The WineHunter: new ratings for Monzio Compagnoni
Continue readingVitae 2025: awards for Palazzone
Vtae 2025: awards for Palazzone: Associazione Italiana Sommelier awarded the Orvieto Classico Superiore Campo del Guardiano 202 with 4 Viti.


Campo del Guardiano 2021
This wine comes from the most beautiful piece of land on our estate, renown to generations of local farmers as Campo del Guardiano. Following bottling this Orvieto Classico Superiore is aged in Palazzone’s cellar for many months. The complexity, the aromas and the freshness of the fruit remain intact for years proving the wine’s astonishing capacity to age beautifully.
GRAPES: Procanico 50% Grechetto 30% Verdello, Malvasia 20%
TASTING NOTES: intense straw color with sharp green reflections. The nose is protound, retineds and prolonged; on the palate silky and well structured, vibrant and persistent.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: with dishes that are not only powerful but also restrained and delicately balanced, recipes of veal, fowl, and pork, in the finest Umbrian tradition.

In 1969 the Dubini family bought the property “Palazzone”, constructed by Cardinal Teodorico at the bidding of Pope Boniface VIII as a hostel for pilgrims on their way to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee of 1300 A.D. Today after a restoration with respect for the noble architecture, “Palazzone” is a boutique hotel with elegant suites. The hilly portion of the land adjacent to Rocca Ripesena, with its superb view of Orvieto on its majestic crag, consisted of sedimentary soil and clay.
Angelo Dubini decided to plant 25 hectares to vines of varieties that he expected would make wine of great complexity and character. In 1982 his two sons, Giovanni and Lodovico, made the first small vintage from these grapes. In1988 their vintage was sufficient to justify the construction of a winery to process all their own grapes and also to organise and begin the commercial marketing of what is now “Palazzone” wine regarded as one of the most significant labels in Umbria.
PALAZZONE IS UNIQUE
Unique in the grapes: Unique in the particular union of our traditional varieties. each with its distinctive character.
Unique in the craftsmanship: Unique in the creative and productive methods, in the pursuit of quality and with margin for personal interpretation.
Unique in the longevity: Unique because we are “Wine Artisans.” Years of experience and commitment have taught us to further the powers of our land to bring forth age worthy wines.
More info?
Take a look at the website and follow the producer on the socials
I 1000 vini d’Italia 2025: L’Espresso
I 1000 vini d’Italia 2025 – L’ Espresso: Zenato‘s Amarone Riserva Sergio Zenato 2018 and Cresasso 2018 received respectively 96 and 95 Points.

AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA RISERVA SERGIO ZENATO 2018

Produced only in top vintages, this graceful wine is made from a selection of Corvina and Rondinella grapes grown in the oldest vineyards in the township of Sant’Ambrogio in Valpolicella’s “classic” zone.
Following vinification, it undergoes long-term aging for at least 4 years in Slavonian oak casks.
It represents the very identity of the winery and its legacy throughout the world – a wine that can age and be enjoyed for more than 20 years.
With luminous and dense color, elegant complexity and a wonderf
CORVINA VERONESE
CRESASSO 2018

Made from Corvina Veronese, this single-vineyard designate wine is deeply connected to the land where it is grown.
Its intense, deep ruby red color tinges the glass as its thick, lingering legs slide down the edges.
On the nose, it delivers a spectrum of delicious and enchanting red fruit, blueberry, and blackberry notes that evolve into intense aromas of black cherry, cooked prune and jam.
It’s ideal for grilled meats, roast meats, game, and grilled sausage. It also pairs wonderfully with aged cheeses and rich tomato sauces prepared with herbs.
The story of Zenato is 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.

Vitae 2025: awards for Grati
Vtae 2025: awards for Grati: Associazione Italiana Sommelier awarded their Vin Santo 2006 and Canaiolo Bianco 2018 with 4 Viti.


