Contea di Sclafani Chardonnay Conte Tasca d’Almerita

One of the most stimulating challenges for the company’s managers. The project to create a wine of superior quality and rank using the most celebrated and popular white grape variety on the planet was born in the mid-1980s. The San Francesco vineyard was planted in 1985 by Lucio Tasca, in the lowest portion of the slope, on a soil that is more fertile than the average of Regaleali because of a deeper active layer and greater freshness, due to less rainwater drainage.
The clonal material comes partly from Burgundy. The plot covers about 5 hectares, with a planting pattern of 2.60 metres by 1.20 metres (3,200 plants per hectare), at an altitude between 520 and 532 metres. The original substratum consists of sandy clay sediments and the texture is loamy-clayey, weakly calcareous, with a slightly alkaline reaction (pH 8.1). It is a thick, well-structured soil, but the roots do not exceed a depth of 70 centimetres.
The soil has a normal organic substance content and is rich in mineral salts, magnesium and potassium, with a good amount of phosphorous. The vines are espalier-trained, with a double guyot training system.
The grapes are fermented in 350 litre French oak barrels, with daily batonnage for the first 10-15 days, then weekly for the remaining 8 months of ageing.
Chardonnay is a very early variety and at Regaleali it usually reaches maturity between late August and early September, with little variation from vintage to vintage. In 1985, Lucio Tasca d’Almerita decided to confront the world’s most celebrated white grape variety. After first testing with rooted cuttings that had arrived also from Burgundy, he planted 5 hectares of Chardonnay on the lower part of the San Francesco hill, at an altitude of around 500 metres, with rich soils originating from sediments of fluvial origin suitable for structured white grapes.
Capable of combining sapidity and freshness with good balance.