Chardonnay grown on the flat, sun-heavy heel of Italy, where Puglia's heat ripens the grape faster and fatter than anywhere further north. San Marzano works the peninsula's Salento vineyards, and this is Chardonnay as the south makes it: broad, warm, and unhurried.
- Chardonnay, the grape, picked ripe in southern heat.
- Puglia IGP, the wide appellation across Italy's heel.
- 2022, bottled at 12.5% and dry.
- Medium body, medium acidity, low tannin.
How it is made
Puglia IGP is a broad, flexible appellation, which means the winemaker, not the rulebook, decides the shape of the wine. Warm, flat, coastal land does the rest: the fruit arrives ripe and generous, and the Chardonnay keeps its softness instead of the tight, reductive edge that cool-climate versions show.
How it tastes
Stone fruit and citrus zest lead, with white flowers and a faint almond note underneath. The finish is mineral, which is the surprise in a wine this warm. Medium in weight, dry, and clean rather than oaky.
Where it comes from
Puglia is the heel of Italy, a long, low peninsula between two seas. It has been a wine region since the Greeks planted it, and for most of that time it supplied bulk wine to the north. The shift to bottled, named wines is more recent, and Chardonnay is part of that turn.
Good to know
Puglia grows more grapes than almost any other Italian region, but most of the land is planted to red. Chardonnay here is a deliberate choice rather than a tradition, and it ripens earlier than the native whites, which matters when the harvest heat arrives.
