Guardiola 2010
Cooler than usual in the summer, with vines that were starting to come of age (they are 8 years old). 2010 was an extraordinary year for our 4.5 hectares of Chardonnay, picked during 8 days in the Contrada Guardiola. There was as good a crop as 12.000 plants that are sharing an hectare of arid powdered lava can yield. The juice, squeezed and decanted and quickly fermented in steel, then run off its lees into 50 hectoliter concrete vessels, passed a quick malolactic fermentation and then started to show depth and great, ripe texture this May. After a good thinning we bottled the best Guardiola wine that we ever seen.
REVIEWS
Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate, 92 points: “The 2010 Guardiola (Chardonnay) impresses for a rich, textured fabric of peaches, apricots and flowers. Clean mineral notes emerge over time, adding focus and drive. A long, multi-dimensional finish rounds things out nicely. This is a beautiful, intense white from Andrea Franchetti. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2017.”