Sergio Zenato Lugana Riserva, 2021
@deepixstudio
My favourite wine of the yr, Sergio Zenato Lugana Riserva 2021, is an under-rated Italian white wine that grows in a quiet area exterior of Verona and better of all, it drinks like a world-class wine however comes at a civilized value. Comprised of 100% Trebbiano di Lugana, Sergio Zenato Lugana Riserva is each wealthy and savory, with a satiny palate of ripe tropical fruit, a fragile intriguing floral be aware and sophisticated threads of coconut and vanilla. The end is intense lingering with a textural freshness. When you love a much less oaky chardonnay, chenin blanc, or albarino, you’ll love this white. It brings weight to the palate however tips the thoughts with dancing juiciness, and at $57 a bottle it gained’t value you a fortune.
The late Sergio Zenato’s love affair with the white grape Trebbiano di Lugana started many years in the past in 1993 when he bottled the first-ever Riserva Lugana wine. Says his daughter Nadia, who now runs Zenato Vineyard, “My father’s intent was clear, to reinforce the construction, complexity, and magnificence of the appellation’s flagship varietal. In the present day, this wine is rather more than a historic label, it’s a dwelling legacy that continues to inform the story of those that believed within the potential of a white wine able to defying time.”
This wine makes use of fruit sourced from the Zenato property’s oldest vines within the Podere Massoni winery, probably the most historic websites within the appellation. It’s aged and refined in French oak for added complexity. Sergio was a serial pioneer, at all times experimenting and tweaking, and for this varietal he pioneered fermentation in oak—which concentrated the wealthy tropicality of the wine with out compromising its juicy profile.
Sansonina in Laguna
Zenato
Consistent with her father’s style for pioneering adventures, Nadia Zenato not too long ago launched into an undersea journey—ageing wine underwater within the Venetian Lagoon tucked away from the rolling waves of the Adriatic Sea. Her Sansonina within the Lagoon DOC “Spontaneous Fermentation” 2021 is a white mix of largely (90%) Trebbiano di Lugana, plus 10% different native varieties. Crafted from premium fruit, Zenato used indigenous yeast and allowed the wine to ferment spontaneously. As soon as bottled in magnums, the wine was submerged over 20 toes deep right into a quieter a part of the lagoon. Given the complexity of the winemaking, manufacturing is proscribed with solely 100 magnums and each, says Zenato, “was crafted by the lagoon itself, as if Venice had left its mark on every glass.” Subjecting the wine to a full yr of such a novel and dynamic atmosphere, together with temperature fluctuations and water stress, Zenato was in a position to nurture a sluggish, completely distinctive type of bottle ageing wealthy in marine and mineral nuances.
Zenato continues to push boundaries with wine as she alongside along with her mom works on superb tuning the first-ever Merlot plantings in Lugana and changing them to natural viticulture. Says Zenato, “The conversion to natural started in 2019: a affected person journey, made up of listening, learning, and paying consideration. And at this time, with nice pleasure, we are able to say that now we have accomplished this journey with the 2023 classic, which bears the official natural certification. A milestone, sure. However above all, a brand new starting.”
She’s additionally exploring using clay amphora for ageing Trebbiano and is within the early phases of designing a set of luxurious visitor suites for guests which she provides, “is taking longer than anticipated. However those that know us know that we’re meticulous in relation to creating one thing that really represents us. Each element should mirror our thought of magnificence, hospitality, and authenticity.” She expects to have 5 rooms with a predominant ground shared eating room designed to convey company collectively.
“I just like the challenges and issues my motto that nothing is unimaginable. I hold at issues which can be exhausting.” Certainly, aren’t all of us fortunate that she does.
Sergio Zenato Lugana Riserva, 2021, SRP $57
