Fast Five: Simone Ratti

Simone Ratti is a Perth-based sommelier with over 10 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. Born and raised in La Spezia, Italy, he has worked exclusively with wine since he moved to the city, first at Balthazar and then at Lulu La Delizia.

He was named the 2024 Sommelier of the Year by the West Australian Good Food Guide, and in June 2025, he published a book dedicated to the wines of his home region: The Wines of Cinque Terre.

Below, Simone shares his five most memorable wines.

Simone Ratti.

2015 Luigi Tecce Taurasi Riserva Poliphemo
Campania, Italy
I fell in love with Poliphemo during a visit to Taurasi in the summer of 2022, where I met Luigi Tecce at his small winery in Paternopoli. He welcomed me in the vineyard with his dog, and after a quiet start, we sat in the cellar tasting wine and cheese as he shared his story with passion and poetry. That was the moment I connected deeply with the wine. Grown on volcanic soils at 400 metres, it showed notes of eucalyptus, blackberry, cherry and balsamic spice, with austere tannins and a long, mineral finish. Since then, one of my favourite wines.

1971 Produttori Del Barbaresco Barbaresco
Piemonte, Italy
This is the oldest wine I’ve ever tasted. It was a gift from my friend Luca for my 30th birthday, and we shared it on an autumn evening in 2023. Nebbiolo has always been my favourite grape, and experiencing such an old expression was unforgettable and remarkable. The wine, as expected, had developed tertiary notes of leather, wet earth and dried figs; the palate still had vivid acidity and a surprisingly light silky tannin. Fun fact: back then, Barbaresco was still a DOC.

2015 Xavier Gérard Côte-Rôtie
Northern Rhône, France
I’ve always loved syrah from the Rhône Valley, but this one truly amazed me as it was the first time that I discovered this producer. I had the pleasure of tasting it a few years ago while studying for my WSET course. The nose was incredibly complex, with notes of black pepper, crushed rocks, incense, black olives and dark fruits like blackberry. On the palate, it showed fresh acidity, firm tannins, and a long, mineral and peppery finish that made me crave a barbecue. At the time it was five years old, but it was clear it had the depth to age for many more years.

2019 Sorrenberg Chardonnay
Beechworth, Victoria
I clearly remember tasting this chardonnay during a lunch break with colleagues, shortly after moving to Perth. It left a great impression for several reasons. The label was striking, instantly evocative of Burgundy, both in style and feel. That Burgundian connection became even more evident on the palate: a perfect balance of acidity, oak, and aromatic complexity. Yet despite the Old World parallels, it retained its Australian identity, with notes of melon and white peach. An incredibly layered wine with pronounced minerality, and without a doubt, now one of my favourite Australian chardonnays.

2015 Bressan Rosantico
Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
This is one of those wines I’ll never forget. Unique and unmistakable, at first, I wasn’t sure what it was: is it an orange wine? A rosé? It’s simply itself. Bressan, a rebellious Friulian winemaker, crafts it from moscato rosa, a rare aromatic grape native to northeastern Italy. Intensely perfumed with notes of rose petals, wild strawberries, rhubarb and white pepper, it’s both structured and elegant. On the palate, it’s persistent and deeply original. A wine that surprises and can easily change the mind of anyone still sceptical about skin-contact whites. From the first smell, I fell in love.

Instagram: @saimonraz

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