From Barolo to Supertuscans, for the past five years, there has been a continuous revaluation of wines produced in the Bel Paese. Once there was Bordeaux and little else. Today it is a different story: even the Bel Nectar has humbly made room for itself at the table where the Olympian gods feast. In the presence of Bacchus, there are more and more Italian wines that are becoming true classics, coveted by collectors everywhere who wish to have them in their cellars.
This is what emerges from a recent survey by Liv-ex, a company specializing in quotations of collectible bottles, which has launched on the market an index focused precisely on Italy and its ini, the Liv-ex Italy 100. In 2021 alone, this grew by 11.5 percent, with appreciation over the past five years reaching almost 50 percent. But what are Italy’s best wines?
Italy’s best collectible wines.
Giving a precise answer to this question is a challenging exercise that leaves room for free judgment. That is why there are specialized societies that draw up such rankings punctually. Among them, one of the most recent is that of Wine Search, a famous wine search engine that allows you to compare the prices of the best bottles from all over the world and that has highlighted what it says are the five best Italian investment wines:
- Barolo Riserva Monfortino di Giacomo Conterno ($1,309)
- Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Case Basse by Gianfranco Soldera ($1,093)
- Barbaresco Crichet Paje by Roagna ($979)
- Masseto Antinori ($954)
- Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin by Giuseppe Cappellano ($920)
- Barolo Brunate Riserva by Giuseppe Rinaldi ($838)
- Toscana Igt Case Basse by Gianfranco Soldera ($736)
- Barolo Riserva Pira by Roagna ($731)
- Refosco dei Colli Orientali del Friuli Vigna Calvari by Miani ($671)
- Barolo Le Rocche di Castiglione Falletto by Bruno Giacosa ($650)
The best vintages
What are the best vintages? One variable that affects the price of a bottle is the year it was produced. According to Wine Lister’s Wine Chart, among the wines from Piedmont, Barbaresco triumphs with the 1990 and 2004 vintages with a score of 96/100 and Barolo with 2004, 2007, and 2010 production earning a score of 97/100. Moving to Tuscany, for Brunello di Montalcino the vintages 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2010 are worth noting, while for Sangiovese, 2016 stands out. Finally, for Amarone, we must mention 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011 vintages that earned it a score of 93/100.