Fiordelli’s pick: Italian whites to age

Valentini, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Abruzzo 2015 98

£69.75-£ 125 Cru, Crump Richmond Shaw,

Les Caves de Pyrene, My Wine Cellar, Seckford, The Solent Cellar, VinQuinn, Wineye

2015 was cool and rainy in spring, warm and dry in July and August; the harvest was then postponed. The wine has its typical reductive character with a prickle of CO at the beginning, then focused lime 2 notes, hints of flowers, yet the typical salty, mineral palate. It will last for decades, developing its moving complexity. Drink 2025-2040 Alcohol 12.3%

Cantina Terlano, Terlaner I Grande Cuvée, Alto Adige Terlano 2016 97 £ 179.25 Astrum Wine Cellars, Chelsea Vintners, Field & Fawcett, Handford, Harrogate Fine Wine Co, Hedonism

75% Pinot Bianco with Chardonnay and just 2% of Sauvignon Blanc. Focused on candied lemon, iodine minerality and a mix of citrus, white peach and pineapple fruit, but there’s also a hint of butter here thanks to 70% malolactic fermentation. It’s vibrant on the palate and full of weight, demonstrating a kind of refined and delicate power. A truly sophisticated wine. Drink 2020-2035 Alc 14.5%

1 Ornellaia, Toscana Bianco, Tuscany 2016 97

£ 165 (ib)-£ 225 City Wine Collection, Crump Richmond Shaw, Fine & Rare, Handford, Private Cellar, The Holland Park Wine Co

Ornellaia’s Sauvignon harvest took place in the last week of August in 2016. The wine is restrained, with cedar, wild fennel flowers and saffron on the nose, smoothflowing and gently wooded on the palate, with iodine notes and a lemony, elegant finish. Will last decades due to its perfect balance, great concentration, extremely fresh fruit flavours and high integrated acidity. Drink 2020-2040 Alc 13.5%

2 Kante, Vitovska, Carso, Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2016 96

£ 23 Vinissimus

Fermented in neutral oak barrels with 12 months’ lees ageing to enhance balance. Restrained and mineral, with a white-floral character developing, and a chalky minerality, leading to lemon-peel and a great salty finish. Drink 2021-2035 Alc 12%

3 Siddùra, Bèru, Vermentino di Gallura Superiore, Sardinia 2016 96

£43.16 (2015) Mondial Wine

Granitic soils and the northwest Maestrale wind concentrate the grapes and bring quintessential Mediterranean flavours. From a balanced vintage and, despite its overtly oaky character, showing great concentration of stone fruit and tight-knit

structure between the citrus and acidity, which also keeps the warming alcohol in balance. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 14%

4 Benanti, Pietra Marina, Etna Bianco Superiore, Sicily 2016 95

£85 Astrum Wine Cellars

From 80-year-old Carricante bush vines in Milo village at 750m. When young, it seems to have a margarita-like profile with notes of salty lime, a ‘cola gelato’ and apple character typical of Mount Etna, and a finish between marzipan and iodine. Long lees-ageing brings texture, and it shines with zesty acidity balancing white-peach fruit. An exceptional match with spicy foods. Drink 2025-2035 Alc 12%

5 Pieropan, La Rocca, Soave Classico, Veneto 2017 95

£ 25.50-£ 33 Widely available via UK agent Liberty Wines

100% Garganega, from the La Rocca vineyard on chalky soil at 200m-300m, where the grapes are smaller and thicker-skinned, and picked when very ripe. Full of restrained, fresh apricot fruit in a kind of Marsanne-Roussanne style. Lemon-leaf freshness, dried banana and the toastiness of the oak on the nose, silky and delicate with moderate yet refreshing acidity; vibrant and imperceptibly tannic. Drink 2020-2040 Alc 13%

6 Luigi Maffini, Kràtos, Paestum, Campania 2018 94

£ 20.95 Lea & Sandeman, WoodWinters

Luigi Maffini and his wife take a holistic approach to express the elegance of Fiano on chalky soil. A wine of great Campanian character: green apple, lemon leaves, coriander and wild fennel meld with tangerine and sweet citrus, with the distinct floral signature of young Fiano.

Tingling and vibrant on the palate, with silky lushness. Drink 2025-2035 Alc 13%

Pievalta, San Paolo, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva Classico, Marche 2016 94

£ 21 Tannico

Fermented in stainless steel, aged on lees for 14 months. Clean, pure lemony aromas are layered with fennel and gherkin notes. On the palate, the bone-dry style and firm acidity are well balanced by the rich glycerol texture and a sweet Mirabelle fruit flavour. This wine is in a dry Riesling-like style that will develop seaweed and juniper aromas as it continues to age. Biodynamic. Drink 2025-2035 Alc 13.5%

Tenuta di Trinoro, Bianco di Trinoro, Tuscany 2017 94

£ 54.50 Hic

100% Semillon from a tiny parcel of sand in the highest reaches of the Trinoro estate. Whole clusters were fermented in stainless steel, the wine then rested on its lees in concrete tanks until it was bottled in July 2018. Gold in the glass, aromas of wet wool and some chalky notes, hints of sage. Full and weighty, with clean, lemony fruit character and superb, natural, refreshing acidity. Drink 2025-2040 Alc 13.5%