The "Principessa" Chardonnay is a creation in the style of the Medicis and grows very close to Florence in Pratolino. The nose has an intense scent of lemon peel, pineapple and roasted almonds. On the palate, it shows aromas of ripe peach, yellow melon and vanilla bean. Full-bodied and very aromatic with fine minerality. Attractive structure, soft and long-lasting finish.

Attributes

Origin:	Italy / Toscana
Grape variety:	Chardonnay
Label:	Vegan
Ripening potential:	1 to 4 years after harvest
Drinking temperature:	10 to 12 °C
Food Pairing:	Apéro pastries, Bouillabaisse, Fresh water fish with cream sauce, Risotto ai frutti di mare
Vinification:	fermentation in steel tank, cooling period
Harvest:	hand-picking, strict selection
Maturation:	in partly new and used barriques/ Pièces, on the yeast, long cultivation
Bottling:	no filtration
Maturation duration:	10 months
Volume:	14.5 %
Note:	Contains sulphites

Producer

Paolo Conterno / Fam. Conterno

Giorgio Conterno and his Baroli from Piedmont, is one of Baur au Lac Vins' long-standing partners. He talks about his new Tuscan passion with beaming eyes:

"Fate has brought me to Ortaglia. By chance I had heard about it and a little later I was there. It was immediately clear to me that Ortaglia was a special place. It took a whole eight years for the takeover, but it was worth it. Tuscany and Piedmont are the two regions in which I can best express my passion - with a life close to nature and working in the vineyard to create wines, as I have learned according to old tradition."

Grape variety

Chardonnay

King or beggar?

Hardly any variety of vine shows such a broad spectrum of quality as the Chardonnay. Its wines range from faceless neutrality to breath-taking class. It is an extremely low-maintenance vine, which explains why it is grown around the world – even in places where it probably should not be. The aromas of the Chardonnay variety are not very pronounced: a bit of green apple, a little hazelnut; in warmer latitudes, also melon and exotic fruits. The wines are often defined by maturing in casks. They develop more or less subtle notes of butter, toasted bread and vanilla. The grapes achieve their highest expression in their region of origin, Burgundy. Its heart beats in the Côte de Beaune: one might think of the plant growth of Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet. With their finesse and complexity, they can survive for decades. Chardonnay also achieves first class in some Blanc-de-Blancs champagnes. It additionally yields great wines in the Burgundian Chablis, and increasingly in Australia and Chile. A simple rule of thumb for pairing with food: When butter and cream are involved, you cannot go wrong with Chardonnay.

Country

Italy

Italy – Where wine is a way of life

The Italian wine regions are extremely diverse, and this is made clear in their wines. Established varieties such as Merlot, Syrah, and Sauvignon can be found on just 15 percent of the total vine growing area. The remaining 85 percent is reserved for autochthonous, indigenous varieties. More than 2,000 different grape varieties are grown under diverse conditions and pressed with various techniques into wines that reach the top tier of the international wine market.