2021 Educato Langhe Chardonnay

The Elio Grasso 2021 Langhe Chardonnay Educato is a mineral-driven white wine from a parcel that sits at a cool and breezy 460 meters above sea level. The canopy is very high off the ground, with loose clusters, allowing air currents to keep the fruit disease-free. Gianluca Grasso jokes: "The vines look like little Christmas trees." This wine has a glossy quality that I absolutely love. I get aromas of honey, beeswax, peach, spice and latex. No malolactic fermentation takes place, and there is an elegant dusting of salty mineral on the close. Vintner Gianluca Grasso of the Elio Grasso winery describes 2019 as "a vintage for cru wines." Phenolic, sugar ripeness and all the necessary elements fell naturally into place. The stems were mature, and seed color had turned brown by harvest, as desired. Nebbiolo was picked during the second to the last week of October.