TOP 100 WINES OF ITALY 2019
IL NOSTRO BAROLO BUSSIA RISERVA ORO 2010 TRA I TOP 100 VINI D'ITALIA SECONDO JAMES SUCKLING!
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This year is Italy’s year for JamesSuckling.com! Roughly one out of four of the more than 25,000 wines we rated from around the world in 2019 were Italian. And so many were an amazing quality.
That’s why our Wine of the Year 2019 for the entire world was a superb 2015 Brunello di Montalcino from Siro Pacenti, the Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2015. The same wine is also our Italian Wine of the Year. We just had to give the honor again to the Pacenti family, who made a perfect 100-point wine and a point of reference for all contemporary Italian wines.
The fact that the Masseto Toscana 2016, another 100-pointer, is our runner-up Italian Wine of the Year 2019 is another statement. We want to honor this incredible pure merlot for its consistently great quality and phenomenal following around the world. It puts the best of Italian wine at the same level as the great names of France including Latour, Margaux and Lafite-Rothschild. Masseto even sells a large percentage of its annual production to Bordeaux wine merchants, who then market the wine to customers around the world.
TUSCANY DOMINATES
This year was, indeed, a great year for the wines of Tuscany, which dominate our list. Toscana is making such diverse and high-quality wines from classics such as Brunello, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri to innovations like amphora-made sangiovese and barrel-fermented whites from remote coastal islands.
It’s Tuscan regions like Brunello di Montalcino that lead the way, however. And it certainly helps that the 2015 vintage is the greatest ever for Brunello and a new benchmark for Italian wines. In total, we included a dozen Brunellos in our list of the world’s Top 100 wines in 2019.
Therefore Brunello dominates this year’s list of the Top 100 Wines of Italy with 35 wines in total. Almost all were 2015 Brunellos, which will be available in the market from January 2020. A few 2013 riservas were also included.
BAROLO AND AMARONE SHOW PRECISION
Of course, many other great Italian wines were rated this year, particularly 2015 Barolos. This is also a benchmark vintage for Barolo, much like Brunello, in which the wines show a wonderful sense of richness yet remain fresh, structured and energetic. The purity and precision of the wines are fantastic. There are 32 Barolos in the list overall.
We are also happy to include three Amarone della Valpolicellas: Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Sergio Zenato Riserva 2013 (99 points), Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2011 (97 points), and Romano Dal Forno Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta 2013 (97 points).
Amarone is finally moving away from the full-blown, high-octane style of the past to more precision and refinement that better reflects the unique terroirs and micro-climates of the region. They are becoming less wines of technique and more wines of place.
ALTO ADIGE, FRIULI AND OTHERS ALSO SHINE
The remainder of the list includes a few whites, primarily from key northern regions such as Alto Adige and Friuli, as well as an ever-so-cool barrel-fermented trebbiano from Tuscany’s Petrolo, which makes the wine with Burgundy’s wunderkind Lucien Le Moine and an amphora white from an indigenous variety of Trentino called Foradori Manzoni Bianco Vigneti delle Dolomiti Fontanasanta 2018.
Don’t miss a few equally out-of-the-ordinary reds such as such as an ancient, ungrafted vine red from Sicily’s Etna called Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino 2017 and a legendary red from Campania called Quintodecimo Taurasi Vigna Quintodecimo Riserva 2014. We clearly love the unique soils and microclimates of volcano wines!
This notion of provenance is essential to us at JamesSuckling.com. It’s why we look for balance and transparency in the best wines of the world and particularly Italy. And we believe Italian winemakers continue to make great wines with this notion in mind as well as maintain traditions and uniqueness of their great wines. We will be looking for more such great wines next year in our tastings in Italy!
1 SIRO PACENTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VECCHIE VIGNE 2015
2 MASSETO TOSCANA 2016
3 MARCHESI ANTINORI TOSCANA SOLAIA 2016
4 BRUNO GIACOSA FALLETTO BAROLO VIGNA LE ROCCHE 2015
5 ROBERTO VOERZIO BAROLO LA SERRA 2015
6 LUCE DELLA VITE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
7 GIODO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
8 EREDI FULIGNI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
9 RENIERI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
10 CIACCI PICCOLOMINI D'ARAGONA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PIANROSSO 2015
11 SAN FILIPPO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO LE LUCERE 2015
12 VALDICAVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VIGNA MONTOSOLI 2015
