Ferrari Perlé Bianco Riserva 2017
£43.75
The wine
Straw yellow with golden highlights and a fine, persistent perlage. A very complex nose.
The Riserva is held far longer on lees than the standard Perlé, which is where the toasted, bready depth comes from: time on the dead yeast cells is what builds it, and only a wine with real concentration can take that many years of it. Ferrari have made traditional-method sparkling wine at Trento since 1902, and the family Lunelli have run the house since 1952.
The producer
Ferrari
View all Ferrari winesFerrari Trento is Italy's most celebrated sparkling-wine house, founded in 1902 by Giulio Ferrari in the Alpine region of Trentino. He dreamed of making a wine to rival the finest Champagne, and planted Chardonnay on the mountain slopes to do it. More than a century on, Ferrari is the benchmark for Italian traditional-method sparkling.
All the wines are Trentodoc, made by the classic method with long ageing on the lees. The vineyards climb the steep hillsides around Trento, where altitude and cool Alpine air preserve freshness and finesse. Chardonnay leads, with Pinot Nero for the rosés.
The range runs from the crisp Maximum cuvées to the single-vintage Perlé wines and the prestigious Riserva bottlings. At its summit sits Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore, one of the world's great sparkling wines. Each is elegant, precise and unmistakably Alpine.
Ferrari has long been the toast of Italian celebrations, poured at the finest tables and events. The wines marry depth with delicacy and a cool, mountain-fresh character. They are sparkling wine of the very first rank.
