Tenuta Mazzolino Blanc de Blancs 2021
Tenuta Mazzolino Blanc de Blancs
Region: Lombardia, Italy
Vintage: 2021
Bottle size: 75cl
Grape: Chardonnay
ABV: 12.5%
The wine presents a bright straw-yellow colour. The bouquet is crisp and vibrant, offering aromas of grapefruit and candied lemon rind, complemented by delicate hints of white flowers and lightly toasted bread. On the palate, it is rich and creamy with a complex mouthfeel, balanced by fresh acidity. The finish is long and precise, marked by a distinct saline note.
The grapes are sourced from a 1.15 hectares vineyard with an east/northeast exposure, situated at an altitude of 180-220 meters above sea level. The soil composition is primarily limestone marl and chalky substrate.The vineyard is trained with the Guyot system, maintaining 5,500 plants per hectare and a cover crop to promote soil health. The first vintage produced from this site was in 1989.
The grapes were harvested by hand and gently pressed, with first and later pressings vinified separately at 18°C. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel vats, without oak and without malolactic fermentation, prior to the secondary fermentation in bottle. The wine then aged on its lees for 36 months before disgorgement.
This fine estate is making some of the best – and most exciting – wines in the Oltrepò Pavese. The house and winery are perched atop a rounded hill, and the vineyards flow down the hill in every direction. The site, known locally as the ‘hill of Pinot Nero’, was abandoned when Francesca Seralvo’s grandfather arrived from France in the 1970s for work. He was a banker in Milan and bought the house as a weekend retreat. He soon caught the wine bug and invited the likes of Luigi Veronelli and Giacomo Bologna to visit. They became great friends and urged him to make wines with the Pinot Nero. His first attempt was a bianco frizzante, but in 1985 he decided to get serious and made his first Pinot Nero, on which Veronelli lavished praise. If Pinot Nero worked, he reasoned, why not try Chardonnay?