2007 Chardonnay

The 2007 Chardonnay offers plenty of varietal character supported by a lively vein of Friulian minerality. As delicious as this wine is, I find it awfully hard to get excited about Chardonnay in the context of the more compelling wines in this lineup. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2011. This is another set of gorgeous wines from proprietor Enzo Pontoni. Sadly the wines remain nearly impossible to find, even in Italy. I remember visiting the estate a few years back and trying (without any luck) to purchase a few bottles. Pontoni showed me his allocations. I assumed we were looking at case allocations, but the numbers turned out to be bottles! For those lucky enough to find them, these remain some of Italy’s finest wines. 2007 was a challenging vintage for whites, yet Pontoni rose to the challenge and made some wonderful wines that capture the essence of his vineyards. Unfortunately Pontoni wasn’t happy with his 2005 Merlots (from another difficult vintage) and he decided not to bottle the wines. Importer: Small Vineyards, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 933-6767