92 pts Vinous
Drinking Window 2022 - 2028
The 2018 Chardonnay Selezione wafts up with a bouquet of sweet herbs, honey, white smoke, peach and hints of vanilla bean. It’s silky with depths of texturally ripe fruits offset by a stunning display of vibrant acids and minerals before taking on a nutty richness with hints of roasted almond and caramel that linger on. The influence of oak is apparent, yet it frames this Chardonnay quite nicely. - By Eric Guido on September 2020

Made only in the best vintages, Chardonnay Selezione represents Nicola Manferrari's selection of the finest Chardonnay at Borgo del Tiglio. The fruit comes primarily from the cool Ca' della Vallade vineyard between Brazzano and Ruttars, where reddish marl soils and the influence of the cold Bora winds allow Chardonnay to ripen slowly while maintaining excellent acidity. The best vintages can be sourced entirely from the older, higher-elevation portion of the vineyard; otherwise, Nicola selects the best individual barrels after vinification. The wine is fermented and aged for approximately 9–10 months in small French oak barrels, roughly 30% new, giving the wine richness and texture without sacrificing the freshness and minerality that define Borgo del Tiglio.

Our Take: This is serious, age-worthy Chardonnay and probably the easiest Borgo del Tiglio wine to put into context for a Burgundy drinker. Bright straw-gold in color, the nose is pronounced and complex, with white peach, ripe apple and pear layered with honey, white flowers, sweet herbs, almond, subtle vanilla and a smoky/mineral quality. The palate is full-bodied and beautifully textured, with considerable richness from the ripe fruit and barrel fermentation, but medium-plus to high acidity gives the wine terrific energy and keeps everything in balance. The flavors are intense and concentrated, moving from ripe orchard and stone fruits into roasted almond, minerals and subtle oak spice. The finish is very long, rich and mineral, with lingering almond, vanilla and lightly caramelized notes. The oak is certainly present, but it frames the wine rather than dominating it. Think more serious white Burgundy than stereotypical Italian Chardonnay—rich and textural, but with the acidity, minerality and structure to age beautifully.

• Variety: 100% Chardonnay
• Appellation: Collio DOC
• Wine: The Selezione is only produced in the best vintages, selected from Borgo del Tiglio's finest Chardonnay lots
• Primary Vineyard: Ca' della Vallade, situated between Brazzano and Ruttars
• Vine Age: Approximately 40 years old in 2018, with the older vines in the upper portion of the vineyard often providing the fruit for Selezione
• Exposure: Hillside vineyard; detailed sources describe the principal site as southeast-facing
• Microclimate: Considerably cooler than the Collio average, strongly influenced by the Bora, the cold northeast wind that helps preserve acidity and allows a relatively late harvest
• Soils: Predominantly reddish marl, locally called carantan, part of the marl/sandstone geology that characterizes Collio
• Vine Density: Up to approximately 7,300 vines per hectare, unusually dense for the area
• Yields: Extremely low, with Borgo del Tiglio reporting finished production across its Chardonnay vineyards of only approximately 20–30 hl/ha
• Harvest: Hand harvested, with rigorous selection in the vineyard; grapes are placed in small crates and handled carefully so the fruit arrives intact at the winery
• Winemaking: Individual vineyard parcels are vinified separately. The grapes are pressed extremely gently and fermented in small French oak barrels
• Oak: Approximately 30% new French oak
• Élevage: Approximately 9–10 months in small French oak barrels before the final barrel selection and blending
• Selection: In great vintages, Selezione may come entirely from the older, higher portion of the Chardonnay vineyard; otherwise Nicola tastes through the individual barrels and selects only the best for this bottling
• Alcohol: Approximately 14%
• Aging Potential: Excellent. This is one of Borgo del Tiglio's serious cellar-worthy whites and benefits considerably from bottle age

The Vineyard & Selezione

Borgo del Tiglio's Chardonnay comes primarily from Ca' della Vallade, a cool hillside between Brazzano and Ruttars where Chardonnay has proven particularly well suited to the site. The soils here are dominated by reddish marl locally called carantan, while the valley is exposed to the cold Bora winds blowing from the northeast. That cooler microclimate allows Nicola to leave Chardonnay on the vine relatively late, developing flavor and texture without sacrificing the acidity that is so important to the style.

The Selezione is not simply a richer version of the regular Chardonnay. Nicola vinifies the individual vineyard parcels separately and only after months of élevage decides which barrels are worthy of the Selezione. In particularly successful vintages, the wine can come entirely from the older, higher-elevation vines at the top of the hill. Anything that doesn't make the cut goes into the regular Chardonnay. That makes Selezione exactly what the name implies: the very best Chardonnay Borgo del Tiglio can produce in a given vintage.

The comparison to Burgundy isn't just marketing here. You have a cool hillside Chardonnay site, low yields, high-density planting, barrel fermentation, extended lees aging and a winemaker who is obsessed with preserving acidity and vineyard character. The result is Chardonnay with Burgundian texture and seriousness, but the savory minerality and freshness of Collio.