Planeta Chardonnay

Planeta Chardonnay 2006 is quite possibly the best Chardonnay I've ever tasted and for QPR, probably the best white wine out there in the €20 price range. The Sicilian powerhouse "Planeta" has done it again, creating a fabulous wine that, together with their Syrah, must be two of the best mid priced wines certainly in Italy and even the entire wine world.

If you haven't tried the Planeta range then you are really missing a treat, excluding the rather insipid cheapy that sells by the stack out here in Italy, "La Segreta Rosso", a bland IGT wine made up of the local Nero d'Avola grape with some Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc thrown in. Sadly the Nero d'Avola is not really working out in this attempted blend. However, excluding, this wine every other Planeta offering is fabulous and gives you excellent QPR.

They are also readily available with Planeta producing a whopping 2,000,000+ bottles a year. This is one of the few wines I've talked about that you could possibly find in your local stores, unless you're in Florida, then just give up.

Planeta's Merlot and Syrah are outstanding wines, the producer has cleverly bought up some of the best positions in Sicily and their outstanding attention to detail has won them many plaudits. Planeta really understand that drinking wine is a complete experience, these are some of the best wines on the nose I've ever sampled with Sicily attacking my nasal passage so thoroughly that my minds eye explodes with a montage of orange groves, olive oil and even a touch of the Marlon Brandos! For me Planeta is Sicilian wine at its finest.

My preference for reds over whites leads me to recommend the 2005 Syrah just ahead of the 2006 Chardonnay, it is the slightly better wine. However, for me to give 92 points to a white wine is probably the equivalent in standards of a 95 point red, so, its goooood, it's real good and you should buy this wine. For summer 2008, the Planeta Chardonnay 2006 is going to be perfect for a salad/bbq with friends.

Planeta Chardonnay 2006 - BUY - €18

Golden yellow in the glass, exceptionally strong colour for a white. The nose is giving sweet aromas of apples, caramel and honey, a really polished nose. The palate is outstanding, really creamy with hints of citrus fruits, very little oak. Classical finish, so polished that you'll be dazzled by this wine. I really recommend this Chardonnay very highly possibly the best Chardonnay currently produced in Italy. - 92 Points

Where can I buy this wine?

Europeans - R2M - €18

Americans - Planet of Wine - $30

Brits - WineDirect - £17

Wow you Brits really get stuffed on Italian wine don't you? Check out my company for this wine, we deliver to the UK too and when in stock, is cheaper than that.

Question of the Day

How much did you love The Godfather? :oD

Italian Chardonnay

Italian Chardonnay

Italian Chardonnay may not be as famous as its French or Californian counterparts but, for my money, is improving year after year and the unique Italian soil is adding something a bit different to this most famous white wine. I'm no fan of white wine, but Italian Chardonnay, especially at the top end (Gaja, Planeta and Antoniri all do fantastic Chardonnays), has become my most favourite white wine of all.

The excellence is not simply coming from the Tre Venezie either, the areas of Veneto, the Alto Adige and Fruili-Venezia Guilia but great Chardonnay is coming out of Sicily! Until I tasted Planeta's 2006 Chardonnay I wouldn't have believed a great Chardonnay could come from a climate like Sicily's. Along with the traditional Chardonnay characteristics, yet without the oak monster, the heart of Sicily is coming through in the glass, the wine has a warm, orange and honey like take; it's truly a nectar from the gods.

In fact, the Gaja Chardonnay and Antinori Chardonnay are also both excellent. What Italian Chardonnay manages to do is capture the fruity essence of Chardonnay without the excessive oak that come from from the French version. Italian Chardonnay is practically unknown outside of Italy and for this reason you can pick up excellent examples for a fraction of the price of a French of Californian name.

So impressed by the Planeta Chardonnay I will enter a separate blog entry later today, however, probably the best Chardonnay in Italy is produced by Gaja.

This Chardonnay comes from two four acre vineyards planted in 1984: Bass (as it is slightly lower lying) and Rossj, named after Angelo’s younger daughter, Rossana. After the 1991 vintage, grapes from a twelve acre vineyard in Serralunga have also been added to the blend. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel, and the wine is then transferred to barriques for the malolactic fermentation and ageing. The wine is wonderfully rich and honeyed, with fine mineral complexity and terrific length. Most Chardonnays on the market are meant to be drunk young, this is one of the few that benefits from cellaring.

Gaja Chardonnay Rossj-Bass 2006 - €30 - BUY

This is a crisp fresh young wine that once poured goes through many stages in the glass. The wine starts with floral notes, then the oak begins to emerge with the fruit and the finish is actually creamy. This is a fine elegant wine, perfect acidity, a little spicy, great for drinking today but can be cellared too. - 91 Points

Where can I buy this wine?

Europeans - Pedrelli - €30

Americans -Wine Library - $48

Brits - The Cellar Door - £24

Question of the Day?

What is your essential guide to wine? Where do you go to get help on which wines to buy?