Tenute Lunelli makes this in Trentino, in the north of Italy, from Chardonnay and Sauvignon picked in 2023. It is bottled as an IGT, the category Italy uses for wines that sit outside the stricter DOC and DOCG rules, which gives a producer room to blend across varieties and pick its own proportions.
- Chardonnay and Sauvignon, Trentino, northern Italy.
- 2023 vintage, dry, 13% alcohol.
- Medium body, high acidity, low tannin.
- Green apple, citrus, flint, mineral.
How it is made
An IGT bottling in Trentino is a deliberate choice rather than a fallback. The two grapes are fermented separately and blended afterwards, the Chardonnay carrying the rounder mid-palate and the Sauvignon the greener, more aromatic top. Trentino sits under the Dolomites, where wide day-to-night temperature swings through the growing season keep acidity high in the fruit.
How it tastes
Brilliant yellow in the glass. White flowers and orchard fruit first, apples and pears, then a herbal note that comes from the Sauvignon side of the blend. The palate is dry and medium-bodied, lifted by high acidity that reads as tangy rather than sharp. What lingers is the mineral, flinty finish, the part that makes it taste more like a mountain white than a warm-climate one.
Good to know
Trentino has a long history with Chardonnay, planted here in earnest from the late 1800s, well before it became the default white grape of northern Italy. The alpine setting is the reason: cool nights preserve the acid that would burn off in a hotter region.
