La Parrina is a tiny DOC, situated in the Orbetello peninsula on Italy’s Tuscan coast. It's part of the renowned Maremma zone and only one estate exists there – Antica Fattoria La Parrina. The wines are made by Valeria Vittori, a Montalcino winemaker renowned for her critically acclaimed HK$450 Brunello – so you know you are in good hands here.

Muraccio is Valeria’s special blend of Tuscany’s hero grape, Sangiovese, plus Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, all from vineyards close to the winery. Aged for 10 months in oak barriques before bottling, it has juicy red and black cherry flavours mingled with plummy fruit and notes of Mediterranean herbs. It’s a fullbodied wine with layers of deep flavour – yet wonderfully easy to drink. We love it. And we think you’ll love it too. We’re not the only ones who are impressed. The renowned international critic, Antonio Galloni, awarded Muraccio 92 points and called it “a real charmer”. James Suckling was equally impressed, awarding it 92 points as well.

Antonio Federici is a small, 3rd-generation cellar in Lazio, just south of Rome. As you'll taste here, its wines are both authentic and exceptionally delicious.

Normally, they only supply their meagre output to top restaurants in Rome. But with most shut in 2020 and 2021, we managed to gain a small allocation of this superb, cherry-scented red.

On fine limestone soils (the rocks of which were used to build some of Rome's most famous buildings) they grow some of Italy's most characterful native grapes. From these they make a small range of highly awarded, rule-breaking wines.

No doubt the skill of top Italian consultant Franco and Matteo Bernabei come into play, as well as the commitment and passion of the family.

A great pizza or pasta red.

This wine is what we term a 'cleanskin', or the Italian, an Edizione Limitata. It's a top-quality wine with minimal information on the label – part of the deal of getting 5-star Brunello at a great price. What we can say is that it comes from a beautiful estate in Castelnuova Berardenga, in the south of Chianti Classico. The Romans were the first to plant vines here, while its buildings date back to 1099.

The current owners purchased it in 1984 and, in a very short time, have made its wines some of the most sought after of the region. It is 100% organic and solar powered too. From the warm 2017 vintage, this Brunello offers a panoply of ripe cherry, plum, rose and violet notes, with polished tannins. Open early and decant or cellar.