James Suckling: 93 Points for Pertinace
Continue readingJames Suckling: 93 Points for Pertinace
Awards for Binè
Awards for Binè: 91 Points Falstaff for their Gavi DOCG “11” 2024
Made from 100% Cortese, this round and elegant Gavi is remarkably versatile — equally at home with grilled fish and seafood, sushi, vegetable dishes and quiche, white meats, fresh salads, and aperitivo bites.
Cascina Binè is a family-run winery and agritourism estate located in Novi Ligure (Alessandria), in the heart of the Gavi wine region of Piedmont, Italy.
Novi Ligure is one of the 11 municipalities within the Gavi DOCG wine region. The 11 hectares of vines form a single large vineyard, situated on the best-exposed slopes—facing south/southwest—of two adjacent hills.
Cascina Binè is primarily known as a high-quality producer of Gavi DOCG (made from the Cortese grape) and Barbera wines. The estate is managed by the Ghio family, with brothers Niccolò and Lorenzo leading the modern operations.
A unique feature of the Binè vineyards, represented in the company logo, is the small round vineyard, where the rows are planted in a radial pattern to form a natural amphitheater.
More info?
Take a look at their website
Luca Maroni: awards for Icardi
Nice Luca Maroni reviews for Icardi‘s wines.
Moscato d’Asti La Rosa Selvatica 2024
“A graceful name for a wine with a perfume reminiscent of wild roses.“
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“Pafoj: assemblage of Cortese and Sauvignon aged in barrique and Chardonnay aged in steel tanks. Relax, “we aren’t crazy.”
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“Tabaren (from the French “tabarin”) was a venue used for theatre plays, art and dancing. We are all better dancers after a couple of glasses of wine.”
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“Presents a complex and ethereal bouquet with aromas of violets, red fruit jam and licorice but also spices such as pepper and vanilla.”
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At the beginning then ethereal and balsamic notes of mint, eucaliptus and liquorice.”
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“PAREJ: “In this way” – this is how Barolo wine should be, an assemblage of nebbiolo grapes coming from 3 different areas “
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“Soft pressing after that a spontaneous natural fermentation with indigenous yeast.”
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2 SOULS, 1 COMPANY
Early in the Sixties Mr. Pierino began producing his own wine starting off a quality trend that remains a key feature of our company nowadays. Pierino’s son and daughter, Claudio and Mariagrazia, are now managing the company in their father’s footsteps.
The Winery is located in Castiglione Tinella, within the Province of Cuneo, between the Lower Langa and the Monferrato Regions. Rolling hills almost completely covered in vineyards are visible as far as the eye can see and make Castiglione Tinella one of the liveliest towns in Italy. The cliffs running down towards the valleys Tinella and Belbo frame the vineyards and the wood patches, creating a unique landscape.
The extension of the vineyards allows our company’s production to cover all types of wines available in the South of Piedmont. Icardi’s style is renowned around the world for its significantly fruity, refined, clean and elegant wines. The balanced flavour of both regular and “more important” wines can be appreciated immediately after production.
Discover the world of Icardi Vini ….
Kerin O’Keefe’s 2025 Top 100
Kerin O’Keefe’s 2025 Top 100: nice awards for Massolino, Paltrinieri and Patrizia Cencioni.
Their Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda, Lambrusco Radice and Brunello Ofelio are in the 2025 TOP 100 wines. Congratulations!
#14 of 2025: Massolino’s Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda 2019 with 98 Points
"The impressive 2019 Vigna Rionda Riserva from Massolino captivates with its combination of structure, intensity and elegance. It opens with classic Barolo aromas of red berry, wild rose, dark spice, leather and a balsamic whiff of camphor that on the composed, full-bodied palate segue into more defined sensations of crushed raspberry, cranberry, licorice and tobacco. Showing the nuance of this extraordinary vintage, it’s still youthfully austere, with a backbone of firm, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity that lends youthful tension. This is one I’d love to try again in ten years or so. Drink 2034–2049"
Kerin O'Keefe
#61 of 2025
Patrizia Cencioni’s Brunello di Montalcino Ofelio 2021 with 96 Points
"The Patrizia Cencioni 2021 Brunello Ofelio is a stunning wine. It opens with heady scents of sandalwood, underbrush, lavender, Mediterranean scrub, new leather and cedar. Picking up where the nose leaves off, the full-bodied, focused palate delivers ripe red plum, black cherry, licorice and vanilla set against firm, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Still quite young and primary, this promises great aging potential so give it time to fully develop. Drink 2033–2046."
