“Top 100 Cellar Selections” 2023: Brunello di Montalcino Poggio di Sotto 2018 at No. 1

Brunello di Montalcino Poggio di Sotto 2018 is No. 1 in the “Top 100 Cellar Selections” 2023 by “Wine Enthusiast”. Thus the ranking of the famous American magazine, dedicated to those wines coming out on the market now, but to be kept in the cellar, to be evolved to express their full potential. And so, the Brunello from the winery that is part of Claudio Tipa’s Collemassari Group, is at the top ahead of such a sacred monster as Vega Sicilia’s Unico 2012, from Spain, and in particular from Ribera del Duero, and Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin’s Côte-Rôtie Les Grand Places 2020, from France.
But many Italian labels were selected, as is often the case, confirming the greatness of the Tuscany-Piedmont-Veneto triptych when it comes to wines for long aging in Italy. In the top 10, right at No. 10, in fact, is Masi’s Amarone della Valpolicella Campolongo di Torbe 2013, one of the most important names in the area, as is Allegrini, which comes in at No. 23 with its Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Fieramonte 2016. Then, looking at the Italian selection, a trio of great Piedmontese wines, namely Barolo Mosconi 2019 from the Pio Cesare label, at No. 24, Gaia & Rey 2020, the great white from Gaja, the symbolic winery of the Langhe, at No. 25, and then, at No. 35, another great classic such as Elvio Cogno’s Barolo Vigna Elena Riserva 2017. Again, an all-Tuscan, and largely Bolgheri poker follows: at No. 41, in fact, there is the Paleo 2020 from Le Macchiole, one of the great bishops of the territory produced by the winery led by Cinzia Merli, just as the Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso 2020 from Marchesi Antinori is a symbol, at No. 48. Again, position No. 52 for one of Tuscany’s great Merlots, Tua Rita’s Redigaffi 2020, while at No. 70 is another label now firmly in the ranks of the most celebrated, such as Fattoria Le Pupille’s Saffredi 2019. Closing out the Italian selection is another great classic of the white wines of Veneto, namely Soave, with Pieropan’s Soave Classico La Rocca 2021.
A ranking, that of “Wine Enthusiast”, which contemplates wines from 14 countries, signaling a change in the magazine’s approach, which is also a change in the market. “It would have been easy to compile a list of the world’s most collectible wines from those our professional reviewers have tasted blind over the past 12 months: just pick the well-known wines with the highest prices. But we thought that, post-pandemic and weighed down by inflation, “Wine Enthusiast” readers deserve a different approach to the Top 100 “Cellar Selections”. Nowadays, elite bottles of Cabernet from Burgundy, Bordeaux and California sell for thousands of dollars, if you can find them. So, we looked elsewhere, sifting through a year’s worth of winery selections and creating a different kind of list, one that values more moderate cost and a taste for discovery. Forty-seven of the 100 wines selected cost less than $100, and 18 are under $50. None are priced above $800”.
This list represents the future of Wine Enthusiast’s “Cellar Selections”, the magazine further explains: wines with consistency and structure that are not necessarily the biggest and boldest. The number one wine, for example, is Poggio di Sotto’s 2018 Brunello di Montalcino, “not the most emblazoned of its terroir, but what a wine! An earthy, stony nose, robust tannins and fiery acidity demonstrate its longevity”, writes, in this regard, Danielle Callegari, who, along with Jeff Porter, is the signature from Italy of “Wine Enthusiast”.

Focus - The podium and Italian wines of the “Top 100 Cellars Selection” 2023 by “Wine Enthusiast”

1 - Poggio di Sotto 2018 (Brunello di Montalcino)
2 - Vega Sicilia 2012 Unico (Ribera del Duero)
3 - Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin 2020 Les Grand Places (Côte-Rôtie)
10 - Masi 2013 Campolongo di Torbe (Amarone della Valpolicella Classico)
23 - Allegrini 2016 Fieramonte Riserva (Amarone della Valpolicella Classico).
24 - Pio Cesare 2019 Mosconi (Barolo)
24 - Gaja 2020 Gaia & Rey (Langhe)
35 - Elvio Cogno 2017 Vigna Elena Riserva (Barolo)
41 - Le Macchiole 2020 Paleo (Toscana)
48 - Marchesi Antinori 2020 Guado al Tasso (Bolgheri Superiore)
52 - Tua Rita 2020 Redigaffi Merlot (Toscana)
70 - Fattoria Le Pupille 2019 Saffredi (Toscana)
85 - Pieropan 2021 La Rocca (Soave Classico)