"Giulio" Riserva del Fondatore Trento DOC 2006
Ferrari

Our Score: 95

This Metodo Classico sparkling wine made with organic Chardonnay is named after Giulio Ferrari, founder of the Ferrari estate.
It is aged more than six years on the yeast in the bottle before being released to the market. We see a very complex golden yellow hue, and its bubbles are many, very fine, and persistent. On the nose are scents of pineapple and croissant, with acacia flowers and pine tree, before a final note of nuts. In the mouth it is smooth yet crisp, creamy and opulent, with a taste of hazelnuts and honey and a long finish of tropical fruit.

I consider it the best sparkling wine of Italy.

About Ferrari: More than 100 years ago, the founder, Giulio Ferrari, went to visit the Champagne region to buy from Bollinger for his own consumption. He discovered that Chardonnay grows so well in the chalky soil that is typical of both Champagne and the Trento mountains that he decided to plant Chardonnay and start producing his own sparkling wine with the same grape and the same method of Champagne (with a second fermentation in the bottle). The ambition was clear: to compete with the best French Champagne. A century later, his successors, the Lunelli brothers and sister, are leaders in the Italian production of Metodo Classico, and they recently transformed their farming practices to be organic.

Grape: Chardonnay

Pairing: Beluga caviar with blinis is what comes to my mind first. Oysters, clams, and crab. Try it also with cheese fondue in the winter, or with fried squash blossoms filled with mozzarella and anchovies in the spring.

Appellation: Trento DOC, Italy