Italy

A blend of Chardonnay and Grechetto, the 2018 Cervaro has lovely richness to the fruit, with notes of hazelnut and a hint of honey. You feel the Umbrian sun here, but it's all in balance.

This is a real benchmark white of Italy, that ages spectacularly. Mineral, intense, with plenty of grip and palate weight, it's a remarkable wine. Buy this, and keep if for a few years.

More shy on the nose, but on the palate there’s incredible depth and intensity. Really powerful and grippy, very wild, with notes of orange, peaches and apricots, and such a mineral undercurrent. The best of Etna.

More shy on the nose, but on the palate there’s incredible depth and intensity. Really powerful and grippy, very wild, with notes of orange, peaches and apricots, and such a mineral undercurrent. The best of Etna.

Ian D'agata has written, "I have long thought that the Arneis was by far Giacosa’s most underrated wine", and this is a zesty, fresh example from one of the grape variety's staunchest defenders

Lightly sparkling, this is a wine of poise and stunning energy. With notes of elderflower and crunchy apples, with freshly picked mint and sage and a fine, silky texture, this is a mouthwatering wine that will have you reaching for glass after glass. We challenge you to find a more upfront and delicious wine.

Just 4,000 bottles were produced of this brilliant fizz from Cascina Cerutti. On the nose, notes of wild flowers and quinine, and a beautiful core of ripe apples and greengage. The palate is silky and intense, with a fine thread of acidity, and a chalky texture. There’s just a hint of panettone on the finish, and a creaminess that lasts for minutes. This is a brilliant bubbly.

Such a heady nose on this of hazelnuts, figs, and exotic spices. The palate has amazing freshness, with plenty of grip and a long, saline, nutty finish. Impossible to spit.

The vintage offering from the estate, this spends four years at least on the lees. The result is a savoury, complex, stunning sparkling wine from the north of Italy. Notes of peaches and hazelnuts, with oodles of minerality on the finish. Serious and long.

A real rarity, this spends an impressive five years on the lees, adding even more notes of hazelnut and brioche, as well as a delicious dried fruit character to the wine. So long, pure, and complex, with a finish that lasts for minutes. Riper that most vintage Champagne, but in terms of complexity would give many prestige cuvées a run for their money.

First introduced to us by Manfred Ing, winemaker at Querciabella, this is a beautiful sparkling from the shores of Lake Iseo. There’s notes of peach and just a lick of bread dough, with fine acidity and wonderful finesse and salinity on the finish. This is a fizz that is just so easy to enjoy.

First introduced to us by Manfred Ing, winemaker at Querciabella, this is a beautiful sparkling from the shores of Lake Iseo. There’s notes of peach and just a lick of bread dough, with fine acidity and wonderful finesse and salinity on the finish. This is a fizz that is just so easy to enjoy.

Always a real favourite, this Petite Arvine balances ripe, mouthfilling fruit, with taut acidity and a real savouriness. It's a charming white, and brilliant when paired with mountain food

First bottled in 1983, it was named after Lucia and Angelo Gaja's daughter, Gaia Gaja, and Angelo Gaja's grandmother Clotilde Rey. It was the first commercially made Chardonnay in Piedmont, and shows incredible texture, depth, and spicy complexity. A legendary wine, with lots of freshness in 2018.

A juicy and finessed wine from Giovanni Almondo, that's the perfect way to discover their wines, and the Arneis grape. Crunchy pears and apples, and a citrus edge to this brilliantly drinkable white, from one of Piedmont's best producers.

The 2019 Bricco delle Ciliegie from Giovanni Almondo is an astonishingly good expression of the Arneis grape. Incredibly complex, notes of orange blossom, rosemary, and pine needles swirl from the glass. The palate is textured and savoury, with a core of fresh conference pears, and a thread of acidity that makes this so thirst-quenching.

The 2019 Bricco delle Ciliegie from Giovanni Almondo is an astonishingly good expression of the Arneis grape. Incredibly complex, notes of orange blossom, rosemary, and pine needles swirl from the glass. The palate is textured and savoury, with a core of fresh conference pears, and a thread of acidity that makes this so thirst-quenching.

From a single plot of the Bricco delle Ciliegie vineyard, planted on a precipitous slope, with some of the estate's oldest vines. More savoury and closed, but with such latent power, this is a remarkable Italian white. The pinnacle of the Arneis grape.

From a single plot of the Bricco delle Ciliegie vineyard, planted on a precipitous slope, with some of the estate's oldest vines. More savoury and closed, but with such latent power, this is a remarkable Italian white. The pinnacle of the Arneis grape.

Rossese Bianco is a grape variety that patriarch Giovanni worked very hard to bring back from extinction. There's a breadth of flavour here, with weight on the palate, balanced with amazing salinity and a piercing acidity. This is juicy and moreish, and will age well, too.

A classically styled vintage, the 2018 Chardonnay from Isole e Olena is a beautiful wine. Notes of peaches and candied lime on the nose, with buttery almonds and plenty of grip on the palate. The finish is long and focussed, and there’s stunning purity. Surely Italy’s best Chardonnay?

A classically styled vintage, the 2018 Chardonnay from Isole e Olena is a beautiful wine. Notes of peaches and candied lime on the nose, with buttery almonds and plenty of grip on the palate. The finish is long and focussed, and there’s stunning purity. Surely Italy’s best Chardonnay?

One of our favourite whites, this is a wine that really shows off its origins. Smoky and savoury, with a taut, linear palate, and so much saline energy. This is such a joyful wine: not to be missed.

Broader than the Ribolla Gialla, this washes over the palate with notes of lemon pith and orange blossom. The finish is ever so slightly waxy, but the wine is not lacking freshness. Delicious.