2018 Chardonnay Torre Pieve

Tenuta Santa Maria winery oversees two separate properties, one in Negrar within the Valpolicella Classico zone, and the other to the southeast in Colognola ai Colli, which is where they produce their IGT wines as well as Soave. In the near future, we can also expect a new group of vineyards to come online in the higher-altitude locations of Ca Del Merlo, as well as organic certification throughout all of their estates. The winery's production methods are traditional with an emphasis on what Giovanni Bertani, fifth-generation family member and head of operations, described as “brightness, balance and elegance.” Early harvests maintain acidity to help contrast the concentration created through the appassimento process, which is concluded entirely without mechanical means on bamboo drying racks, followed by maturation all in large Slavonian oak. Like many producers in Valpolicella today, Tenuta Santa Maria is working to release a new selection of cru Amarone from their higher-elevation vineyards. In my opinion, this is a property to watch within the region. Throughout my tastings, both the 2013 Amarone Riserva and 2017 Valpolicella Ripasso were among the top wines in their category; and the single-vineyard, IGT Decima Aurea (Merlot), which was a passion project of Gaetano Bertani, Giovanni’s father, who only recently passed, showed tremendous elegance and varietal character amplified through partial appassimento. Out of the entire portfolio, only the extroverted wood-influenced Torre Pieve Chardonnay gave me pause, though it was still a pleasure to taste.