Canaiolo Bianco Borgo Prunatelli
Since its first vintage (2012) it’s the only single varietal Canaiolo Bianco.
It’s very important to underline that it is NOT a Canaiolo Nero vinified without pomace, but it is a wine made with the Canaiolo Bianco variety.
Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina
A masterpiece where freshness and elegance are combined with a thick mouthfeel
How it the Vinsanto made?
The vinsantaio, where vinsanto is made, hangs full of grape bunches, quite appropriately above the family chapel at Villa Vetrice, as ‘vinsanto or vino santo‘ means ‘holy wine’.
In the Grati family, it is a tradition that began over a hundred years ago, with which the great secret of vinsanto, the madre (mother), is also over a century old.
The madre is an aromatic sediment of inactive fine lees. She, a natural yeast, is ‘eterna’, for ever, because each new production uses some of the old that has multiplied at the end of the process and is then kept again.
Healthy bunches of grapes were picked in mid-September, and hung in the vinsantaio to slowly dry out for over three months.
70% of the grapes are white, Malvasia and Trebbiano, 30% are blue, Sangiovese.
Vinsanto is made only in years with extremely healthy grape material.
Sulfur is lit daily in the vinsantaio to clean the air of insects and unwanted critters. There is also the game of windows, which are open during the day and closed again at night, depending on the weather. The grapes have to dry properly and slowly. As an extra help, only if needed, ventilators can be used.

In December or January, when 30% of the original volume remains, the grapes are pressed. The must is then put into clean caratelli, small wooden barrels, on top of the madre. The caratelli are then sealed with cement, while 25% of the space remains empty.
Fermentation starts slowly in March, while temperatures rise and stops with the heat in summer. For three years in a row. In winter, spontaneous clarification takes place, including the deposition of the madre.
The wine then remains in the unopened caratelli for at least ten years before being bottled.
Villa di Vetrice Vinsanto del Chianti Rùfina DOC comes with 17% alcohol and 100% class.

It is excellent as a dessert wine, but also by itself, for instance with cantucci, typical Tuscan almond cookies.
The 2006 vintage is currently on sale in 50cl bottles.




Follow them on the socials
I Vini di Veronelli: 3 Gold Stars to Palazzone
I Vini di Veronelli – Guida Oro 2025:
3 Gold Stars to Palazzone‘s Orvieto Classico Superiore Campo del Guardiano 2021

This wine comes from the most beautiful piece of land on our estate, renown to generations of local farmers as Campo del Guardiano. Following bottling this Orvieto Classico Superiore is aged in Palazzone’s cellar for many months.
The complexity, the aromas and the freshness of the fruit remain intact for years proving the wine’s astonishing capacity to age beautifully.
Grapes: Procanico 50% Grechetto 30% Verdello, Malvasia 20%
TASTING NOTES
Intense straw color with sharp green reflections.
The nose is protound, retineds and prolonged; on the palate silky and well structured, vibrant and persistent.


In 1969 the Dubini family bought the property “Palazzone”, constructed by Cardinal Teodorico at the bidding of Pope Boniface VIII as a hostel for pilgrims on their way to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee of 1300 A.D. Today after a restoration with respect for the noble architecture, “Palazzone” is a boutique hotel with elegant suites. The hilly portion of the land adjacent to Rocca Ripesena, with its superb view of Orvieto on its majestic crag, consisted of sedimentary soil and clay.
Angelo Dubini decided to plant 25 hectares to vines of varieties that he expected would make wine of great complexity and character. In 1982 his two sons, Giovanni and Lodovico, made the first small vintage from these grapes. In1988 their vintage was sufficient to justify the construction of a winery to process all their own grapes and also to organise and begin the commercial marketing of what is now “Palazzone” wine regarded as one of the most significant labels in Umbria.
“Palazzone has chosen for us. It has invested us with a responsability, with its stark beauty and the outstanding performance of which is equipped. It persuaded us that Orvieto was a challenge to overcome, a card to play in total contrast with the market and with fashion.
The vocation of the place, the history of the city and its region are the aspects that have given strength to our choices.
The family keeps our work together. We know that to live and work at Palazzone is a privilege, and this feeling becomes a certainty when things get tough.
We love the idea that the profile of a white wine from central Italy can be developed: graceful yet incisive, Mediterranean and at the same time with a closed structure.
Our conception of the wine is intimately linked to the vineyard, only from there we can get out the real satisfactions, those that remain.
The grapes from Orvieto do not have the solar expressiveness of some “easy” grapes and so their margins of improvement are not so immediate, so the work in the vineyard relies on continuity rather than miraculous choices.
We too have wanted to try the temptation of an “important” red, therefore, the Armaleo was born, which will certainly remain a beautiful experience, from which we have learned, however, that to remain attached to our territory, the indigenous grapes are the primary goal.
For this reason we will invest our energies on Sangiovese, knowing that the journey will be challenging as it is to dedicate to the Orvieto.
But being at Palazzone means facing difficult challenges, it seems the only way to reward the place we chose.”
–Palazzone–




