Ferrari, Riserva del Fondatore Giulio Ferrari, Trento, 2006

Giulio Ferrari was a pioneering polyglot nurseryman from Trentino with two great passions in life: Chardonnay, which he was instrumental in introducing into Italy on a wide scale, and Champagne. Following his intuition that the slopes of the Adige valley offered the growing conditions for making great sparkling wines, he started experimenting with the Champagne method around the beginning of the last century and by 1906 was already picking up gold medals for the results. The wine which bears his name was first made by the current owners of the house, the Lunelli family, in 1972 and has been produced in the same style ever since. The Riserva del Fondatore is extra brut in style and comes from vineyards on the Pianizza estate located 500m-600m above sea level on the cool side of the river valley. It ages on its lees for 10 years and will happily keep and improve for another decade. Tiny bubbles, with pristine clarity on a nose of toasted hazelnuts, apricot and baked apple with a nuance of bread crust and vanilla. Sumptuous creamy texture, vibrantly fresh and infinitely long.