2023 Pio Cesare Piodilei Chardonnay

Chardonnay thrives, especially on the hilltops of the Langhe Piemonte region, which are too cool for red wine production. The Chardonnay for this wine comes from the 'Il Bricco' vineyard, in the heart of the Barbaresco region. The grapes are hand-harvested as late as possible, usually in late September. The wine undergoes fermentation in French oak barrels. It is then aged in barrels for a year. This makes it one of the finest Chardonnays, wonderfully rich and toasted, complex and full-bodied, rivaling all the top international wines. It is not without reason that it is nicknamed the " Burgundy of Piedmont ."

The Chardonnay Langhe doc Piodilei has a bright straw yellow color with a fantastic, inviting nose of brioche, pineapple, wood, vanilla, and butter, beautiful caramel, and a hint of hazelnut. This beautiful white Pio Cesare has a slightly oily and rich style, a powerful and full flavor, with the typical richness and butter of Chardonnay, coffee, and caramel, beautifully classic and broad. This fine wine is not to be enjoyed cold – around 10-12°C (50-55°F) is perfect. It is, of course, an excellent wine with fish dishes, pan-fried flatfish, mussels, white meat, salads, and, of course, perfect as an aperitif.

ABOUT PIO CESARE

The Pio Cesare estate is one of the region's classic producers. Located in Alba, the "wine capital" of the region, it was founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio. His name has been retained, in reverse, as the name of this trading house and family business. It remains family-owned, headed by Pio Boffa, the founder's great-grandson. He continues the family's work with excellence and has also been responsible for a number of modernizations and changes at this beautiful, traditional company. Pio Cesare has always been a trading house, sourcing grapes under contract from local winegrowers. This is also common practice in this region, which boasts many small winegrowers with small plots of vineyards, who are always willing to sell their grapes to one of the trading houses. In that respect, the region is a bit like Burgundy, with all those different vineyards, each with its own name, divided into small vineyard plots, each owned by a different winegrower.

Pio Boffa decided that owning his own vineyards was beneficial for the quality of his wines. Over the years, he has acquired several vineyards, primarily in the renowned Barolo and Barbaresco regions. His vineyard holdings now encompass 45 hectares and produce some of the estate's finest wines, with a few distinctive vineyard-specific cuvées as highlights. These are only released in good years.

The necessary changes have also been implemented in the winemaking process. A very restrained vinification process has been chosen, leaving the wine as undisturbed as possible, with minimal intervention. Each wine receives the individual treatment best suited to that particular wine, with a shorter or longer fermentation on the skins, sometimes followed by classic aging in Slavonian oak, the traditional wood of the region. This results in wines with classic finesse, balanced and complex, worthy representatives of this unique wine region.