For STNDRDS, Marisa Finetti tells the story of the wine coming out of Italy’s last island prison in “Harvesting Hope and Renewal,” profiling Gorgona, the label born from a partnership between the island’s penal colony and the Tuscan wine family Frescobaldi.

The two-hectare vineyard grows vermentino and ansonica on a natural amphitheater overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, producing a wine Finetti describes as floral and fruity, with notes of ripe exotic fruit and citrus, mineral depth, and a savory, sea-touched freshness. Inmates harvest the grapes alongside Frescobaldi’s winemaking team, and each vintage carries a label depicting a different facet of the island. Lamberto Frescobaldi, 30th generation president of Marchesi Frescobaldi, frames the project as something larger than the wine itself, saying “each bottle holds within it real stories of real change.” The Buyer

Check out the full story HERE.

James Suckling’s team unveils its “Top 100 Wines of Italy 2026” list, narrowed down from roughly 7,000 Italian wines tasted over the past year out of more than 30,000 total wines the outlet has rated, and four of our producers make the cut, with two landing in the top 25: Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2023 at #16, Tenuta Luce Brunello di Montalcino 2021 at #22, Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne Sibi et Paucis 2016 at #44, and Frescobaldi Toscana Gorgona 2025 at #94.

The list singles out Brunello di Montalcino 2021 as the vintage of the year, with Suckling’s team writing, “For us, 2021 is one of the best Brunello vintages of the past two decades, producing wines with impressive structure, freshness and balance.” Tenuta Luce’s entry backs that up directly, earning a 99-point score and landing at #22 overall. Suckling describes a wine with sweet berry, orange peel, nutmeg, and cinnamon aromas, medium-bodied with fine, precise tannins and a finish he says “caresses every inch of your palate,” calling it extremely long and structured yet refined and sophisticated.

Check out the full Top 100 list HERE.