Vie de Romans Chardonnay is a perfect Italian example of the great white Burgundian wines made from the same grape. If that's a style you like then this absolute smasher from North East Italy is most certainly worth a try.  It has all the characteristics of great Chardonnay.

Light golden in colour with a subtle, elegant nose of summer flowers, acacia blossom and hints of honeysuckle. The wine is lightly spiced, with the judicious oak ageing bringing notes of vanilla and cinnamon. It shows lovely buttery, honeyed and floral characters, all lifted on the finish by a lively freshness that is characteristic of this area of Italy.

Critic Review

Decanter Magazine: 90Pts
Drinking Window: 2019 - 2025

"In a warm vintage this Chardonnay is representative of the region's expression of the grape, with rich and mature aromas such as cantaloupe melon and pineapple. The intense toastiness is not integrated yet, followed by a tingling and savoury palate typical of Isonzo, with a balanced character."
Aldo Fiordelli

About the Producer

Vie di Romans is based in the heart of Isonzo, where Gianfranco Gallo's 50 hectares of vineyard produce about 250,000 bottles a year. The soil is stony and glacial, and soaks up whatever rainfall there is like a sponge. A cool east wind causes a big difference between day and night temperatures, which in turn slows ripening and allows the grapes to accumulate a great deal of flavour. This, along with the low yields Gallo achieves, and his proclivity for late picking, gives single vineyard wines of great intensity and richness. As a result, he releases the wines a year later than usual.

Vineyard and Winery

Fruit comes from the 9.95 hectare Vie di Romans vineyard in the commune of Mariano del Friuli.The vineyards are located at an altitude of 31 metres above sea level and are North, South/East and West facing.Vines are 20 years old on avarage.They are planted at a density of 6,000 to 7,800 vines per hectare.The training method used is single Guyot with spur pruning.Soil here is medium to deep clay with a moderate gravel-pebbly texture. It has a reddish hue due to the presence of ferrous and aluminium oxides.

After de-stemming and crushing, the grapes underwent a prefermentation maceration at 8ºC for 20 hours. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks over a period of 20/25 days at temperatures of 16ºC to 19ºC with selected yeasts. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation and spent 9 months on its lees in French oak barriques (20% new) prior to clarification and bottling. The wine aged a further 10 months in bottle before release.