Unlike champagne, this year’s decline in the international fine wine segment was clearly noticeable. Particularly painful: the presentations by Napa Valley Vintners and Primum Familiae Vini seem to have been lost to Paris for good. France has also lost considerable ground. But on the other hand, Italy continued to have an excellent presence. And when you taste the current top wines, you quickly understand why they are the new darlings of the secondary market. No wonder that Italian reds make up the bulk of my selection from this year’s fair.
1. Château Pichon Baron 2022
But first, Bordeaux – and that means above all the traditional presentation of the Union des Grands Crus in Düsseldorf. This year, too, the line-up was weaker than in Paris. However, Château Pichon Baron 2022, which was not represented in Paris, shone this year. It is amazing how magnificently the second-classified wine from Pauillac has developed since it became part of the Axa Millésimes group. Its purchase by the French insurance group in 1988 was viewed with skepticism at the time as a supposedly short-term investment. The 2022 (81 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 19 percent Merlot) is not only one of the best vintages produced here, in my opinion. It ranks among the very best of the numerous outstanding 2022 wines. Very densely woven, yet classic. Dark fruit sweetness, graphite and spices, complex and with wonderful acidity. Powerful tannins, yet already showing an appealing texture. The 14.3% alcohol is well integrated. (98 P.)
2. Esprit Leflaive Pommard 1er Cru Les Arvelets 2020
Following the explosion in Burgundy prices, the structure of the négociants has changed significantly. Traditional houses such as Bouchard are focusing exclusively on the production of their own domaine. And newcomers and established winemakers are increasingly setting up their own micro-négoce lines. In the 2000s, Domaine Leflaive began offering a small selection of purchased grapes under the name Leflaive & Associés. The winery calls this “le négoce haut de gamme.” In 2018, it went one step further with Esprit Leflaive (“le négoce haute couture”). The initial eight wines were notable for including several reds. 2020 is now the third vintage, and of the four reds I tasted, I liked the Pommard 1er Cru Les Arvelets best. Pommards can sometimes be a little robust, but here elegance dominated despite the density. Also remarkable is the idea of coolness that the wine conveys despite the hot vintage (95 P.).
3. Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir Laurène Dundee Hills 2022
When the top dogs are missing, we turn our attention to lesser-known regions. Although, of course, Oregon Pinot Noirs can hardly be described as terra incognita. Admittedly, my personal fixation with California has prevented me from exploring our northern neighbors in depth. So it was fortunate that the Oregon Wine Board Düsseldorf remains loyal. Adelsheim, Lingua Franca, and Drouhin Oregon were among those presenting their wines here. The latter is a winery founded in 1989 by Robert Drouhin from Burgundy in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The Pinot Noir cuvée Laurène is named after the eldest daughter of Véronique Boss-Drouhin, the long-standing winemaker. It is the winery’s top Pinot, and the 2022 vintage is also the star of the Oregon presentation (96 P.). Only subtly influenced by oak, it shows great finesse with its floral aromas. Anyone who still believes that great Pinot Noirs can only be produced in the Old World will be proven wrong here!
4. Fattoria Le Pupille Saffredi 2022
In July 2022, I visited Fattoria Le Pupille to write a report for FINE. It was one of the hottest summers ever in Tuscany. It didn’t rain a single drop in central Italy for six weeks. When you drink the wines from that vintage today, you are amazed at how well most winemakers coped with the extreme conditions. At Le Pupille, they did more than just “master” the conditions – in fact, this year’s Saffredi is a spectacular success. The producers point to the 1959 vintage, another extreme year, as a reference point. Here, high phenolic content rather than acidity guaranteed longevity. In any case, the Saffredi remains a Mediterranean interpretation of Bordeaux with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. The 2022 vintage is characterized by a velvety texture that makes the wine seem almost hedonistic. It is full of radiant fruit, spicy, complex, and very concentrated (97 P.).
5. Tenuta di Trinoro Rosso Toscana 2022
The wines of Tenuta di Trinoro were new to me. They come from Val d’Orcia in the far southeast of Tuscany. Winegrowing in this location on the border with Umbria and Lazio is the brainchild of self-taught Andrea Franchetti – his son Benjamin has been running the winery since 2021. The model is France, and the passion is Cabernet Franc. The portfolio I was able to taste was highly individual. In addition to a fine Bianco made from 100 percent Sémillion, there were two single-varietal barrel samples from 2023. Palazzi 2023 is a dense, flattering Merlot with great drinkability. Cabernet Franc Campo di Magnacosta, from a 1.5-hectare plot at an altitude of 400 meters, is precise and spicy. The Bordeaux blend Le Cupole is essentially the estate’s second wine and is significantly simpler, but has some grip in the 2022 vintage.
The impressive highlight is the Tenuta di Trinoro Toscana IGT, a cuvée of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from the same year. Impenetrable purple in the glass, with notes of black berries, peppery spice, and toast. Enormously concentrated on the palate, with very good freshness thanks to the water-retaining soils from which the wine originates. Admittedly still very young at present, but with excellent prospects for long aging (97 P.).
