Fantini Chardonnay 2016
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Excellent with fish, light first courses, white meat (chicken and rabbit).
Fantini (by Farnese) wines are a reflection of the colors of Abruzzo, painting wonderful landscapes of taste and living for the love of the endless vineyards that are protected by Mount Majella. The vineyards are located on the hillside and stretch from the sea to a soaring 9,843 feet. The vineyards enjoy optimum exposure and an excellent microclimate which explains why the grapes grow so well in this area.
Fantini employs the most advanced technology as it is absolutely necessary to (enable the features of the grapes to be transferred intact to the bottle). It is Farnese’s belief that excessive enthusiasm while working in the vineyards is pointless if the winery is unable to maintain certain standards when bottling. In the winery’s words, “We believe we cannot produce a great wine without constant supervision on behalf of expert winemakers which is the reason why in each vintage six successful winemakers live in perfect harmony with the grapes that arrive at the winery and are turned into great wines.”
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A warm, Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, in Abruzzo, the distance from mountains to seaside is relatively short. The Apenniness, which run through the center of Italy, rise up on its western side while the Adriatic Sea defines its eastern border.
Wine composition tends to two varieties: Abruzzo’s red grape, Montepulciano and its white, Trebbiano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can come in a quaffable, rustic and fruity style that generally drinks best young. It is also capable of making a more serious style, where oak aging tames its purely wild fruit.
Trebbiano in Abruzzo also comes in a couple of varieties. Trebbiano Toscana makes a simple and fruity white. However when meticulously tended, the specific Trebbiano d’Abruzzo-based white wines can be complex and long-lived.
In the region’s efforts to focus on better sites and lower yields, vine acreage has decreased in recent years while quality has increased.