Tuscany
Tuscany, a picturesque region in central Italy, is renowned for producing some of the world's finest wines. With its rolling hills, Mediterranean climate, and rich cultural heritage, Tuscany offers a perfect combination of terroir and winemaking expertise. The region is home to legendary vineyards and wineries that have become synonymous with excellence and tradition.
One of the most famous vineyards in Tuscany is Antinori, a family-owned winery with a history dating back over 600 years. Their wines, such as Tignanello and Solaia, have achieved iconic status, showcasing the region's commitment to quality and innovation. Another renowned vineyard is Castello di Volpaia, known for its exceptional Chianti Classico wines that beautifully represent the Sangiovese grape.
Tuscany is synonymous with Chianti, a red wine made primarily from Sangiovese grapes. Chianti Classico, produced in the heart of the Chianti region, is highly regarded for its balance, elegance, and age-worthiness. Vineyards like Castello di Ama, Fontodi, and Fèlsina craft outstanding Chianti Classico wines that capture the essence of Tuscan winemaking.
The region is also famous for Brunello di Montalcino, a prestigious red wine made from Sangiovese Grosso grapes. Montalcino is home to renowned wineries such as Biondi-Santi and Casanova di Neri, which produce exceptional Brunello di Montalcino wines with remarkable structure, depth, and longevity.
Tuscany's coastal region, Bolgheri, has gained international acclaim for its Super Tuscan wines. These wines often blend international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with local varieties. Notable vineyards in Bolgheri include Tenuta San Guido, known for its iconic Sassicaia, and Ornellaia, which produces the renowned Ornellaia wine.
Tuscany's diverse terroir also allows for the production of white wines, with Vernaccia di San Gimignano being the most notable. Vernaccia vineyards like Teruzzi & Puthod and Panizzi create crisp and aromatic white wines that showcase the region's versatility.
Tuscany
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James Suckling (97)
Very aromatic and exciting with citrus rind, plums, cedar and rose petals. Full body, fine and silky tannins and a long and beautiful finish. Love the persistence and intensity. Salty undertone at the end. Needs two to three years to open.د.إ1,750.00 -
James Suckling (99)
A stunning wine. This is the best Testamatta ever made. Fascinating aromas of red fruits, tea, bark and wet soil as well as fresh leather. Full body, silky tannins and a juicy finish. I love the tension and texture of this great red. So gorgeous to taste now but better in 2021.د.إ1,800.00 -
James Suckling (98)
A very beautiful and thoughtful Testamatta with aromas of earth, terra cotta, black tea, and lavender. Full-bodied, very layered and extremely polished with superb, soft tannins. Racy and very long. Muscular and formed but very, very balanced. Gorgeous richness and depth. Shows balance and wonder. Try in 2020.د.إ1,465.00 -
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)
I loved this when first tasting it in bottle, and it is totally living up to my expectations. The clarity of flavour and the sense of energy ensures it just springs out of the glass, ready to please and without the slightest hint of a dip through the mid palate. Sangiovese signature comes across in raspberry, red cherry, rose petals, tobacco, freshly cured leather, great persistency through the palate, showing balance and finesse. The tannins are fine and silky but not afraid to ask for engagement and time from those of us lucky enough to be tasting it. Fermented with natural yeasts, aged in oak casks and neutral barrels for 20 months.د.إ629.00 -
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)
I loved this when first tasting it in bottle, and it is totally living up to my expectations. The clarity of flavour and the sense of energy ensures it just springs out of the glass, ready to please and without the slightest hint of a dip through the mid palate. Sangiovese signature comes across in raspberry, red cherry, rose petals, tobacco, freshly cured leather, great persistency through the palate, showing balance and finesse. The tannins are fine and silky but not afraid to ask for engagement and time from those of us lucky enough to be tasting it. Fermented with natural yeasts, aged in oak casks and neutral barrels for 20 months.د.إ2,450.00 -
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)
