Pio Cesare Piodilei Chardonnay 2023 (Piedmont, Italy) - [JS 95]

Pio Cesare Piodilei Chardonnay 2023
(Piedmont, Italy) - [JS 95]


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About the Winery: 
The Pio Cesare winery was founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio, one of the very first wine producers to believe in the great potential and quality of Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera and other great wines of Piemonte. For five generations, the Pio Cesare family has been producing traditional Piemontese wines in its ancient cellars, and consistently receiving high scores from all reviewers. Today it is run by the genial Pio Boffa, great-grandson of Pio Cesare, his nephew Cesare Benvenuto, and, since 2016, Boffa’s daughter Federica, who represents the fifth generation.

Overview:
The Pio Cesare family’s unique winemaking method stresses minimal intervention to produce wines of particularly supple flavor expression. A ceaseless devotion to the individuality of each of the region’s wines informs Pio Cesare's choices in the cellar: shorter maceration, separate lot fermentation, judicious selection for barrel and large cask aging, and bottling schedules determined by the ideal structure of each wine. This allows Pio Cesare to craft wines of varying weight, ageability and drinkability as determined by the vineyard rather than market fashion.

Year after year, the wines of Pio Cesare are recognized for their consistency and regional expression. From world-class Barolo and Barbaresco to crisp Cortese and sweet Moscato, the wines of Pio Cesare offer exceptional quality and variety.

First released with the 1985 vintage and conceived as a tribute to the influential women of the Pio Cesare family (Pio di lei translating to "for the ladies"), Chardonnay Piodilei represents the family's desire to produce a white wine with the same body, complexity and aging potential of the great reds historically produced in the Langhe. The family produces very small quantities of this wine. 

From the inaugural 1985 vintage to the 2018 release, Piodilei Chardonnay was a single-vineyard, barrel-fermented Chardonnay. Grape sourcing changed in the 2019 vintage by complementing the historical Il Bricco estate vineyard in Treiso Barbaresco—where the family's first Chardonnay grapes were planted in 1981—with the Mosconi vineyard in Monforte d'Alba.

Yields in both vineyards remain low and grapes are harvested rather late when fully ripened. The fermentation starts in stainless steel tanks and then finishes in French oak barriques, one-third of which are new. During élevage, the wine spends eight months in French oak barriques with extensive lees contact. Nine additional months of bottle-aging before release.

Tasting Notes

Spicy, creamy and intense with a soft but long aftertaste. Sweet fruit, hot and ripe, still very fresh with an elegant touch of oak. Built for the cellar, this wine has a very long aging potential. 


Ratings & Reviews:

95 Points - James Suckling:
An intense chardonnay with baked apples, honey, honeysuckle, lemon rind and hints of vanilla and flint on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit and a lively finish. Flavorful and vivid. Better in a year or two.