Casale del Giglio farms the flat land south of Rome, in the Pontine plain between the Alban Hills and the Tyrrhenian coast, and this is Chardonnay grown there under the Lazio IGT. The estate works widely across the region's varieties, but the international grapes have done well on these soils since the 1980s, when the area was replanted.
- Chardonnay, 100% of the blend.
- Lazio IGT, central Italy, south of Rome.
- 2022 vintage, 13% alcohol.
- Dry, medium body, low tannin.
- 750ml bottle.
How it is made
Lazio IGT is a broad appellation, which means the winemaker is free to pick sites and ripeness rather than follow a fixed recipe. Chardonnay here is grown on the warm, low-lying ground of the Pontine plain, where the sea air keeps the nights cooler than the inland hills. The result is a wine with ripe fruit and moderate acidity rather than the tighter frame of a northern Chardonnay.
How it tastes
Intense straw-yellow in the glass. Acacia flowers, peach and banana on the nose, with yellow apple and citrus underneath and a lift of tropical fruit. There is a clear vanilla note, the mark of oak, but it sits soft rather than heavy. Silky-smooth and full-bodied, with medium acidity that keeps the finish clean.
Where it comes from
The Pontine plain was drained and settled in the 1930s, and the vineyards that followed turned a marsh into one of central Italy's larger growing areas. Casale del Giglio was among the estates that tested French and other international varieties there, and Chardonnay has been part of the Lazio planting mix long enough now to count as local.
Good to know
Lazio IGT sits below the region's DOC and DOCG tiers, which frees growers from the grape rules those appellations carry. For a variety like Chardonnay, which has no long history in Lazio, that is the point: the wine is judged on the site and the year, not on a formula.