I loved this when first tasting it in bottle, and it is totally living up to my expectations. The clarity of flavour and the sense of energy ensures it just springs out of the glass, ready to please and without the slightest hint of a dip through the mid palate. Sangiovese signature comes across in raspberry, red cherry, rose petals, tobacco, freshly cured leather, great persistency through the palate, showing balance and finesse. The tannins are fine and silky but not afraid to ask for engagement and time from those of us lucky enough to be tasting it. Fermented with natural yeasts, aged in oak casks and neutral barrels for 20 months.د.إ1,035.00 -
James Suckling (97)
Very attractive combination of dried fruit and spices with black cherries and plums. Aromas of flowers and sandalwood, too. Full-bodied and very refined, yet intense, with plush, velvety tannins that are wonderfully integrated and intertwined with the fruit. Ripe center palate. Tight at the end, suggesting the need for some serious bottle age. Very structured. Try after 2025.د.إ1,050.00 -
James Suckling (97)
Very attractive combination of dried fruit and spices with black cherries and plums. Aromas of flowers and sandalwood, too. Full-bodied and very refined, yet intense, with plush, velvety tannins that are wonderfully integrated and intertwined with the fruit. Ripe center palate. Tight at the end, suggesting the need for some serious bottle age. Very structured. Try after 2025.د.إ1,295.00 -
Decanter (97)
Wild roses and wild strawberries, the nose has a lovely fragrance and expression. Lifted and bright, this has such a beautiful delicacy to it, a creamy, chalkiness comes from the fine tannins with bright, succulent strawberry and raspberry leaf elements. You feel the savoury side too, the sweet vanilla spice and dried herb aspect which counter the fruit and the high acidity. I adore the finesse here, the sharp fruit giving the energy and the chalky texture giving the layers. Feels well controlled, powerful yet delivered with poise. It doesn't have so much overt weight, it's definitely more ethereal in terms of density, but the nuance of flavour is thrillingly captivating and this has a long lifted finish. A contemplative wine that keeps you wanting more and more. Made in new winery facilities in Fiesole. Grapes were picked from the best six vineyards; Vincigliata, Olmo, Londa, Lamole, Montefili and Siena with each divided into parcels and harvested up to eight times to get the perfect ripening points. Natural and indigenous fermentation in open top barriques (225l) for smaller parcels and 50hl cask or stainless steel tanks for larger plots. After 7-10 days of maceration, the parcels are moved into old barriques and 50hl casks for 20 months.د.إ1,150.00 -
James Suckling (98)
Fabulous aromas of strawberries, orange zest and orange blossom. So pure on the nose. Very perfumed. Medium-bodied with intense linear tannins that are ultra-fine in texture. It's fresh and salty with a brightness and focus. Minerally and crisp. pH is 3.4 highlighting the strength of the acidity. Crunchy. Salty. So delicious now but this will age incredibly well.د.إ1,365.00 -
د.إ2,015.00 -
James Suckling (99)
A stunning wine. This is the best Testamatta ever made. Fascinating aromas of red fruits, tea, bark and wet soil as well as fresh leather. Full body, silky tannins and a juicy finish. I love the tension and texture of this great red. So gorgeous to taste now but better in 2021.د.إ2,845.00 -
Wine Advocate (97+)
The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino exudes dark, velvety fruit and concentration while maintaining the signature elegance, suppleness and lithe personalty that distinguishes the iconic Il Greppo estate. I found this new release to be quite distinctive and exquisitely beautiful, setting it apart from many of the past vintages we are most familiar with. This 2015 edition is dark, exuberant and bold, but precise, focused and sharp as well. It will live for years in your cellar, but tasted now in its infancy, the wine shows blackberry, dried cherry, plum and dark cassis. Those dark fruit tones segue to a rich presentation of tar, spice, earth, tobacco and sweet balsam herb. The bouquet offers seamless and smooth transitions. This warm and sunny growing season favored richness and phenolic weight. Wines from Biondi-Santi are made for the long haul, and the fresh acidity that characterizes this estate is the principle reason why. However, I'd argue that this wine from 2015 will evolve over the years not only thanks to the freshness but more so thanks to the important structure of this solid and profound wine.د.إ3,450.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (98)
