Cervaro della Sala 2023 Antinori

Tasting Notes

First impression: lift. The Cervaro della Sala 2023 opens with notes of citrus peel, white peach, and almond skin. There are chalky, salty flavors under the limestone. On the palate, there is oak, but more brioche than vanilla. The acidity is firm and the finish is long and savory. Drinkable now if you leave it, but really needs 2-3 years of bottle aging.

Grape Varieties

Cervaro is not varietal Chardonnay. The blend is approximately

• 80-90% Chardonnay, providing body, stone fruit, and texture.
• 10-20% is Umbrian white grape, Grechetto, which provides the backbone of almond notes, grip, and acidity.

Why add Grechetto? Because pure Chardonnay runs the risk of becoming too round at this point. Grechette gives Chardonnay a hardness that roots it in Umbria.

Cellaring Potential

The 2023 will age until 2027 and drink until 2035. The acidity and minerality from the limestone carry this wine. Over time, citrus and peach aromas give way to honey, hazelnut and waxy nuances. 12-14°C for storage.

The Producer

The Antinori family has been making wine since 1385, but Cervaro is a more recent addition. Castello della Sala, a 14th century castle in Ficulle, came into the family's possession in 1940. It was not until 1985 that Cervaro della Sala, one of the first real Italian white wines to make serious use of Chardonnay, was released. Renzo Cotarella was its technical mastermind for decades. We believe that Antinori white wines are underrated next to Tignanello and Solaia, and Cervaro is proof of that.

Terroir & Climate

Castello della Serra is in the Orvieto Classico zone, but Cervaro is bottled as an Umbria IGT due to a blend that does not follow traditional rules. The vineyards are between 220 and 470 meters above sea level, providing the cool nights necessary for the Chardonnay to retain its acidity. The soil is clay and limestone, studded with Pliocene marine fossils. This fossilized limestone gives the wine its salty, chalky flavor. Without it, Cervaro would be a very different wine.

Winemaking

The tricky part of the cervaro is the separation. Antinori ferments part of the juice in stainless steel and part in French oak barriques (225 liter barrels). Malolactic fermentation takes place in the barrels, which tempers the malolactic acidity and gives the wine a creamy color in the middle of the palette. The wine is then aged in a mixture of new and used barrels for about 8 months and then aged in the bottle for at least 6 months before release. The key is balance. Enough oak to give texture and toast, but not so much that it smooths out the fruit or hides the underlying limestone.

Food Pairing

This wine is oriented toward rich food, but the acidity keeps it lively. Taste:

• Pasta stranguzzi, black truffle norcia, traditional Umbrian dishes.
• Roasted chicken with lemon and herbs
• Grilled lake fish from Trasimeno or meaty white fish in butter sauce.
• Aged pecorino, a perfect match for the saltiness of the wine and the cheese.

Serve at 10-12°C. If the bottle is not aged, no decanting is necessary.