2018 Il Borro 'Lamelle' Bianco

This wine is nostalgic for me.  We were guests at the Il Borro estate near Siena a few years back, and got a personal tour and tasting with (the super dreamy) Salvatore Ferragamo, grandson of the founder of Ferragamo.  Salvatore and his father Ferruccio purchased the Il Borro estate in 1993 and completely renovated the property.  They replanted all of the vineyards, transitioned to organic farming (now certified) and painstakingly rebuilt an abandoned medieval village (which includes beautiful guest cottages in the original buildings -- we stayed in the old barn, now gussied up).  During our week at Il Borro, in the heat of July, we floated in the pool with a never ending supply of this Lamelle Bianco in our glasses.  

Tuscany is not known for exciting white wines, because most of them rely upon the ubiquitous and somewhat boring local varieties of Trebbiano and Malvasia.  But Salvatore has found that Chardonnay thrives in his estate's rocky soils that are rich in calcified marine shells (similar to Chablis), and that, when treated simply, without a bunch of oak, produces a refreshing, high acid wine with bright citrus fruit and intense minerality - also very similar to Chablis.   While the Ferragamo name is nowhere to be seen on the bottle, the attention to detail and quality that the family is known for is unmistakable.  Enjoy this elegant wine poolside (if you're so lucky) or on the holiday table, as it makes a most excellent food wine.