Riconoscimenti

A dense and layered chardonnay with lots of phenolic tension that gives it structure. Full and intense, with a powerful structure and a long finish. Serious. One for the cellar. Drink or hold.

I tasted two vintages of this white wine side by side. Showing a new label design, the Pio Cesare 2020 Langhe Chardonnay Piodilei will be released in fall 2022. This is a beautifully soft and creamy expression with aromas of tropical fruit, toasted almond and poached pear. It offers terrific energy and vitality with a lot going on aromatically.

The 2020 Chardonnay Piodilei is a soft, open knit white to drink now and over the next two to three years. Light tropical accents, orchard fruit, white flowers, tangerine oil and a touch of French oak all open nicely in this supple Chardonnay. The Piodilei is about as good as it gets for Chardonnay in Piedmont.

Lots of pretty, bright fruit with sliced cooked apple, lemon and a hint of vanilla. Bitter lemon also. It’s full-to medium-bodied with steely tannins and a bright, flinty finish. Drink or hold.

The Pio Cesare 2019 Langhe Chardonnay Piodilei offers toasted almond, crushed flint and some of the fine-tuning that comes thanks to an extra year of bottle age. The bouquet focuses on stone fruit, honey, vanilla and pastry cream.

The 2020 Langhe Chardonnay Piodilei is ripe and flinty, with ripe peach, smoke, and lemon curd. Fresh and medium to full-bodied, with a round texture and fresh citrus pith and saline, it offers notes of banana peel, honeycomb, and light baking spice. A clean and lovely wine, it could appeal to lovers of New World styles who are just being introduced to Italian wines. Drink 2023-2030.

A chardonnay with sliced apples, cedar and spice. Some smoked wood, too, adding to the complexity. Subtle, tight and structured. Think serious Chablis, but from Langhe! Drink now.

This is a layered and beautiful chardonnay with wonderful character. Full-bodied, deep and focused. Love the phenolic tension and seriousness. Cooked apples and pineapples and hints of vanilla and cream. Drink or hold.

The Pio Cesare 2017 Langhe Chardonnay Piodilei opens to a few whiffs of smoke and flint before you get to the orchard and passion fruits that are at the core of this pretty white wine. The wine is oak fermented, and you get hints of toasted almond, honey and ripe melon along the way. Despite the hot vintage, the style of this wine embraces freshness, lightness and elegance. A pair with sea urchin is just what I was thinking. Some 10,000 bottles are on the market now.

Pio Cesare’s Chardonnay comes from estate vines in the Cascina II Bricco vineyard in Treiso and the Colombaro vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba. A cool and rainy spring gradually gave way to plenty of warmth in late summer, allowing for slow ripening. This is a rich. oaky style thanks to barrel-fermentation and maturation on its lees for 10 months in one-third new wood. Its broad on the palate. with lovely freshness and a lick of lime accompanying the oak-spiced mid-palate. Despite the richness, the acidity brings elegance and balance. It will pair well with a feta salad or tempura squid. Drinking Window 2019 – 2026

Drinking window: 2019 – 2024 Pio Cesare’s 2016 Chardonnay Piodilei is a pretty, nuanced mid-weight Chardonnay with good varietal character and depth. Slate, smoke and mint add nuance to a host of orchard fruit flavors. I would prefer to drink the 2016 over the next few years.

This is very direct and linear with bright acidity, as well as apples, pears and hints of lemons. Medium-bodied, pure and bright. Mineral and long, too. Drink or hold.

The 2016 Langhe Chardonnay Piodilei is shaping up very nicely. Tasted as an unfinished sample, this wine will be released in the upcoming months. This vintage of Pio Cesare’s oak-fermented Chardonnay shows clean integration and substantial aromas of tropical and stone fruit. There is some oak spice and smoke at the edges, but this cooler vintage puts more focus on varietal purity and identity. Some 12,000 bottles will hit the market.

A linear and firm white with sliced apples, light vanilla and cream. Medium body, a light phenolic texture and a flavorful yet focused finish. Shows complexity and seriousness. Drink or hold.