About this WINE
Donadei-Fabiani, Piedmont
The Donadei and Fabiani families have been making wine at Clavesana, near Dogliani, Piedmont, since 1700. In 1998 Fabrizio Fabiani and Andrea Luzi formally teamed up as the Luzi Donadei Fabiani cantina, with Fabrizio Fabiani responsible for tending and vinifying the 13.5 hectares of vineyards, 90% Dolcetto, that sit at 400 metres above sea level, on almost chalky white calcareous soils, perched overlooking the village of Clavesana below. Clavesana, along with Farigliano and Dogliani itself, forms part of the (Dolcetto) Dogliani DOCG zone, due south west of the Langhe, facing the Alps.
Fabrizio Fabiani, aided by his wife Antornella, and daughter Francesca, graduated from wine school in 1979, and started bottling at the family cantina in 1980. At the heart of the cantina lies the Vigneto Conzia, a steeply sloped, amphitheatric shaped vineyard, whose fruit is central to their Dogliani DOCG wine: a 100% Dolcetto, vinified in only stainless steel, so capturing the beautifully fresh, violet scented perfume of the grape. (Formerly labelled as ‘Dolcetto di Dogliani’, from vintage 2012 the region graduated to ‘DOCG’, losing the reference to ‘Dolcetto’ in the process.)
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
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Description
With so much attention given to the more glamorous Chardonnay regions of the world, it can be easy to forget some of the humbler pockets of the globe that lend themselves so well to this versatile grape. Whether due to the sleepiness of the medieval villages in the hills of southern Piemonte, or the plethora of Italy’s intriguing indigenous varieties make this familiar grape a less attractive prospect, I’m not certain, but either way Chardonnay of the Langhe is often unfairly overlooked.
There is something distinctively alpine about the character of this wine, which seems to marry a cool Chablis-like minerality with stone fruits, citrus pith and wild flowers; a wine of real personality that will appeal to those keen on lighter Italian whites.
Felipe Carvallo, Wine Sales
Pale in colour, watery-pure in fact, the delicate, restrained lime, hay and honeydew-melon aromas of this 2013 vintage wine, reminds one of a Ligurian white, such as Gavi. No surprise, given the white calcareous soils and lofty cool vineyards of Clavesana that gaze across at the snowy Alps; the perfect site therefore for Fabrizio's 100 percent Chardonnay. To taste this unoaked, light bodied, low alcohol 12 percent alcohol wine opens up with fleshy melon fruit, while still reflecting the vineyard's provenance with cool, salty, mineral poise and pristine elegance. Very neat indeed; perfect of course with acciughe frittate (fried anchovies)!
David Berry Green
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