l., overlooking the Val d’Orcia.
A total area of 50 Ha, of which 9 Ha of Sangiovese vineyards and 7 Ha of olive groves
THE WINES:
High profile wines and Sangiovese.
The azienda creates high profile wines, thanks to a very good balance between use of modern technologies and respect for the tradition. This results in a range of excellent wines. Wines where Sangiovese is the protagonist.
With the steel vats at controlled temperatures, the correct fermentation is guaranteed.
The slow aging of the wines takes place in oak barrels, with their refinement the elegance and character, already peculiar characteristics of each vintage, stand out also in the bottle.
Check the website of the winery for more info about the producer and the wines
New barrels at Borgo Maragliano
New barrels at Borgo Maragliano: 3 ceramic-stoneware
Continue readingVintage’s update Zenato
Vintage’s update Zenato:
Valpolicella Superiore 2022 and Ripassa 2021 are available.
Made from vineyards in Valpolicella, this wine has an impressive lingering finish with rich flavor.
The blend is 85% Corvina Veronese, 10% Rondinella, and 5% Corvinone.
On the nose, it delivers delicate hints of almond and violet.
On the palate, it’s dry and smooth with good structure and wonderfully robust notes of cherry and prune.
As soon as the dried grapes for the winery’s Amarone have completed fermentation, a top selection of Valpolicella grapes “passes over” (ripassa) the Amarone pomace, thus resulting in a second brief fermentation.
This helps to obtain higher alcohol content, deeper color, and rich flavor and aroma. Af-ter aging in French tonneaux for 18-20 months, the wine is cellared for another 6 months in bottle before release.
The process makes for a refined and concentrated wine, extremely smooth and vel-vety, with vibrant red fruit aromas.
On the palate, it delivers fruity notes and elegant tannin with hints of chocolate and spice. Ripassa has played a highly important role in the Zenato winery’s evolution over the years.
Zenato. The soul of Lugana and the Heart of Valpolicella.
Two faces: One white, the other red, both emblems of high-quality wines that are born through a visceral passion for the land, through respect for time, through a family tradition that has championed local grape varieties for 60 years.
The Story
Zenato: the story of a family that firmly planted its roots in the land. It was made possible thanks to the passion and entrepreneurial vision of the estate’s founder, Sergio, who managed to fulfill his greatest dream: to create a winery capable of harvesting the fruits of the earth and transform them into emotions with matchless flavor.
Today, more than 60 years later, the results are testament to his extraordinary vision. A wonderful story took shape thanks to his vision and today its star is his family: Wife Carla and children Alberto and Nadia.
Their eyes and their heart continue down the path that Sergio laid out with great clarity as he steadied the course toward quality and love for their land. Over time, that land wasn’t just Lugana but also Valpolicella, with its celebrated red wines and their matchless aromas.
Valpolicella
Taking over the Costalunga estate, in the heart of Valpolicella Classica, Sergio Zenato wanted to measure himself in a new venture, after making the most out of his Lugana vineyards: to make it a model vineyard, beautiful to look at, cared for in every detail, in which to apply modern agronomic techniques and at the same time resume the traditional methods that had defined the Valpolicella landscape.
In a thorough manner, Sergio Zenato drew the distribution on the land of the vines selected for the production of the different wines, going so far as to indicate the direction of the rows so that the vines could receive maximum benefits from the sun. He took special care to make the soil work well to achieve a dry and permeable soil without water retention.
A passionate dedication that we read in the construction of the characteristic dry-stone walls, at first sight elegant support structures, in actual fact an efficient containment system that guarantees the vine the three fundamental elements it needs: the warmth of the sun and the ventilation of air and water thanks to the gaps existing between the stones of the walls and the flaky crumbles of the subsurface.
Lugana
In the flash of an eye and the wonder of Lake Garda is all there: in the beauty of the landscape; in the naturalist, historic, and artistic value of the land; in the mild climate.
The secret of Trebbiano di Lugana, a native grape variety planted on the southern banks of Lake Garda, is hidden in its origins.
