Castello di Monsanto Chardonnay Fabrizio Bianchi 2024

Drink it now or cellar for up to 15 years. It is recommended to decant it for an hour. Located in the Elsa Valley, Tuscany, not far from the picturesque medieval town of San Gimignano, Castello Monsanto was purchased in 1961 by Aldo Bianchi as a wedding gift for his son Fabrizio. Together with his wife, Fabrizio renovated the farmhouses, expanded the vineyards, and launched a series of innovations that brought great success and popularity. The Chardonnay grapes are selected and hand-picked from the estate's vineyards located in the municipality of Barberino Val d'Elsa. Two-thirds of the grapes are fermented in stainless steel at a controlled temperature, while the remaining grapes are fermented in French oak barrels, where they remain in contact with the lees for approximately six months before bottling and a further year of aging. Fabrizio Bianchi's Chardonnay is a highly representative wine of the estate, the fruit of his intuition in the 1970s, when he decided to create a white wine with great character by planting a vineyard in an area normally dedicated to Sangiovese. In the glass, the wine reveals a brilliant straw-yellow color and a broad, fresh aromatic profile with floral notes of broom, mimosa, and chamomile, hints of stone fruit and aromatic herbs. On the palate, it is round and soft, fresh and elegant, with a fluid texture and a long, harmonious finish. It is a wine capable of aging well, but can be enjoyed now with grilled fish and legume soups.