PALAZZONE IS UNIQUE
Unique in the grapes: Unique in the particular union of our traditional varieties. each with its distinctive character.
Unique in the craftsmanship: Unique in the creative and productive methods, in the pursuit of quality and with margin for personal interpretation.
Unique in the longevity: Unique because we are “Wine Artisans.” Years of experience and commitment have taught us to further the powers of our land to bring forth age worthy wines.
More info?
Take a look at their website
Vitae 2025: award for Masseria Cuturi
Vtae 2025: award for Masseria Cuturi: Associazione Italiana Sommelier awarded their Monte Diavoli 2020 with 4 Viti.


Primitivo di Manduria: the flagship wine of Masseria Cuturi.
Monte Diavoli and Chidro represent a selection of Primitivo, aged in wood and in bottle, to enhance complexity and elegance.
Monte Diavoli, what’s in the name?
Monte Diavoli: Monte Diavoli Is a rocky formation that stands isolated in the middle of a vast flat area dominated by the Mediterranean Macchia. In the past it was the place where the Messapi kept the sacred fire of the rites of fertility. Today as then it is a mysterious and fascinating place.
Masseria Cuturi…since 1881
We are talking about a family, originally from Veneto managing this beautiful estate in Puglia which includes a skilfully renovated farmhouse and many hectares of land. Among the woods, olive trees and vineyards. The Rossi-Chauvenets acquire a reality full of history. The farm, located in Manduria, was founded in 1881 and for centuries belonged to the Schiavoni family. It seems that the origin of Primitivo in the Mandurian land started precisely from Cuturi. Don Tommaso Schiavoni Tafuri married Countess Bianca Sabini of Altamura who brought Primitivo cuttings to these parts. This variety adapted very well to these soils and this climate and thus the famous Apulian wine was born.


The current vineyard is about 40 hectares and is particularly fertile thanks to the organic substance contained in the soils and the water of the Chidro River that flows there.
Masseria Cuturi emphasizes sustainable and organic farming practices to maintain the quality of their wines and preserve the environment. For the wines they use renewable energy, lighter bottles, and corks obtained from renewable raw materials derived from sugar cane.
The vinification of the best grapes today takes place within the Masseria, a few steps from the vineyards that generated them.
This proximity allows them to follow the maturation curve of each single particle with timeliness and precision. The cellar is made up of small tanks to obtain the micro-vinification of each single plot.
They use the aging in wood in moderation to enhance the natural characteristics of our wines. Bottling takes place in the cellar


Discover more about Masseria Cuturi by clicking on the button heebelow
Sauvignon Casali Roncali 2023 is the 3rd best white wine in Italy!

SAUVIGNON COLLI ORIENTALI CASALI RONCALI 2023
Intense straw yellow color, with refreshing aromas of citrus, fruits, lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, passion fruit, elder and notes of sage.
Skills acquired in the vineyard and in the winery have been harmoniously integrated with technological progress and innovative production processes, in pursuit of ever higher and more ambitious quality standards.
From the vine to the bottle, the entire production and transformation process is carefully monitored in order to obtain excellent products, as an expression of all of the good that the land has to offer with the help of skilled hands.

The Casali Roncali line was created the aim of enhancing the excellence of the Friuli Colli Orientali area. From a careful selection by our winemakers, mineral, balanced and well-structured wines are shaped into a completely renewed packaging that reflects all the quality that you will find in every single glass.

4 whites (Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and Ribolla Gialla ) and 3 reds (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Schioppettino). All of them received outstanding reviews by Luca Maroni
- Sauvignon 2023, Casali Roncali – 96 points
- Pinot Grigio 2023, Casali Roncali – 94 points
- Merlot 2022, Casali Roncali – 93 points
- Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Casali Roncali – 93 points
- Friulano 2023, Casali Roncali – 92 points
- Ribolla Gialla 2023, Casali Roncali – 92 points






Check all the ratings here
↓
James Suckling awards for Gracciano
James Suckling awards for Gracciano: 93 Points to the first Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Pieve Gracciano 2021

