Antinori’s ‘Super-Umbrian’ White

In European winemaking, family feuds are nothing unusual.  Angelo Monaldeschi, nearly 700 years ago, made his home in the Castello della Salla hoping to rule the city of Orvieto. He faced competition, however, from his three brothers, each of whom raised their own fighting force to conquer the town. As told by Marchesi Antinori’s website, “the largest was called the Cervara (the Stag), […] another the Cane (the Dog), a third the Aquila (the Eagle), and, the clan of Angelo, the most warlike of the entire family, the Vipera (the Viper).” The Vipera and the Cervara clans would continue to fight for nearly a century until a truce was brokered. With peace restored, the ancient stronghold of the Monaldeschis would pass through many hands, ending with the Antinori family in 1940. Taking inspiration from this story, Antinori chose the name for the estate’s top wine and today’s star—the Antinori Cervaro Della Salla.

Unhappy with the wines that dominated the Orvieto area—often bland and commercialized, produced with the high-yielding Trebianno grape—the Antinori’s decided to follow in their predecessor’s footsteps and revolt, Antinori created a “super-Umbrian” that would show the world what the region was capable of. Like the joining of the Vipera and the Cervara clans, this wine is a marriage of two grapes—90% Chardonnay and 10% Grechetto, creating a wine that has echos of Burgundy with a distinctly Italian flair. Robert Parker has said “The amazingly successful Cervaro della Sala has arguably done more to raise the image of Italian white wine than any other single bottle,” and, tasting today’s bottle, I can see why.

The wine is produced with great care, from picking during the coolness of the pre-dawn hours to a year’s bottle aging in the ancient cellars of the family’s Castello della Sala. This attention, combined with the warm temperatures and extended ripening of the 2014 vintage, make for a wine of beautiful depth. In the glass, it shows a medium gold hue with a nose of sea spray, baking spice, ripe pineapple, and hazelnut. On the palate, what truly impressed me is the wine’s elegant and exciting texture. It has a rich and silky mouthfeel, but one that seems to float lightly on the palate before ending with gripping citrus and lots of dry extract for a lasting finish. The balance of toasty vanilla richness and bright lemon makes this wine a great pairing for the classic mushroom-based risotto of Umbria, while the citrus acidity could cut through olive oil and accent freshwater seafood.

At $47.99, this is a great value for one of the most elegant white wines of Italy, one James Suckling gives 96 points while effusing , “This is the full-treatment white from Italy and it always delivers.” Whether your tastes trend towards Umbria or Burgundy, this is a wine to have in your cellar!