Italy’s finest white wines: 20 top bottles, region by region

Stylish and restrained lychee, apricot kernel, vibrant citrus and rosebud are accompanied by a lifted, tingling structure; lively, polished and savoury. It's not easy to describe the filigreed and sober elegance of wines like this one, but it should be considered one of the best Italian whites. 2010 is the new release of 100% Pinot Bianco, Rarity. It undergoes a slow fermentation in stainless steel tanks then ages on its lees in big wooden barrels for 12 months, followed by further ageing on the lees in steel tanks without filtering or fining for 11 years (the so–called ‘Stocker method’).

The nose shines for its wild fennel aroma which melds with grapefruit and minerality in depth. Smooth rather than zesty, it's an astonishing Chardonnay with adamant Montrachet appeal. Nibbio is the latest wine from Antinori in Umbria, who produced 5,800 bottles for the first time in the 2019 vintage. Since 1985, the Marchese Piero Antinori produced the celebrated Cervaro della Sala, a blend of Chardonnay and Grechetto. ‘In these years we refined and refined the wine, minimising Grechetto in favour of Chardonnay. But in 2019, we decided to vinify a northern vineyard of pure Chardonnay by itself.’

Aromas of passion fruit, sage, white peach, vibrant rosewater and rocky minerality are supported by a super–tense structure with zesty acidity and a luscious finish, combining the smoothness of Alsatian Gewurztraminer with the steeliness of German Riesling. Chambave is a niche appellation in the Aosta valley, and this wine is made by a cooperative of 53 families. The coop's top selection of Muscat, it's fermented in stainless steel and aged in big oak vessels. It's rare to taste a Muscat with its intense aromatic profile but also so vibrant, mineral and complex.

Col Disôre is a blend of Pinot Bianco, Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc and Ribolla Gialla from the typical ponca flysch soil of Collio, which brings to the wine a marvellous vibrancy and minerality. When the minerality of Collio meets this kind of concentration, the match is great. Subtle toasty aromas with rose and peach skin feature marine influence and bright fern scents. The attack is soft, smooth, dense and rich, supported by elegant lifted acidity. The finish is still oaky, but your patience will be rewarded.

A stunning complexity assaults the nose, with cedar, flint, rich passion fruit and grapefruit pith. The body is lean, not vibrant but tense, filigreed and silky. The acidity is zesty but well integrated. A good demonstration of elegance in a white wine. A' Puddara is a Carricante from 2ha of south–facing vines planted in 1950 in Biancavilla on Mount Etna at 900m. The wine is fermented in oak vessels, where it ages for up to eight months.

Old vintages of Fiorano Bianco based on 100% Semillon are a kind of myth among wine collectors. Today, as a blend of Grechetto and Viognier aged in oak and chestnut barrels, it is staging a comeback, with an extraordinary texture and concentration. This interpretation exhibits apricot fruit, plasticine and peach kernel, with Corton Charlemagne–like richness. The wood is well integrated, the acidity brilliant, but it's the full, super–mellow concentration which impressed the most.

2018 is a leaner vintage, but not less elegant, and is full of intensity and details: lemony minerality, sweet yellow grapefruit, a lot of fern and subtle briney savouriness which is a signature of this wine. It's a flinty wine focused on elegance; silky textured with refreshing, delicate acidity and amazing length to the finish. With proper balance and concentration, it's a major success for a vintage of mostly lean wines. ‘Uncork the wine a couple of hours before you drink it; a slow awakening,’ said passionate viticulturist Francesco Paolo Valentini. I was impressed by this estate's wines from the 1970s when I tasted them a few years ago and they were still in shape – his Trebbiano from Abruzzo is renowned for its ability to age.

Mirabelle plum on the nose, with candied banana, fern and lemon peel notes. The attack is vibrant, with concentration, weight and long acidity allied to polite and well-integrated oak. A great wine in a great vintage. What I like from Cilento Fiano is the limestone soil compared to a volcanic soil, which gives a more silky texture and elegance on the palate, with no smoky character. ‘The 2021 is a vintage which has convinced us. It was a vintage where richness, complexity and elegance are well represented,’ Luigi told me.

The 2020 vintage is more herbal than usual, with sage, thyme and a citrussy character, then its typical peach kernel core. The attack is full, silky, concentrated and textured, yet vibrant on the finish.One of the most sought after white wines of Italy, with proven ability to age, Batàr originates from vineyards in Ruffoli, in Greve in Chianti, some of which reach 600m. The Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco grapes are fermented and aged for nine months in French oak. It's a very classic white SuperTuscan (first vintage was 1988) with a stylish Corton-Charlemagne attitude.