This new Vino Nobile Pieve Gracciano has a stricter production regulation which foresees:
- Grapes grown in a single vineyard of 15 years of age at least
- Maximum yield of 7 tons of grapes per hectare
- Blend: 85% of Sangiovese minimum. Indigenous red berry Tuscan varieties can be added (Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Mammolo)
- Maturation and ageing:: 36 months of which at least 12 months in wood and 12 months in the bottle
- A committee of the Consortium will evaluate the quality of the wine before it is released on the market.
Introducing the PIEVE
Last year the neighbouring Vino Nobile di Montepulciano appellation in southern Tuscany has delineated 12 specific subregions within the appellation: the Pieve*
- Pieve Cervognano
- Pieve Cerliana
- Pieve Caggiola
- Pieve Sant’Albino
- Pieve Valiano
- Pieve Ascianello
- Pieve San Biagio
- Pieve Le Grazie
- Pieve Gracciano
- Pieve Badia
- Pieve Argiano
- Pieve Valardegna
* In the past the area of this part of Tuscany was divided into “Pievi”: these were religious and civil constituencies which were represented by a rural church.
Click on the link on the right for more info

The Gracciano Estate is one of the oldest wineries in the Montepulciano region.
In the beginning of the 19th century, Gracciano was owned by the Svetoni family who built the Villa and created the Italian-style gardens that surround it. With over 400 hectares and 22 farms, the very extensive Gracciano Estate also produced a wide variety of typical Tuscan products.
The property was inherited by the current owners, Marco, Vannozza and Galdina della Seta Ferrari Corbelli Greco, through their father Giorgio.
Today, the winery covers roughly 70 hectares of which 20 are vineyards.
The vines grow on the clay and silty soil of the Gracciano hills, one of the oldest and most prestigious crus of Montepulciano.
Already in 1864 the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano produced by the then Svetoni winery (today Gracciano della Seta Estate) was awarded the first prize at the International Fair of Turin.
The cellars of the Gracciano Villa still contain several bottles of wine from exceptional vintage years.
Giorgio della Seta, after working for many years abroad as a manager in a multinational company, decided to return to Tuscany and take up the family Estate.
He proceeded to renew the vineyards and build, in 2013, a new winery alongside the traditional unit which is still used for ageing wine in wood.


The winery has always been run by renowned oenologists (such as Nicolò d’Afflitto from 1985 and Beppe Rigoli since 1995) who ensured that the Tenuta di Gracciano produced an excellent Vino Nobile, fully respecting the terroir and using autochthonous vines.

Borgo Maragliano’s awards update
Borgo Maragliano‘s awards update: Falstaff rated Borgo Maragliano’s Blanc de Blancs Alta Langa 2020 with 93 Points.

ALTA LANGA: The appellation requires a minimum of 30 months on the fine yeast in the bottle to qualify as DOCG.
The first italian Classic Method was born in 1865 in Piedmont – Canelli – a village nearby Loazzolo.
Loazzolo is one of the selected Villages of the Upper Langa.
Starting in the early 1980s, the Galliano Family began experimenting with Chardonnay and Pinot Nero to produce Classic/Champagne Method Sparkling Wines.
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
100% Chardonnay grapes.
Bottled in the April of the year after harvest and, after dosage and the immediate addition of yeast from the batch, it undergoes second fermentation. At the end of this process, which creates the characteristic foam, the wine continues to mature on lees for about 32 months. During this period the wine loses its herbaceous characteristics and acquires everything it takes to become a very delicate and refined sparkling wine. Then “riddling” and “disgorging” operations prepare it for consumption, which takes place from about three years after harvesting.
TASTING NOTES
A sparkle characterised by very fine chains of bubbles in a pale straw-coloured wine with greenish highlights. The structured bouquet features sensations of fruit, lime, aromatic herbs and honey, with acacia blossom, which bring out the true nature of the Chardonnay grape. The delicious entry makes its very seductive and harmonious as it lingers on the palate. The remarkable flavour of this Blanc de Blancs expresses the true characteristics of a great grape grown in a very hostile terroir.
GASTRONOMIC PAIRINGS
Perfect on its own or as an aperitif accompanied by shellfish, raw fish or fresh cheese.

Five generations of farmers who have learned to watch the sky and cope with the unpredictability of the climate and natural events.
The first written records of the family date back to an entry in the church registers in 1790, recording the birth of Giovanni, progenitor of the Galliano family, an enterprising, determined and brilliant man who was very proud of his home.
It was 1850 when he decided to purchase the first plot of land in the municipality of Loazzolo. Giovanni had travelled widely, giving him an opportunity to broaden his horizons, and his entrepreneurial mind was filled with the belief that cultivating vines was the way forward
It was the beginning of the twentieth century; a time described as very bitter in the works of Cesare Pavese, which left its mark on the history of the little village of Loazzolo and the Galliano family.
Giovanni’s grandson Carlo died, leaving his wife Teresa to bring up her two young children alone, Giuseppe and Anna Maria. Teresa, obstinate and hard-working, coped with every adversity and never once gave in to the temptation to “run away” from this unfortunate area.

