Italian quality designation for a DOC/DOCG wine with stricter quality requirements in different areas. These can be higher must weight (potential alcohol content), higher alcohol content of usually 0.5 to 1% vol. more, limitations regarding acidity as well as a longer maturation period such as 18 instead of 12 months. More rarely, this also defines a delimited smaller area within a DOC/DOCG area (as for example with Rosso Piceno Superiore). There is some overlap with the term Riserva.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien