Scagliola "Casot dan Vian" Chardonnay 2018

Scagliola is a renowned Italian wine producer, but I am guessing you’ve never heard of them. And that’s probably for good reason – the wine they are famous for is somewhat out-of-style with “serious” wine drinkers, and the region where the family vineyard is based is a little off the beaten path. But when I recently tasted their Casot dan Vian Chardonnay, I cast all doubts aside – this is wine that proves both the family’s fame and the region’s significance.

This Chardonnay just bounces from the glass with pure, fresh, fruity joy – Meyer lemon, pineapple, Kaffir lime leaf, and a light touch of star fruit are the lively aromas coming up from the glass. On the palate, these fruit flavors follow through but are also joined but a beautiful hint of saline, Asian pear and roasted almond. Its finish is as light and fresh as a fall breeze caressing your skin, and as carefree as a lazy Sunday afternoon. In short, it’s delicious.

And now for a touch of the serious stuff. The Scagliola family dates back to the 1880s as wine growers in the area around the village of Calosso, Asti. Calosso is in an “odd” place for a winery, only because it’s not historically not linked to a particular grape variety nor a particular regional specialty, like say Barolo or Dolcetto and Dogliani. I’m not sure why, but historically wine fame has just never managed to come by this corner of Italy.

But, that didn’t stop the enterprising Scagliola family. After the end of World War II, Great-Grandfather Scagliola decided to get serious with the grape and convert his multi-product farm into a winery, and he built the infrastructure to make great wine. The Great Wine he conceived? Moscato d’Asti. Yes, yes, the sweet fizzy stuff which I mentioned before, is not considered for “serious” wine drinkers anymore. Although trust me, at the end of a big heavy meal, a bottle of Moscato will make you feel 10 pounds lighter.

Moscato’s fortunes may have slightly waned, but the Sccagliola family’s has not. Moving from strength to strength they built upon their noble and famous reputation for Moscato in order to launch new wines, including Barbera and this Chardonnay.

As noted, this is darn fun drinking Chardonnay. But it’s serious stuff, too— it’s world class in its elegance, definition, and energy. Frankly, I’m not sure why we got it at such an amazing deal, but who cares? I say, drink up.