2022 Maculan Chardonnay 'Ferrata'

100% sustainably grown Chardonnay from volcanic and tuffaceous soils on the Ferrata estate in Breganze. Cold macerated for two days and soft pressed with no oxidation. Fermented in new French oak barriques and aged on the lees in more new French oak barriques for five months before bottling. 12.5% alcohol. 

This unusual Chardonnay from northeastern Italy pours a deep golden yellow color and shows off rich, oak-accented aromas of butter, vanilla and hazelnut, alongside ripe stonefruit, orange peel and hints of smoke. Low in alcohol but very mouthfilling and textured, with lovely interplay between richness and acid. Long finish. 

Founded in 1947 in Breganze, a small town in the Province of Vicenza (Veneto), Maculan is now at the 3rd Generation of winemakers. Fausto Maculan, who took over in the 1970s and made Maculan a benchmark producer in Italy, has passed the baton to his two daughters: Angela and Maria Vittoria. In pure Breganze style, Maculan makes wines from both native and “international” varieties, which have been introduced by the French and the Austrians in 1800, and hence here are considered traditional. Like other Producers of his generation, Fausto Maculan is considered one of the pioneers of quality Italian winemaking: in a time when wine consumption in Italy was still largely relegated to non-descript table wine, he was among the first to put the varietal name and his name on his front labels and to invest in labor intensive vineyard management and quality-oriented winemaking techniques.