The delicate 2020 has a toasty aroma with pink grapefruit, then lemon candy and stone fruit flavours. Full, silky and mellow, but with a final zip of freshness.These, the first Chardonnay vines planted in Langhe in 1979 in Treiso (then the estate’s highest-altitude vineyard), produced the fruit for Gaia & Rey, which was first produced in 1983. Fermented and aged in new French oak.

Baked apple, angelica and seaweed peep out from the alcoholic density of the wine, showing all the warmth of the high Mamoiada region. Mellow on the palate, it's very refreshing, with a full, phenolic finish. An old fashioned wine of great personality. While several great Vermentino wines are present in Sardinia, this is an almost unique white made instead from Granatza, which is not Grenache Blanc but much closer to Guarnaccia Bianca Calabrese. Vinified in 30hl oak vessels and aged for around 10 months, it produces a soulful and powerful white wine that's on the edge of an off–dry style (4g/l residual sugar).

San Paolo Riserva is well known for its restraint. In 2020, a generous vintage, it persists on a lime peel character, with sage, spring flower freshness and assertive youthfulness. Bone-dry on the attack, with firm acidity as expected from a great Verdicchio, it's then tightly woven with fruit in a chalky, mineral finish. This is a wine you have to wait for, which I like! From sandstone and limestone soil at 400m, this Verdicchio is fermented with indigenous yeast in concrete then aged in big oak vessels.

Vibrant and mineral, it's full of lemongrass, wax, seaweed and lemon candy with a peaty depth and hints of noble rot. The wine is concentrated, acidic at first then wrapped up in a woven structure, with a youthful, biting finish – a palate that defies time. Impressive price-to-quality-ratio. From 40-year-old vines on volcanic soil, this is a blend of slightly late-harvested Garganega, with Trebbiano intended to preserve the acidity. Both grapes are fermented in 30hl Allier oak vessels and aged for 12 months on the lees.

Precise and intensely floral, with broom aromas combined with peach and a remarkable savouriness, if not saltiness, from the nearby sea. Woven in texture, silky and weighted, it has long, crisp acidity without the typical rough edges of Vermentino phenolics. A broad Vermentino with great potential for ageing. Numero Chiuso is the personal project of Diego Bosoni, the new generation at the biggest estate in Liguria. The best Vermentino grapes are reserved for longer ageing in big oak vessels.

Despite the heat of the vintage, this is vibrant and leesy on the nose, with yellow peach skin, banana and liquorice stick in depth. It develops an apricot juice flavour and a cappuccino-like toasty finish. Not impressively concentrated in this vintage, it's nonetheless refreshing and finishes with great precision and length. This Chardonnay comes from a walled clos of 28-year-old vines below the Santissima Annunciata monastery above the Monte Orfano. Fermented in three- to four-year-old oak barrels and aged for 12 months in oak, it's then matured for two more years in bottle.

Southern Italy's affinity for Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) is well known, and Benvenuto has here pulled out of the hat a great dry version offering precise aromas of lychee and rosewater with a marine whiff, followed by a very floral palate sustained by electric acidity and combining with some savouriness. Despite its aromatic character, the wine does not tire and the slightly bitter finish introduces another layer in the experience. An impressive surprise with great personality.

Classic and detailed. Fairly reductive at first, it then focuses on lychee and lemon essential oils, with green apple and minerality. The body is lean, the acidity crisp and the overall structure biting with a slightly phenolic finish. Best enjoyed with Italian cheese. Planted at 600m and fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeast and no temperature control. Aged for 12 months on the lees.

Opens up to reveal macerated flowers, Golden Delicious apple and an assertive, leesy character. Very appley and savoury on the palate, it shines for its rustic, almost tannic, fiercely refreshing structure. After one day of maceration on the skins, this organic Albana planted in 1990 is fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged for 12 months on its lees. It's sometimes slightly affected by noble rot, but apparently not in 2020.

Intense apricot and peach tea aroma with a vibrancy of delicate yet savoury acidity. Textured enough, it seems to be somewhere between wine and fruit juice, such is its drinkability! Based on Fiano Minutolo harvested in the Gargano promontory facing the Adriatic sea, the grapes are chilled and gently pressed before vinification at a controlled temperature in order to preserve their freshness in the warm region of Puglia.

Lean and lemony, juicy with a subtle, smoky vibrancy and delicate acidity, leading to a precise finish. Basilicata is a red wine region, but from its volcanic soils can spring some deliciously drinkable whites, too. Here, the Tommasi family of Valpolicella fame shows the potential for Falanghina, which has much affinity for volcanic soils, whether in Basilicata or in Campania's Campi Flegrei.