13 TALENTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PIERO 2015
14 CANALICCHIO DI SOPRA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO LA CASACCIA 2015
15 SAN POLO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VIGNAVECCHIA 2015
16 GIACOMO CONTERNO BAROLO MONFORTINO RISERVA 2013
17 PODERI ALDO CONTERNO BAROLO GRAN BUSSIA RISERVA 2010
18 MARCHESI ANTINORI UMBRIA CERVARO DELLA SALA 2017
19 PIRA (CHIARA BOSCHIS) BAROLO CANNUBI 2015
20 BRUNO GIACOSA FALLETTO BARBARESCO RABAJÀ 2015
21 ZENATO AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SERGIO ZENATO RISERVA 2013
22 BARONE RICASOLI CHIANTI CLASSICO CENIPRIMO GRAN SELEZIONE 2016
23 DUEMANI SYRAH COSTA TOSCANA SUISASSI 2017
24 CASANOVA DI NERI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO TENUTA NUOVA 2015
25 VALDICAVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
26 GAJA BARBARESCO SORI SAN LORENZO 2016
27 ROBERTO VOERZIO BAROLO BRUNATE 2015
28 FÈLSINA TOSCANA FONTALLORO 2016
29 FONTODI CHIANTI CLASSICO VIGNA DEL SORBO GRAN SELEZIONE 2016
30 PIO CESARE BAROLO ORNATO 2015
31 FRESCOBALDI TOSCANA GIRAMONTE 2016
32 PAOLO SCAVINO BAROLO CANNUBI 2015
33 ELENA WALCH ALTO ADIGE BEYOND THE CLOUDS 2017
34 GAJA BAROLO CONTEISA 2015
35 DAMILANO BAROLO CANNUBI 2016
36 ELIO GRASSO BAROLO GAVARINI CHINIERA 2015
37 SCHIOPETTO FRIULANO COLLIO MARIO SCHIOPETTO M 2018
38 ORNELLAIA BOLGHERI SUPERIORE 2016
39 PODERI ALDO CONTERNO BAROLO COLONNELLO 2015
40 CERETTO BAROLO BRICCO ROCCHE 2015
41 CASTIGLION DEL BOSCO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO CAMPO DEL DRAGO 2015
42 VIETTI BAROLO ROCCHE DI CASTIGLIONE 2015
43 CASTELLO DEI RAMPOLLA TOSCANA SAMMARCO 2015
44 LE MACCHIOLE BOLGHERI SCRIO 2016
45 BIBI GRAETZ TOSCANA BIANCO TESTAMATTA 2018
46 PIO CESARE BAROLO MOSCONI 2015
47 MONTEVERRO TOSCANA 2016
48 MONTEPELOSO TOSCANA GABBRO 2016
49 BIBI GRAETZ TOSCANA COLORE 2016
50 TUA RITA SYRAH TOSCANA PER SEMPRE 2017
51 IPSUS CHIANTI CLASSICO GRAN SELEZIONE 2015
52 RENIERI TOSCANA REGINA DI RENIERI 2016
53 BARONE RICASOLI CHIANTI CLASSICO RONCICONE GRAN SELEZIONE 2016
54 CIACCI PICCOLOMINI D'ARAGONA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
55 LIVIO SASSETTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
56 SAN FILIPPO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
57 SANDRONE BAROLO LE VIGNE 2015
58 TENUTA SAN GUIDO BOLGHERI-SASSICAIA SASSICAIA 2016
59 PETROLO VALDARNO DI SOPRA GALATRONA 2017
60 BERTANI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2011
61 ROMANO DAL FORNO AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA MONTE LODOLETTA 2013
62 CASTELLO BANFI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO POGGIO ALL'ORO RISERVA 2013
63 PIRA (CHIARA BOSCHIS) BAROLO MOSCONI 2015
64 QUINTODECIMO TAURASI VIGNA QUINTODECIMO RISERVA 2014
65 FORADORI TEROLDEGO VIGNETI DELLE DOLOMITI SGARZON 2017
66 TENUTA DELLE TERRE NERE ETNA ROSSO PREPHYLLOXERA LA VIGNA DI DON PEPPINO 2017
67 CASTELLO DI AMA CHIANTI CLASSICO VIGNETO BELLAVISTA GRAN SELEZIONE 2016
68 CAIAROSSA TOSCANA 2016
69 CASANOVA DI NERI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO CERRETALTO 2013
70 ST. MICHAEL-EPPAN ALTO ADIGE APPIUS 2014
71 CORDERO DI MONTEZEMOLO BAROLO ENRICO VI 2015
72 CONTERNO-FANTINO BAROLO GINESTRA VIGNA SORÌ GINESTRA 2015
73 FORADORI MANZONI BIANCO VIGNETI DELLE DOLOMITI FONTANASANTA 2018
74 ARGIANO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VIGNA DEL SUOLO 2015
75 LA SPINETTA BAROLO VÜRSÙ CAMPÈ 2015
76 CANTINA TERLAN PINOT BIANCO ALTO ADIGE RARITY 2006
77 CASTELLO DI BOSSI CHIANTI CLASSICO GRAN SELEZIONE 2016
78 CAVALLI TENUTA DEGLI DEI TOSCANA 2016
79 BERTINGA TOSCANA VOLTA DI BERTINGA 2016
80 IL BORRO SYRAH TOSCANA ALESSANDRO DAL BORRO 2015
81 AVIGNONESI VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO CAPRILE 2016
82 TASSI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO FRANCI 2015
83 CANALICCHIO DI SOPRA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
84 POGGIO ANTICO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO ALTERO 2015
85 PRIMA PIETRA TOSCANA PERMASSIMO 2016
86 SAN POLINO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO HELICHRYSUM 2015
87 PARUSSO BAROLO BUSSIA RISERVA 2010
88 PODERE POGGIO SCALETTE ALTA VALLE DELLA GREVE IL CARBONAIONE 2016
89 PAOLO SCAVINO BAROLO CAROBRIC 2015
90 FATTORIA LE PUPILLE MAREMMA TOSCANA SAFFREDI 2017
91 PETROLO TREBBIANO TOSCANA BÒGGINA B 2017
92 FRESCOBALDI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO CASTELGIOCONDO 2015
93 ALTESINO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO MONTOSOLI 2015
94 LE RAGNAIE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO FORNACE 2015
95 FANTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VALLOCCHIO 2015
96 CASTIGLION DEL BOSCO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO ZODIAC RISERVA 2013
97 TUA RITA TOSCANA REDIGAFFI 2017
98 MADDALENA CORDELLA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
99 FOSSACOLLE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2015
100 CAPARZO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VIGNA LA CASA 2015