Aromas of rose petal, dark spice, woodland berries and camphor form the nose on this fragrant, elegant wine. Loaded with finesse, the linear, savory palate features red cherry, orange zest, star anise and black tea alongside tightly wound, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced. It's still youthfully austere, with fantastic aging potential.د.إ3,920.00 -
Vinous (99)
It’s almost impossible to imagine that the 1985 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva La Storica has just celebrated its thirty-sixth birthday. It displays a brilliant ruby red color and amazing clarity in the glass, with only the slightest bricking around the rim. The bouquet alone is enough to keep you at the edge of your seat, as if opening a cedar treasure box to find dusty rose and sour cherry offset by spiced orange, crushed dried sage and just the slightest hint of animal musk. This is total class, cool-toned and poised, seeming to hover across the palate with an air of red inner florals, as tart woodland berries mix with hints of black tea and lemon oils. There’s a bolt of nervous acidity that keeps the experience remarkably fresh, but also adds a highly attractive sweet and sour note. And finally, while structured and youthful in feel, it finishes completely fresh, vibrant even, with dried currants enlivened by nuances of grapefruit and mint that linger on and on. This is an experience wine in every sense of the word, hailing from a dry and warm harvest yet exemplifying the purity of Sangiovese, as well as its ability to mature for well over three decades. The 1985 La Storica comes directly from the winery’s aging vault, and it was reconditioned with a new cork in 2000.د.إ2,455.00 -
James Suckling (97)
Fantastic aromas of coffee, tea leaf, ripe plums and ginger follow through to a full body, firm and silky tannins and a rich and subtle finish. The is dense and powerful yet very refined and reserved. It needs at least five years to show its true character. One of the most refined Biondi-Santi riservas I can remember. The tannin texture is exceptional. Try in 2020.د.إ10,300.00 -
Wine Enthusiast (100)
The Riserva 2012 is a quintessential Biondi Santi Riserva, reflecting not just the house style that made the firm famous, but it clearly shows Franco’s own hallmark of extreme elegance. The 2012 is a classic in the making, boasting enticing scents of rose, underbrush, wild red berry, new leather and underlying notes of crushed mint. It has a chiseled palate, featuring Morello cherry, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Firm acidity lends youthful tension and keeps it impeccably balanced.د.إ4,705.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The Biondi-Santi 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a stunning wine from all points of view. Seamless integration and elegant complexity are what stand out, and it's worth dedicating a few extra lines to the aromatic depth that is put so beautifully on display as the wine slowly unfolds. The bouquet starts off with wild cherry, earth, wet ash, crème de cassis and pruny chocolate. With extra time, there are hints of dried tobacco leaf, sandalwood and mossy forest floor. These lead to a fine tail of dried herb, bay leaf and a touch of rusty nail. The Riserva comes in numbered bottles, and I opened number 04277. To the palate, the wine is streamlined and silky with smooth tannins and a well-managed 13.5% alcohol content. The oak presence is reduced to a minimum, offering mild hints of spice and the delicate sandalwood or dried fig aroma I described above. Fresh acidity is the glue that gives the wine buoyancy and staying power. At this young stage, this 2013 vintage could be considered a bit shy or slow to start, but this will play out to great advantage in the long term as the wine continues its bottle evolution.د.إ4,450.00 -
Wine Advocate (98+)
The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is initially a reticent wine and one that does not immediately subscribe to the overstated abundance and exuberance of the vintage. Give it time. I wrote this review after several tastings over several days so I could ensure a more accurate account of the wine's elegant reveal. Contemplative and exceedingly nuanced in personality, with wild berry, underbrush, ferrous earth and candied orange peel, this has everything to look forward to in terms of its future evolution in the bottle. It displays a pretty ruby color that borders on garnet and polished copper. A silky, mid-weight palate is accented by beautifully managed and silky tannins (this aspect of the mouthfeel is extraordinary), bright freshness and long-lasting fruit momentum. The alcohol is a bit more powerful in this release (at 14.5%), but the effect is supple and smooth nonetheless. I tasted bottle number 256.د.إ4,090.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Wow, here is a vintage I've been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector's bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.د.إ5,095.00 -
