Wines to dream about, Wine-Searcher’s end-of-year rankings dedicated to Italy

The end of the year is, traditionally, a time when people make resolutions for what comes. And one of them might be to bring dream labels to your cellar. Like Giuseppe Quintarelli’s Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Selezione, a bottle of which, on average, can be found in wine shops around the world for 1,135 euros, or perhaps one of Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino Riserva, which is about 1,108 euros. With two sacred monsters from their respective territories, which are currently the most expensive Italian wines in the world according to Wine-Searcher, the portal that constantly crosses the prices of over 91,000 wine merchants and wine shops (excluding auction prices).
In the ranking, on the podium, there is also the Barbaresco Crichet Paje of Roagna, at 738 euros per bottle on average, followed by Barolo Le Rocche di Castiglione Falletto by Bruno Giacosa, ahead of another myth like Masseto, at 704 euros. More “affordable”, so to speak, a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva di Case Basse by Gianfranco Soldera, which travels around 653 euros per bottle, ahead of what is probably the most surprising wine in this special classification, the Calvari Refosco Colli Orientali del Friuli by Miani, at 620 euros per bottle, ahead of another Quintarelli label, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva, at 613 euros. To close the Italian “top 10”, the Barolo Monprivato Cà d’Morissio by Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, at 556 euros per bottle, and the Barolo Vite Talin by Luciano Sandrone, at 536 euros. Then, in the “top 10”, another dozen or so great names in Italian wine: there is Case Basse, from Montalcino, with Toscana Igt (100% Sangiovese) at 516 euros, just ahead of Giuseppe Rinaldi’s Barolo at 514, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from Tenuta Greppo by Biondi Santi at 502, Barolo Otin Fiorin Piè Franco Michet from Cappellano at 501, Barolo Artist Laberl from Bartolo Mascarello at 436 euros. They close, with prices from 418 to 376 euros, the Barolo Granbussia Riserva of Poderi Aldo Conterno, the Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice by Avignonesi, the Passito Bianco Amabile del Cere by Quintarelli, and the Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo and Sorì Tildin by Gaja.
The ranking by “quality” is different, however, and Wine-Searcher crosses the scores of several sources of wine critics (with reviews by Antonio Galloni, Jancis Robinson, The Wine Advocate, Luca Gardini, La Revue Du Vin de France, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and Cellar Traker, ed). With 95 points, for the Belpaese, there are, in order, the Occhio di Pernice by Avignonesi, the Barolo Monfortino Riserva by Conterno, the Sorì San Lorenzo by Gaja, the Masseto, the Solaia by Antinori, the Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto by Casanova di Neri and the Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido. Many, then, the wines that put together a score of 94 points: from Vin Santo of Avignonesi to Sorì Tildin of Gaja, from Refosco Calvari of Miani to Barolo Romirasco Bussia of Aldo Conterno, from Recioto della Valpolicella of Quintarelli to Baorlo Granbussia of Aldo Conterno, from Barolo Cascina Francia of Giacomo Conterno to Redigaffi of Tua Rita, from Barolo Aleste Cannubi-Boschis of Sandrone to Barolo Le Rocche of Castiglione Falletto of Bruno Giacosa, from Tenuta Greppo di Biondi Santi’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva to Barolo Sperss of Gaja, from Brunello di Montalcino Riserva of Poggio di Sotto to Messorio of Le Macchiole, from Barbaresco Vigneto Valeirano Riserva of La Spinetta to Barolo Monprivavo of Giusteppe Mascarello e Figlio, from Barolo Vigna Rionda Riserva of Massolino to Barolo Cerretta of Giacomo Conterno. Dream wines to toast, perhaps, to 2019 that ends and 2020 that arrives, or to put and keep in the cellar, and to open on the classic special occasion.