Armit Wines' 2026 spring trade tasting was an opportunity to discover the five Italian producers new to the portfolio, Campania’s Joaquin is so new to the stable that they were not even in the brochure.
Joaquin's Raffaele Pagano
Established in 1999 in the province of Avellino, winemaker Raffaele Pagano specialises in Fiano, Greco and Aglianico – the vines of the latter dating pre-phyloxera. A deft use of local chestnut, acacia and Italian oak ageing vessels of all sizes seemed to complement these ancestral varieties so well that I personally could easily find a space in my cellar for all five of the wines he was showing.
Aided by pouring the wines at room temperature the whites had great body and, like the reds, had a thrilling spine of acidity. Standouts were be the 110 Oyster Greco, 2024 (£63 RRP) which hails from a 1 ha plot of old vines within a monastery and is only made in the best years, the last being 2014. The Della Societa Taurasi Riserva 2019 (£130.55 RRP) was off the charts good – the power of Aglianico’s tannins and 15.5% abv skillfully integrated within a powerhouse of fresh, pure black fruit. Nice touch, too, putting the bottling date on the label of all the wines.
Cascina Baricchi's Rachele Simonetta
Extended ageing was the USP of the wines shown by Piedmont’s Cascina Baricchi a boutique producer specialising in reds, particularly using old vines of the rare Nebbiolo Rosé. Two thirds of its annual production of Barbaresco (in best vintages) the family team squirrels away and releases ten years after harvest so, alongside the new 2019 Barbaresco Riserva ‘Rose della Casasse’ (£57.15 RRP), it showed the magnificent 2010 Barbaresco Riserva ‘Quindicianni’ (POA) all elegant rose petals and dark cherries.
Even more extraordinary was its hugely complex 100% Timorasso called ça va sans dire 2016 (£50.80 RRP)(translated as ‘it goes without saying’) which is aged for eight years on yeast in barriques. Most unusual wine of the entire Armit tasting but it really worked – unctuous, medium to full bodied with a play of opposites – dry/fresh and sweet/ sour – quite extraordinary and a dead cert. for a by-the-glass wine flight. I did ask if they had other jobs, such must be the cashflow strain of keeping wines back that long with just 4.5 ha of vines.
Andrea Spinola from Marchese Luca Spinola
No cash flow issues for Piedmont’s Marchese Luca Spinola, a 15-ha estate specialising in Cortese where the four Gavi wines it produces are bottled after 3-4 months of ageing in steel. Back in the Armit fold after a 10-year hiatus the one wine winemaker Andrea Spinola showed Gavi DOCG del Comune di Gavi 2024 (£18.05 RRP) ‘did exactly what it said on the tin’ – fresh, juicy, classic Gavi, with pear and lemon notes – benefitting from a soft press after dry ice chilling.
Montepeloso owner Fabio Chiarelotto
Freshness is the house style of the impressive portfolio of wines from Montepeloso, one of the rising stars of the Tuscan coast. Situated just inside Maremma, five km from Bolgheri, the team here under the leadership of owner Fabio Chiarelotto, is picking early to preserve the sea-air freshness you can get in the region. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Lupo IGT Costa Toscana 2024 (£25.15 RRP) which is made as a chilled aperitivo. 100% Sangiovese, it has just a 10-day maceration then aged in 600-litre demi-muids for four months. The end result is a light red, crispy, with nicely restrained fruit, dry finish and just 11.5% alcohol which is selling well in fish restaurants, apparently. It’s only the second vintage but this will run and run.
Fabio's A Quo IGT Costa Toscana 2024 (£21.10 RRP) is a blend of two vineyards featuring Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malvasia Nera and 10% of other varieties – this was the ‘entry level’ wine – fresh, energetic with wonderful Mediterranean herbs. Although Armit is not yet taking the winery’s flagship the Eneo IGT Costa Toscana 2023, it did show two of its other premium wines the Nardo IGT Costa Toscana 2023 (£76.70 RRP) (85% Sangiovese and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon) and Gabbro IGT Costa Toscana 2023 (£97 RRP)(100% Cabernet Sauvignon) both of which were obviously more structured but had a purity and clarity that made them really distinctive. If this is what the estate can do in a difficult vintage then looking forward to trying more.
Chiarelotto presented the wines himself, a fascinating man, Swiss-raised who bought the estate in the home village of his Italian mother after spending some years in Haiti studying ancient religions. Bordeaux’s Silvio Denz invested in the project in 2007 and winemaker Fabrio Moltard has worked with the best including Angelo Gaja – an estate to keep a close eye on.
Having previously been represented in the UK by Liberty for 25 years the wines of Fèlsina should be a known quantity to wine buyers in this market, especially the iconic Rancia and Fontalloro.
Purchased by his grandfather in 1966, Fèlsina is run by third generation Giovanni Poggiali, an estate that sits on the southern part of the Chianti Classico region and whose wines have been described in the past as “Brunellagia” – ie. they are Chianti Classico but they lean towards Brunello di Montalcino in their power and profile. Poggiali showed nine of his 14-strong portfolio wines kicking off with two Chardonnays, the standout of which Sistri Chardonnay Collezione Privata 2021 (£42.60 RRP) is an elegant, structured white with fennel notes and a lovely balance between mineral and buttery on the palate.
Fèlsina’s reds are an artist’s palette, if you will, of varying shades of Chianti from the excellent ‘entry level’ Chianti Classico DOCG Berardenga 2022 (£27.30 RRP) through to the super premium Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colonia 2021 (£108.85 RRP) which hails from a 2.6 ha site with very poor soils, the wine then spending 30 months in new barriques. Very powerful and textural you can detect a ground stone quality to the wine with balsamic notes that you find in the rest of the portfolio. On the whole the wines are all made in the same way with some exceptions – the key differences being the vineyards where they come from.
Fèlsina's Giovanni Poggiali and Chiara Leonini
Standouts are still the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Rancia 2021 (£52.85 RRP) which is made from 50/50 new and second fill barriques; a wine with massive power and elegance that has dark wild cherry and blood orange notes with balsamic, savoury, black earth and liquorice notes. And Fontalloro IGT Toscana 2021 (£63.85 RRP) which Poggiali describes as a ‘political wine’ on account of its historically standing up against the rules of the time when it was first made with 100% Sangiovese.
Nice with these wines to have young, structured tannins with a bit of grip which are fast being smoothed over style-wise these days by other estates to facilitate earlier drinking. “It’s the style our family loves,” says Poggiali. Well said sir.
These five Italian estates are all sold and distributed in the UK through Armit Wines which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
