The new Chardonnay since 83 joins the selection range

With the 2022 vintage, Colterenzio releases, for the first time, a new Chardonnay named 'since 83'.

Martin Lemayr, winemaker of Cantina Colterenzio, explains how this milestone was achieved: "Many of our 300 members grow Chardonnay: the very best grapes from the oldest vines are used to create the Bianco Riserva LR - a white blend with a predominance of Chardonnay – some others are dedicated to the Chardonnay Lafóa, one of our top wines that makes part of the prestigious Lafóa line. With all the remaining grapes we used to produce the Chardonnay Altkirch from the classic line. Many of these grapes are of a much higher quality and so in 2022 we vinified a part of them separately to see if there could have been a better positioning for them." After gentle pressing, the wine was aged exclusively in wooden barrels. "Unlike the Chardonnay Lafóa, we only used large wooden barrels for this wine. Specifically, the wine matures mostly in 35-50 hl oak vessels, and, for a small percentage, in used 500-litre tonneaux", Lemayr reports. "This was initially a test, but after tasting several times from the barrels, we immediately realized that the quality was at the right level to be included it in the Selection range," announces the winemaker. For the last 7 months, the wine has rested on the lees, undergoing periodic bâtonnage. After bottling in May, the wine was aged for another month until the beginning of June, finally arriving on the market about 8 months after the harvest.

"1983 was the year we produced our first Chardonnay. Since then, some of our most important, most well-known and most prestigious wines have been created from this variety. By naming the new Chardonnay 'since 83,' we wanted to pay homage to the starting point of this long, pioneering journey”, explains Alex Ferrigato, sales director of Colterenzio, as he goes into details regarding its name.

The most important question was in the end for Martin Lemayr: how is the new Chardonnay? "Ripe fruit aromas, such as honey-dew melon, pineapple, yellow peach and banana, stands out in the foreground, which finely intertwined by a nice hint of hazelnut and fine notes of vanilla. The result is a very harmonious, balanced wine with a very well-integrated acidity."

The wine

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