With the backdrop of this pristine setting, the gates of the Santa Cristina estate open up on to a broad road with elegant red rose bushes on either side. They are the silent sentinels to whom the Zenato family has entrusted their rows of vines.
All of the incredible things that have happened in this little corner of the world are thanks to the extraordinary intuition and entrepreneurial power of a grape grower who was in love with his land and absolutely convinced of the quality of the wines that only this land could produce. It all began with a white wine, Lugana: Sergio Zenato’s Challenge and Dream since the 1960s.
More info? Check their www
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Cala Silente: the essence of Sardinian Vermentino
Cala Silente: The Essence of Sardinian Vermentino
Cala Silente is a distinguished white wine from Sardinia, Italy. It is crafted by the renowned Cantina Santadi winery. This wine is a 100% Vermentino di Sardegna DOC. It truly showcases the potential of Sardinia’s signature white grape. Its taste captures the unique spirit of its Mediterranean origin.
From the Heart of Sulcis, Sardinia
Cantina Santadi is located in the Sulcis district of southwestern Sardinia. The winery was founded in 1960 in the town of Santadi. In 2025, it proudly marks its 65th anniversary. The cooperative is a standard-bearer for quality Sardinian wine.
Unique terroir: Their Cala Silente (“Silent Cove”) perfectly expresses this unique terroir. Vineyards in Sulcis benefit from a coastal climate. Summers are warm and dry, while winters remain mild.
The grapes grow in sandy and clay-loam soils. This specific soil composition gives the wine its distinct character.
Winemaking Process
The winemaking for Cala Silente is meticulous. The grapes are carefully selected Vermentino. They are harvested in early September in Sardinia. The grapes undergo a gentle pressing. Fermentation happens in cool stainless steel tanks. This process preserves the wine’s delicate fruit aromas. The wine then ages on its lees. This technique adds complexity, structure, and a richer mouthfeel.
Tasting Profile
-Appearance: Cala Silente shows a brilliant straw yellow color. It has subtle greenish-gold reflections.
-Aroma: The nose is intense and inviting. It offers a bouquet of fresh fruit aromas. You will notice crisp green apple, ripe peach, and zesty citrus. Hints of flowers and Sardinian minerality complete the scent.
–Palate: The palate is both elegant and full-bodied. It balances fresh acidity with a pleasing roundness. Flavors of stone fruit and citrus carry through. A characteristic saline note points to its coastal Sardinian origin. The finish is long, persistent, and refreshing.
Food Pairing Suggestions: Cala Silente is a versatile wine for food pairing. Its crispness is perfect for rich seafood and shellfish. This makes it a classic pairing choice. The wine also complements flavorful white meats and poultry. Try it with pasta dishes using vegetable or light cream sauces. For a true taste of Sardinia, pair it with local food. Enjoy it with Sardinian specialties like fregola with clams or grilled sea bass.
The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is a prestigious international competition, established in 1994, known for its rigorous standards and commitment to identifying the world’s finest wines and spirits. Split into various sessions and selections throughout the year, it evaluates over 15,000 entries annually. An exclusively professional tasting panel ensures a blind tasting process focused solely on quality, making the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles a globally recognized benchmark for excellence in wine and spirits.
Italy delivered an exceptional performance during the 32nd edition of the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. With a total of 351 awards, the country confirmed its top position in the wine world. The Italian wines were decorated with 15 Grand Gold Medals, 132 Gold Medals, and 204 Silver Medals.
This year, the competition for red and white wines took place from June 10 to 12, 2025, in Yinchuan, the heart of China’s Ningxia wine region. An international jury of 375 experts blind-tasted over 7,165 wines. These wines came from 49 different countries, highlighting the global scale of the event.
The Cala Silente 2024 from Cantina di Santadi got a gold medal at this competition.
For more information about the winery, take a look at their website:
Gold for CasalFarneto’s Rosso Piceno
The CasalFarneto winery received a significant recognition in this year’s competition of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. A gold Medal for the wine Luigiprimo 2021, a Rosso Piceno DOC.