Vinous (92)
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino keeps me coming back to the glass to take in its dusty mix of dried strawberries and currants offset by lifting nuances of shaved pine and mint. Soft and round in expression, the 2019 impresses on its lush textures and vivid wild berry fruit. Through it all, a core of saline tension builds, mingling minerals with gentle tannins, as the 2019 finishes with a staining of concentration, yet maintains a lovely freshness.د.إ1,425.00 -
James Suckling (98)
The floral aromas are so enticing with rose petals and lavender, which follow through to a full body with beautiful density of fruit. A long and complete finish. The best Chianti Classico ever made here in living memory. Even better than the 1961. Drink or hold.د.إ1,230.00 -
James Suckling (96)
The nose immediately shows a fabulous contrast between riper mulberries and blackberry crumble and freshly ground herbs, citrus and incense. The palate shows much the same polish, carrying bright blue-fruit flavors across a bedrock of muscular tannins and driven acidity. This finishes long and very grainy yet succulent. A blend of merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, sangiovese, petit verdot and alicante. Drink in 2022.د.إ1,130.00 -
Falstaff (97)
Bright, intense ruby red. Attractive and complex nose, full of dark currant, elderberry, plus some sandalwood and clove. Taut and dense tannin on the palate, well integrated, powerful and fleshy with very long finish with firm drive.د.إ1,210.00 -
James Suckling (96)
This is extremely perfumed with violets, sage, lavender, currants and berries. Fresh and vivid. Medium-to full-bodied with super refined tannins and fruit. So subtle and refined. This is really long and gorgeous. Goes on for minutes. A change in style from past vintages and I like it. 30% syrah, 30% cabernet franc, 16% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot 7% petit verdot and 5% sangiovese. From organically grown grapes. So hard not to drink now, but better after 2023.د.إ929.00 -
The Wine Independent (96)
This 2019 Caiarossa Caiarossa is a fascinating blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, and Alicante. It has a deep purple, ruby color and a hedonistic, dense, fragrant nose of irises and violets, smoke and Mediterranean macchia. There is a lovely nervosity and tension in this vibrant and juicy wine. Though it feels a little less silky than the Aria di Caiarossa, it does have a wonderful texture, and it has a lovely freshness and vivacity.د.إ986.00 -
(6x75cl) 2013Wine Spectator (97)
Plump and bursting with cherry, strawberry and mineral aromas and flavors, this racy red evokes harmony and freshness, with hints of spice, chocolate and tobacco as it plays out gracefully on the long aftertaste. There's structure here, with all the components integrated. Best from 2020 through 2035. 2,870 cases made, 1,100 cases imported. — BSد.إ1,815.00 -
Vinous (95)
The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is wildly perfumed, dusty and exotic, with balsam herbs, savory spices, red currants and plums coming across as so pretty yet rich and potent. A silky display of sour wild berries contrasted by candied citrus wows the senses as the 2017 plays a zesty sweet-and-sour act upon the palate. It’s long, youthfully chewy, yet still remarkably fresh, with rosy florals and tart, tart cherries giving way to chiseled tannins through the finale. This is a beautiful rendition of the 2017 vintage, one that takes the dry warmth of the year and expresses it with tremendous energy and verve. What's more, I revisited this bottle over the course of 36 hours and it only got better with time.د.إ981.00 -
Kerin O'Keefe (96)
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino from Canalicchio di Sopra boasts great aromatics of wild rose, new leather forest floor and perfumed berry that align with whiffs of spice. It’s savory and loaded with finesse, featuring juicy red cherry, botanical herb, white pepper and iron mineral notes framed in taut, lithe tannins. Blending grapes from their Montosoli and Canalicchio vineyards created an ideal, natural balance. Drink through 2038.د.إ1,325.00 -
Jancis Robinson (18)
Dark ruby with orange tinges. Complex, deep nose of cherry with a touch of exotic spice. The nose oozes class. Compact and finely balanced on the palate with finely chiselled tannins that follow the fruit rather than taking the upper hand. Very long and complex, and not ready by far.د.إ478.00

