The Winery Bottega del Fueco of Sicilia of Sicile

Andrea Franchetti, one of the most talented and visionary Italian producers, has died at the age of 72 in Rome. In 30 years exactly, he positioned his superTuscan Trinoro among the top Italian references, producing a wine with stylish elegance and outstanding potential for ageing. Franchetti’s Bordeaux blends were without the over-extractions that were on-trend in the 2000s, nor the excess of fruit following phenolic maturity. He followed a precise idea to produce classic wines for the long haul ...

Lucio Tasca d’Almerita died in Palermo this week, on 25 July, aged 82. In Sicily he was known simply as ‘Conte Lucio’, such was the reputation of the Count and the amount of respect and affection people had for him. Lucio was one of the pioneers of winemaking on the island from a technical point of view, but moreover he was able to demonstrate how effective the modernisation of Sicily could be from a cultural standpoint. Born in Palermo on 9 January 1940, he was an athlete in his youth and even ...

All 818 lots were sold in the auction, which saw Prince Robert of Luxembourg, chairman and CEO of Château Haut-Brion owner Domaine Clarence Dillon, open up his personal cellar to raise funds for the PolG Foundation. Featuring 4,200 bottles and covering Bordeaux wine royalty spanning more than a century of vintages, Sotheby’s said the auction ‘smashed’ its pre-sale high estimate of around $4m.  Two 4.5-litre Jeroboams of Haut-Brion, one from the 1926 vintage and the other from 1 ...