Kerin O'Keefe
#94 of 2025: Paltrinieri’s Lambrusco di Sorbara Radice 2024 with 94 Points
"The 2024 Radice, a benchmark wine in the denomination along with its sibling Leclisse, opens with delicately enticing aromas of small red berry, violet, lavender, citrus and wild herb. Showing great racy tension, the palate is bone-dry and savory, featuring pomegranate, cranberry, blood orange and saline notes. Made with the ancestral method of bottling the wine while still on its lees, as you get toward the bottom of the bottle, you’ll also find yeasty flavors recalling brioche. Bright acidity and a fine fizz provide energy and finesse."
Kerin O'Keefe
Vitae 2026: awards for Borgo Maragliano
Vitae 2026: awards for Borgo Maragliano
Continue readingIcardi: award by Wine Spectator
Icardi: award by Wine Spectator
Continue readingVitae Guida Vini 2026: the results are published
Vitae Guida Vini 2026: the results are published.
Vitae is a guide with large numbers: over 20,000 wines from nearly 3,000 producers.
The awarded wines represent the absolute peak of the selection and are divided into four thematic categories:
100 Grandi Vini (Great Wines/Iconic Labels)
100 Migliori Vini di Territorio (Best Terroir Wines)
100 Vini Innovativi/Rivelazione (Innovative/Revelation Wines)
100 Vini Valore/Prezzo (Value/Price Wines)
Congratulations to our associated producers with these outstanding results.
I Vini Rivelazione
New barrels at Borgo Maragliano
New barrels at Borgo Maragliano: 3 ceramic-stoneware
Continue readingAwards for Pertinace
Awards for Pertinace: Winescritic.com rated the Barbaresco 2021 with 90 Points.
Review:
“slightly muted on the sensory profile, it reveals notes of black plums, black tea leaves, juniper berries, sandalwood, cumin, and nutmeg. Medium-bodied, with soft tannins and a pleasantly long finish”“
– Raffaele Vecchione –
Winescritic.com
THE WINE
Denomination: Barbaresco DOCG
Exposure: South, South-East, South-West
Grapes: Nebbiolo
Vinification: 40-60 days in steel tanks with submerged cap. Temperature controlled
Tasting notes:
Garnet red with ruby reflex colour, intense aroma with pepper, chocolate and liquorice; Harmonious and velvety taste with soft tannins.
Suggested with savoury dishes, grilled meats and cheese.
Garnet red with ruby reflex colour, intense aroma with pepper, chocolate and liquorice; Harmonious and velvety taste with soft tannins.
Suggested with savoury dishes, grilled meats and cheese.
THE PRODUCER
Pertinace is a coop.
20 business partners and friends who work together to produce high quality wines with a pop soul since 1973. We are masters in the vinification of Barbaresco. Why do we do it? Because in our roots wine has always been a symbol of friendship, laughs and good memories. Making you feel at home is our added value from the first sip.
The winery is located in Località Pertinace, in Treiso, in the heart of the Langhe hills. This area is also known as the birthplace of Publio Elvio Pertinace, roman emperor, historically recognized as leader of great moral and value and as a honest man. The values of the emperor inspired Mario Barbero and his friends/partners, in 1973, to establish the winery and give it such an important name recognized today internationally.
The focus of the production is mainly Nebbiolo based, ideal for the production of the famous Barbaresco.
Over the years, production and sales have recorded notable growth, leading us to significantly expand the structure: the cellar, the wine-shop and the packaging department have been extended to accomodate the growing demand, guaranteeing the same quality that has distinguished us from the beginning.
Pertinace, originally with 13 members all coming from the Treiso area, today is a cooperative with 20 members. The goal is the cultivation of superior quality vineyards, to offer labels of great prestige and elegance to the market.
Vitae 2025: awards for Borgo Maragliano
Vitae 2025: awards for Borgo Maragliano: Associazione Italiana Sommelier awarded the Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature Dogma 2019 with 4 Viti.
Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature Dogma 2019
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
Training System: Low Guyo
TASTING NOTES:
A fine and intense perlage and persistent foam generate a flurry of colours ranging from greenish yellow to the copper nuance typical of a sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir grapes. The olfactory panorama is elegant and precious with notes of musk, humus and citrus fruits mixed with hints of brushwood, tobacco, leather and notes of eucalyptus. An elegantly balanced, rich, full palate with a foam that envelops despite the fact that this is a pas-dosé sparkling wine. An explosive finish with a vinous vein elevates it without question to the status of Auteur Wine.
DETERMINATION AND VISIONARY SPIRIT
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.
THE VINEYARDS
The sea wind and millions of years of erosion and geological evolution have given these places an extraordinary microclimate and ideal conditions for the cultivation of vines in the high hills.
Thanks to the mixture of flora and fauna, the woods represent an important basin of oxygen and balance necessary for eco-friendly viticulture.
Every vineyard has its own particular characteristics in terms of exposure, altitude and soil composition. Each one occupies an optimal position, and is between 35 and 65 years old
More info?
Take a look at the website and follow the producer on the socials