Giuseppe encouraged his son Carlo to study Oenology in Alba and, spurred on by his father, he immediately set to work on the vinification of one of the Langa’s greatest grapes, Moscato.
His passion and dedication knew no ends.
The experience of the generations that had gone before him was reflected in his work, along with the desire for innovation in both the vineyard and the cellar: he challenged his land and himself, attempting something that had never been tried before in these
soils dedicated to the cultivation of Moscato and becoming the first producer of a Traditional Method Sparkling Wine using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The unique pedoclimate proved him right.
Today, Borgo Maragliano is a cellar that is looking to the future once again, through the eyes of the new generation, represented by Carlo and Silvia’s sons: Giovanni, Francesco and Federico.

Take a look at their website and discover more about Borgo Maragliano’s world
Falstaff: Grandi Rossi Veneti Trophy
Falstaff: Grandi Rossi Veneti Trophy: 91 Points to Cantina Colli Euganei‘s Notte di Galileo and 90 Points to Merlot Rialto.
Made from grapes from selected wineries in the DOC area of the Euganean Hills that participate in the Quality Project, launched by Cantina Colli Euganei in 1998.
The project aims to promote the traditional nature of the area and the grape varieties used to make Colli Euganei Riserva.
The grapes are left to ripen until the optimum harvesting time while checking their condition, sugar content and other important substances. Then the vinification process, carried out by the winemaker, highlights the characteristics of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes through prolonged contact between the must and the skins at a controlled temperature so that all substances can be fully released. After fermentation, the wine is stored in fine oak barrels for 15-18 months so that it can fully age and acquire fragrances and smoothness. Maturation is completed in bottles to give the wine an excellent taste.
The presence of marine fossils in the territory of the Euganean Hills testifies their origin: an archipelago of volcanic islands that emerged 130 million years ago.
The decisive reliefs separated by fresh valleys, the suitable sun exposure and the. mixing of the alluvial deposits with the disintegrated volcanic rocks, they determine intense qualitative characteristics in the grapes.
These peculiarities give the red wines the color and strength they draw from the land, as well as intensity of smell and taste.

Cantina Colli Euganei was born at the center of this tradition. Their history is intertwined with that of the territory, which was the protagonist, since the 1940s, of a reconstruction and a revival based on the enhancement of the wine heritage. The common objective was to arrive at the definition of a Denomination of Origin, with a ‘variety’ approach.
The cooperative, which was born in ’49 and vinified for the first time in ’51, has always been in tune with this choice: offering a diverse range of wines with an authentic identity, an expression of a land and a culture.
Thanks to the expertise of capable and technically prepared men, Cantina Colli Euganei has managed to maintain this spirit until today, knowing how to listen to the evolution of taste and expectations of those who appreciate wine in the world.

Today, as a cooperative, Cantina Colli Euganei brings together about 680 winemakers, spread over the protected area of the Euganean Hills Nature Reserve.
The winery is situated in the heart of the Veneto region, in the middle of an area that has been dedicated to vine and olive tree growing since ancient times. Today, it is acknowledged by the latest regulations of 2010 as a DOC and DOCG area.

The grapes are grown on the farms of the municipalities of Vo’, Rovolon, Torreglia, Galzignano Terme, Lozzo Atestino, Cinto Euganeo, Arquà Petrarca, Este, Baone, comprising 700 hectares of rows of vines and providing an opportunity to best enhance the character of various wines: from fragrant white wines sweetened by the sun to more intense velvety red wines.
The northern slopes give rise to Serprino wines with their young and bubbly character, enriched with hints of flowers and fruit. The areas most exposed to the sun highlight the balanced sweetness of Fior d’Arancio DOCG, whereas the soils to the south provide full-bodied and intense red wines.
This varied morphological landscape, offering soils with different nutrients, is the perfect habitat for highly prestigious native grape varieties such as Serprina, Moscato Giallo, Moscato Bianco and Pinella, as well as international varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
More info?
Take a look at their website