6. Monteverro Toscana 2021
Also near the southern border of Tuscany, but in the Maremma region close to the coast, Monteverro lies at the foot of the small town of Capalbio. The project dates back to the early 2000s, after consultant Michel Rolland recommended that German entrepreneur Georg Weber invest in a location in the southern Maremma, which was still relatively undeveloped in terms of viticulture. And not to grow Sangiovese! I had only tasted the wines sporadically and was quite impressed. This year, Margherita Chietti let me taste the entire current portfolio.
The reds range from the youthful, stormy Merlot-dominated Verruzzo to the Cabernet Franc-influenced Terra di Monteverro. The Tinata is essentially the Rhone-oriented (70% Syrah, 30% Grenache in 2022) Grand Vin of the winery and, in many years, is on par with its bigger brother. The latter, here as Monteverro 2021, with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, leans more toward the right bank of Bordeaux. Very spicy bouquet, with plenty of grip and freshness on the palate, yet complex and with impressive fruit density (96 P.).
7. Ornellaia 2021
Today, prominent winemakers have a status similar to that of top soccer coaches. And like them, they change employers at ever shorter intervals. Axel Heinz, who was responsible for the Super Tuscans Ornellaia and Masseto for many years, was also a guest at ProWein in 2025. But he presented the latest vintage from Château Lascombes, where he moved in spring 2023. After this year’s harvest, chief winemaker Olga Fusari also left the winery, making the 2021 vintage her penultimate vintage there.
And it must be said that the team has done an exceptionally good job. Despite the enormous heat in the summer, the wine has good structure, plenty of spice and inner freshness, despite its power and richness (97 P.). 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. This means less Merlot and more CS/CF/PV, obviously the right strategy in this year. The 2022 vintage is already in the starting blocks, before the first Ornellaia of the new era is presented next year. Then we will see how the new production director Marco Balsimelli and oenologist Denise Cosentino interpret the cult wine from Bolgheri.
8. Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri 2019
I cannot present the next wines without first taking up the cudgels for the major importers, above all Schlumberger. Without their commitment, the quality of the wines presented at ProWein would be significantly lower. Take Casanova di Neri, for example. Founded in 1971, this Brunello winery from Montalcino presented its entire Sangiovese portfolio in Düsseldorf – most of it from the spectacular 2019 vintage. A feast for every lover of Tuscany. Already drinkable and showing the potential of the vintage, the “Etichetta Bianca” is a real treat. The Brunello Tenuta Nuova from the single vineyard Le Cetine is still a little austere but has enormous aging potential. At the same time, the Giovanni Neri is outstandingly concentrated and ravishingly youthful. It is only the second vintage from the 7-hectare Tocci vineyard – and already a benchmark Brunello (98 P.). Due to the vintage, the Cerretalto 2018 from the single vineyard of the same name in the east of the appellation cannot quite keep up, despite its seductive extract sweetness.
9. Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto 2021
The next wine evoked feelings of melancholy and nostalgia in me. Bruno Giacosa’s Nebbiolos from the 1970s and early 1980s were among the great wine experiences of my early collecting days. It all culminated in an unforgettable bottle of Barolo Collina Rionda di Serralunga Riserva 1989 (“Etichetta rossa”). According to Antonio Galloni, it is “one of the greatest wines ever made anywhere in the world.” Unfortunately, prices were already skyrocketing at the time – to US$1,600 for the 1989 Rionda, which had scored 100 Parker points, something rare outside France at the time. As the quality was not always consistent in the years that followed, and Bordeaux and Burgundy in particular were still comparatively attractive in terms of price at the time, I lost sight of Bruno Giacosa.
Now, at ProWein, I rediscovered the wines, which are now the responsibility of his daughter Bruna Giacosa. 2021 was a great year here, reminiscent of 2016, combining structure with elegance. The Falletto is meaty and animalistic on the nose, powerful, mineral and with surprisingly finely polished tannins (97 P.). What a delight! There will probably be a Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche here in 2027. I’d rather not think about the price.
10. Quevedo Colheita 1995
In the fall of 2024, I took part in a tour of Portugal to visit some remarkable wineries. Naturally, I took ProWein as an opportunity to revisit several of our hosts from that trip. Quevedo belongs to a new generation of small family wineries in the Douro region producing port wine. They were only able to market their own products when EU accession removed the requirement to operate a branch in Porto and bottle there. In 1993, the family began bottling under their own name under the leadership of Oscar Quevedo Senior. The Colheita 1995, which the winery presented at this year’s ProWein, dates from this early period. The vintage was last officially bottled in 2012, but during my visit in the fall, I was able to taste the remaining 1995s from the barrel during a small vertical tasting.
The sample at ProWein was also unofficial, possibly a preview of an upcoming late release bottling. The grapes come entirely from the Quinta Vale d’Agodinho in the Ferradosa Valley. Large parts of the vineyard are planted with a mixed variety of grapes. In this case, the blend consists of Touriga Franca (35%), Tinta Roriz (20%), Touriga Nacional (15%), Tinta Barroca (10%), Tinto Cão (8%) and other varieties (12%). Fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts, then aged in traditional Balseiro barrels and bottled unfiltered. Unfortunately, vintage Colheitas are overshadowed by classic vintage ports. Yet this “oxidative” style offers an incomparable spectrum of aromas. Dried fruit, star anise, and cinnamon, as well as a variety of nutty aromas, are just some of the impressions here (96 P.)
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Feature image: Messe Düsseldorf / ctillmann
All other photos: Stefan Pegatzky / Time Tunnel Images
