Susan Hulme MW

Feudo Maccari

A warm moonlit night in Sicily was the setting to a wonderful evening and dinner at Feudo Maccari with owner Dott. Antonio Antonio Moretti Cuseri and his son Amedeo and famous Sicilian chef (2 star Michelin) Pino Cuttaia. There were … Continue reading →

Allegrini

19 Oct ’23

Yesterday’s Allegrini Amarone tasting with Francesco Allegrini, who is the 6th generation of this family business and Franco Allegrini’s son, in the beautiful cellar room at The Savoy Grill showed the evolution of their Amarone through the vintages 2000, 2006, … Continue reading →

Mazzei

15 Oct ’23

What a fascinating vertical tasting today in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Marchesi Mazzei’s Concerto, a Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon blend which they first made in 1981. It is always a thrill to taste the first vintage of a … Continue reading →

Cella Grande

15 Oct ’23

At the border of Piedmont with Valle D’Aosta sit the steep vineyards of Carema where the vines are trained in traditional pergola style. When you look at the steep slopes and hard granite stones you realise why this is called … Continue reading →

Villa Guelpa

15 Oct ’23

Visit with Daniele Dinoia owner of Villa Guelpa to the Trincerone vineyard in Boca yesterday in Alto Piemonte – his vineyards are at 480m asl surrounded by woods with porphyry soils. The rules of Boca DOC oblige you to blend nebbiolo with a % … Continue reading →

Gaja

11 Oct ’23

A really special tasting today with three members of the Gaja family – Angelo, Gaia and Giovanni Gaja talking us through current vintages Costa Russi, Sorí Tíldin and Sorí San Lorenzo all 2020, Sperss 2018, Conteisa 2015, Barbaresco 2001, Darmagi … Continue reading →

Vinexus

7 Oct ’23

One of the most important tastings of the year for me – Vinexus Italia – yesterday at the Institute of Masters of Wine. Vinexus is the company started and built up over the years since the 1990s by the late … Continue reading →

Bibi Graetz

5 Oct ’23

I visited Bibi Graetz last September at his home and wine cellar in Fiesole just outside Florence where we tasted several older vintages as well as more recent ones. Earlier vintages went through a stage of being big, oaky and extracted as … Continue reading →

Ristorante Il Centro

30 Sep ’23

One of the many highlights of my trip so far after an incredible tasting of Marchesi Alfieri Barbera with CEO and chief oenologist Mario Olivero we had the most wonderful lunch with Paola Chiapascpa at Ristorante Il Centro. The food was … Continue reading →

Marchesi Alfieri

30 Sep ’23

Such incredible wines by Marchesi Alfieri – the quality really surprised me and I was surprised at how wonderful Barbera can be if it comes from a favoured place, is made by someone passionate about the grape and it is allowed … Continue reading →

Michele Chiarlo

30 Sep ’23

Piemonte is beginning to feel like home from home now having been here 3 times in the last three months. This was another very special visit – this time to Michele Chiarlo with Stefano Chiarlo and one of Piemonte’s most … Continue reading →

Brigaldara

30 Sep ’23

Brilliant visit to Brigaldara. Brigaldara were the among the very first to plant at elevations of 500 metres about 20 minutes drive from Verona way back in 1985 and to have the early vision and foresight to think about the effects of … Continue reading →

Conterno Cantine Nervi

29 Sep ’23

Today I visited the historic Cantine Nervi in Gattinara (the oldest cellar in Gattinara) now owned by Roberto Conterno (Conterno Cantine Nervi) since 2018. The wines are of course perfectly made as you would expect from this producer. The 2018 … Continue reading →

Bottega

24 Sep ’23

Tasting a vertical of Bottega Prosecco I was really surprised to see that the 2013 was still very much alive and kicking – the other thing that was a little thrill was how the wines really reflected the vintages. Here with … Continue reading →

Ornellaia

23 Sep ’23

Left to right- Marchese Lamberto Frescobaldi, Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, CEO of Ornellaia and winemaker Olga Fusari with great organisation as always by Thurner PR (Ursula Thurner, Antonella Lotti and Elena Oprea). Historic tasting of Ornellaia over 8 vintages comprised of: … Continue reading →

Ricasoli

23 Sep ’23

Lunch @dinnerbyhb in the beautiful @mo_hydepark with Francesco Ricasoli @ricasoli1141 and the new release of their 3 #2020 @chianticlassico #granselezione #colledilà ##roncicone #ceniprimo plus #castellodibrolio and their 100% Merlot #casalferro #2019 – the #colledilà and the #castellodibrolio both #2020 were showing especially beautifully and #ceniprimo had some very distinctive qualities too. Grazie a @ricasoli1141 and @thurnerpr View this post on Instagram A post shared by Susan Hulme (@susanhulmemw)