Continue readingGold for Masottina
EnoConegliano Wine Competition
Masottina received one gold and 2 bronze awards by the EnoConegliano wine competition that celebrates the wine-winery excellence of the Veneto territory.
The competition is organized by the “Associazione Dama Castellana di Conegliano”. The judging takes place in Conegliano, a city renowned as one of the capitals of Prosecco production.
EnoConegliano is a prestigious regional wine competition focused on selecting the best wines from the Veneto region of Italy. It is an officially recognized competition, authorized by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies, which marks it as a significant and official event in the Italian wine industry.
Purpose of the Competition
The main objective of the competition is twofold:
- Promotion: To highlight the finest wines of the Veneto region to consumers, both nationally and internationally.
- Quality Improvement: To encourage wine producers to continuously enhance the quality of their products.
Which Wines Can Participate?
Only wines with an official designation of origin from the Veneto region are eligible to enter. These include:
*DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)
*DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita)
*IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica)
*Quality Sparkling Wines
VIAVENTI PROSECCO EXTRA BRUT DOC TREVISO
This wine comes from a single vineyard at Gorgo al Monticano, on the historic estate of the Dal Bianco family, where business began in 1946. A dry wine with a clear, lingering finish whose amazing elegance reveals an intriguing structure. It is made of grapes selected on the vine and in the winery, white vinified by the gravity method.
AI PALAZZI CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Often used with Merlot to subdue its softness, this version is vinified as a single variety to highlight its distinctive characteristics and to pay homage to Veneto’s oenological tradition, of which it has always been a part.
Extremely drinkable and fresh, its lush tannins entice into another sip.
Matures for at least 18 months, partly in Slavonian oak barrels and partly in French barriques that infuse pleasant hints of vanilla and cinnamon.
VIAVENTI PROSECCO ROSÉ BRUT DOC TREVISO
This wine blends the elegance of Pinot Noir and the versatility of Glera. The Glera grapes are white vinified, and the Pinot Noir red vinified, after brief pre-fermentation maceration of 24 – 36 hours. The two base wines are then blended before prise de mousse, which takes place on selected yeasts for at least ninety days. The wine ages in bottle for a month before distribution.
Story: Nestled in the heart of the picturesque Veneto region, Masottina represents a story of family passion, a deep connection to the land, and an unwavering commitment to quality in the world of Prosecco. For over seven decades, the Dal Bianco family has been the driving force behind this esteemed winery, transforming a modest post-war estate into an internationally recognized symbol of Italian sparkling wine excellence.
Ai Palazzi Estate: The winery’s origins trace back to 1946 when patriarch Epifanio Dal Bianco acquired the Ai Palazzi estate in Gorgo al Monticano. It was during the restoration of the farmhouse that a hidden inscription, “Casa Masottina,” was discovered, bestowing the burgeoning enterprise with its enduring name. From these humble beginnings, a legacy was born, one that would be meticulously nurtured by succeeding generations.
Unesco World Heritage: The family’s vision has led to the expansion of their vineyards to encompass nearly 300 hectares. These carefully tended plots are strategically located across the prestigious Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the fertile plains of the Piave River.
Rive di Ogliano: This deep-rooted connection to the territory is at the core of Masottina’s winemaking philosophy. The winery is particularly renowned for its work in the unique micro-terroir of the “Rive di Ogliano.” The term “Rive” designates wines crafted from grapes grown on the steepest, most challenging hillsides, a practice that yields fruit of exceptional character and complexity. Masottina’s “R.D.O.” collection, which has garnered international acclaim, is a testament to the family’s dedication to expressing the distinct soul of this special cru.
From the sun-drenched slopes of the Rive to the state-of-the-art cellar, Masottina is a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity.
It is a wonderful story of a family’s enduring love for their land, their relentless pursuit of quality, and their desire to capture the essence of one of Italy’s most celebrated wine regions in every bottle.
Discover the Magic of Masseria Cuturi
The Monte Diavoli Primitivo di Manduria DOC 2021 from Masseria Cuturi received a Corona from Vinibuoni d’Italia, the renowned Italian wine guide published by the Touring Club Italiano.
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