38 wines top the list in Luca Maroni’s “Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines 2022”

According to the critic Luca Maroni’s “Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines 2021”, there are 38 wines that are the most “pleasant”, the best of the best in Italy, all scored at 99/100. Maroni has always professed to follow one criterion for his sensorial analyses, “the quality of the wine is the pleasantness of its flavor”. And they represent all the wealth and variety of Italian winemaking, with a clear predominance of reds (32) over whites (5), and a single sweet wine. The Tuscan Region boasts the highest number, 9 wines, followed by Apulia, at 5, then comes Abruzzi with 4 and Emilia Romagna and Marche 3 wines each. Below the top the best ever, the 99/100s, Luca Maroni has ranked, divided by type, the “best on the podium”, boasting scores ranging from 96 to 98 points. In total, there are 54 rosés, 711 reds, 182 whites and 24 sweet wines.
“I breathed in perfumes of admirable sensory and oxidation integrity, which a few years ago would have been only a dream to hypothesize”, wrote Luca Maroni in the preface to the “Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines 2022”. “The care given to cultivation is starting to have not only concentration as a guideline, but even more so, respect for the native aromatic heritage of the grapes. The agronomic technique is modulated so that the fruit is protected from burns coming directly from the sun to the berry, through rediscovering the pergola and/or the awning (but managing the vineyard is rigorous and selective). Furthermore, we are trying to cover the bunch and not weigh it down or shade it with its foliage, as well as not thinking about anticipating the harvest date - a factor that has contributed significantly to the growth of the fragrances of our magnificent white wines. Rosé wines”, continued Maroni, “are experiencing a new era of splendor. All the native red varieties in each region now have their very valuable pink version, and the balance between the acid freshness, the sprinkling of tannins and the soft smoothness of the grapes is harmonious everywhere. Thus, the definition of the varietal cherry fragrance, a common aromatic denominator, which depending on the different grape and the different wine transformation style, takes on infinitely varied aromatic-sensory tones. Some reds really make one think about the disruptive power of their alcohol emission through their porous concentration, by now at levels of absolute density. And, the beautiful thing is that their alcohol is not perceived, since it is cloaked and dressed by the sumptuous pulpiness and glycerin of the grapes. The oxidation development is more contained, the scents are less sulfurous, vinegary and vanishing, and the dosage and quality of the oak that coats their scent with spices is more and more proportionate to the fruit, and thus intrinsically purer. The softness is no longer fantasy, despite their dark and powerful, black tannins, every swallow grasps the soft voice of the taste able to counterbalance and penetrate in fruit its extreme tannic power, together with the acidity, which brings fragrance to such a soft tasteful mass”, wrote Luca Maroni. “Desserts are fantastic essences of the most beautiful Italian grapes, masterpieces of pulp and sweetness of aroma whose only problem is that they are the last on the list for use. You get to the sweets satisfied and satiated by the previous types of wine. But, their fruit is the sweetest and the best. It is pure nectar. Finally, the sparkling wines on the wings of their crystalline and very fragrant nose, inebriate us with their satin brio making their floral, multi-varied aromatic and taste profiles creamy froth. And, in a wealth of versions that has no equal in the winemaking world”, concluded Luca Maroni in his preface to the “Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines 2022”.

Focus - The 99/100s in the “Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines 2022”, by Luca Maroni

Barbera d’Alba Elena La Luna 2020 Roberto Sarotto
Atos Corte Medicea Toscana Rosso TGI 2018 Bollina
Versosera Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane 2019 Velenosi Vini
Janù Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018 Jasci & Marchesani
Quarantanni Rosso Riserva 2019 Colomba Bianca
Piano Chiuso Primitivo di Manduria Riserva 2018 Masca del Tacco
Baccarossa 2019 Poggio Le Volpi
Sesto 21 Sauvignon 2020 Casata Mergè
Uve Portate a Cesena Sangiovese Appassimento 2020 1502 Da Vinci in Romagna
Roma Rosso Collezione Oro 2020 Federici
Edizione Cinque Autoctoni Fantini Group
Povrömme 2019 Il Molino di Rovescala
Kapnios 2017 Masseria Frattasi
Edda Bianco Salento PGI 2020 Cantine San Marzano
Rosso Piceno Colle del Buffo Bio 2019 Terra Fageto
Ben Ryé 2019 Donnafugata
Merum Barbera 2019 Bellicoso
Thanks 2020 Di Lenardo
Scaranto Governo All’Uso Toscano 2019 Riolite Vini
Guerriero della Terra 2018 Guerrieri
Tosone Barrique 2020 Tosone
Curioso Grande Edizione 2017 Gallovini
Vecciano 2019 Barbanera - Duca di Saragnano
Lotto Unico Governo Uso Toscano TGI 2018 Terrescure
Cuvée 16 Rosso Vino d’Italia Botter
S.to Ippolito 2019 Villa da Vinci - Cantine Leonardo da Vinci
Il Passo Segreto Sangiovese Rubicone Appassimento 2020 Caviro
Soliditas Limited Edition 2018 Tenuta Romana
Primitivo Puglia TGI Appassimento Amarama 2019 Giordano Vini
Suadens Rosso 2019 NatiV
Tabano Bianco 2020 Montecappone
Caravaggio Bianco 2020 Cantine Romagnoli
Solco da Uve Leggermente Appassite 2020 Piccini1882
Il Morante Primitivo di Manduria 2019 La Pruina Vini
Ronco di Sassi Primitivo Appassimento 2019 Provinco
Masso Antico Primitivo del Salento TGI from slightly dried grapes 2020 Schenk Italia
Don Antonio Tenuta Ulisse
Firmae 2017 Colline San Biagio