Il Borro Lamelle Chardonnay 2021
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Suckling
James
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James Suckling
Lots of honey and cooked apple with some honeysuckle and nuts. Light caramel. It’s medium to full body, with a lovely richness and oily character. Savory. Crushed stone at the end. Flavorful. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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2022-
Suckling
James
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Panel
Tasting
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Wong
Wilfred
Established more than one thousand years ago, Il Borro has ancient and mysterious origins, now lost in the mists of time. The estate’s event-filled history would go on to include some of Europe’s noblest families: the Medici Tornaquinici of Florence; the Torriani of Milan; the prince of Hohenlohe Waldenburg, and finally, from 1904, the Savoy dynasty. In the 1950’s, Il Borro passed to Prince Amedeo Duke of Savoy-Aosta, and in 1993 the Duke sold the entire property to Ferruccio Ferragamo.
Ferruccio Ferragamo, aided by his son Salvatore Ferragamo (presently CEO of Il Borro) began extensive restoration and refurbishment of this ancient place, which still bore the scars of the World War II. At the heart of the entire restoration project was a desire to bring the estate back to life, preserving its traditions and history while embracing modern innovations that make this place a perfect continuum between past, present and future.
The Il Borro estate is located about 45 minutes south of Florence within the Valdarno Valley of Tuscany (Valdarno di Sopra D.O.C). The Valdarno di Sopra D.O.C. designation was one of the original four wine appellations within Tuscany recognized by Cosimo de' Medici III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1716, he issued an edict legislating the first official designations within Tuscany: Valdarno di Sopra; Chianti Classico; Carmignano and Pomino. Today, Valdarno di Sopra D.O.C. is working toward becoming the very first Italian wine denomination requiring organic production. At Il Borro, the conversion to organic farming began with the 2015 vintage and all the wines produced on the Il Borro estate are now exclusively made with certified organically grown grapes.
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.
One of the most iconic Italian regions for wine, scenery and history, Tuscany is the world’s most important outpost for the Sangiovese grape. Tuscan wine ranges in style from fruity and simple to complex and age-worthy, Sangiovese makes up a significant percentage of plantings here, with the white Trebbiano Toscano coming in second.
Within Tuscany, many esteemed wines have their own respective sub-zones, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The climate is Mediterranean and the topography consists mostly of picturesque rolling hills, scattered with vineyards.
Sangiovese at its simplest produces straightforward pizza-friendly Tuscan wines with bright and juicy red fruit, but at its best it shows remarkable complexity and ageability. Top-quality Sangiovese-based wines can be expressive of a range of characteristics such as sour cherry, balsamic, dried herbs, leather, fresh earth, dried flowers, anise and tobacco. Brunello, an exceptionally bold Tuscan wine, expresses well the particularities of vintage variations and is thus popular among collectors. Chianti is associated with tangy and food-friendly dry wines at various price points. A more recent phenomenon as of the 1970s is the “Super Tuscan”—a red wine made from international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, with or without Sangiovese. These are common in Tuscany’s coastal regions like Bolgheri, Val di Cornia, Carmignano and the island of Elba.