Lugana: the white wine of Lake Garda

Restrained on the nose. Crisp, mineral. A little hard and chalky at first, opens up to rather gorgeous soft ripe orchard fruit. Green apples, greengages, a touch of ripe gooseberries. Softer, riper more opulent fruit than Champagne, but with beautiful hidde acidity and firm minerality behind the fruit. Refreshing, classy, gorgeous.

10% in oak. Oak invisible on the nose. Nice intensity and concentration. White grapefruit. Fresh and zesty. Incredibly chalky, gravelly, nice. Complex, concentrated - but it is nonetheless a bit closed and not showing its best.

Single vineyard, 2.5ha. Only 7,000 bottles. Darker clay soil. Aged for 70% in stainless steel, 30% in 500l new French oak (entirely steel-fermented) for 10 months and another 12 in the bottle. Lots of spice, honey, oak. Beautiful white pepper. Lots of textural phenolics. Vibrant acidity. Texture and structure are stunning - making up for the relative absence f fruit n the nose. Exceptionally classy and delightful. Lovely peach, a touch of tropical fruit and some stem ginger if you look closely enough. Juicy, elegant, balanced and classy acidity. Tastes expensive.

Hint of struck match and kerosene (yes!). Ripe peach and stone fruit. Hints of herbal and eucalyptus. Searing acidity. Silky texture, intense. Exceptionally classy. Nice structure with intensity, grip and ripeness t back up the acidity. Vibrant, classy, quaffable but qualitative.

Lots of struck match and flint. Apricots and stone fruit more than apples and pears. Almost unrecognisable as a Lugana. High acidity, almost a hint of residual sugar providing richness and balancing out that vibrancy. Gorgeous wine. Fresh, acidic, lemony, fruity. But is it Lugana?

Slightly darker gold. Intense honey and spice. Very creamy and leesy. Beautiful precision on the palate - crisp, mineral, crystalline. Supple, velvety but delicate acidity. Lovely complexity with spice jostling with that intense advanced honey and gingerbread - but also a touch of satsuma, even of unripe cherries. What a gorgeous win. High acidity despite th creaminess. Lasting phenolic finish if you look for it. Not made in every vintage, but it's brilliant.

Bright gold. Lots of opulent bruised orchard fruit. Pears and bruised apples. Bright minerality, dry and chalky and gravelly. Pretty acidity in the background. Hints of lees. Rich and fruity. A touch soft but good luck not finishing the bottle. Lovely menthol and leafy spicy rocket notes - acidity really crisps up on the finish. This just gets better in the glass.

Pale gold. Intense flint, subtle struck match. Honey-and-cream. A tiny hint of herbal. Yellow peaches. Creamy and honeyed. Fresh, energetic - unbelievably so. Lots of white stone fruit, white pepper. Beautiful herbal eucalyptus. Very gorgeous wine. Tasting fabulous.

Lots of honey on the nose. Bitter almonds, walnuts and honey cake. Lovely richness and ripe intensity. Far more concentration than an Italian white has any right to be. Acidity is pretty without being overpowering. Rich, moreish - not at all the thin-and-dry you'd be expecting. Yummy and a real crowd-pleaser.

Pretty herbal notes. Some crunchy green apples. Intense blood oranges (Luigi Barzini describes blood oranges as the favoured kind in Italy in his 'The Italians' - but I can't say I've seen vastly more here than elsewhere), dark red citrus. A twist of caramel almost. Vibrant acidity, softened slightly by soft stone fruit and hints of marmalade. Despite the vibrant acidity, this is still soft and spiced and decadent and opulent. Lovely grippy pithy phenolic gravelly tannins. Gorgeous and very classy. Complex.`

70 months on the lees! Disgorged 01/24. Only 900 bottles. Bruised orchard fruit. Restrained and mineral at first. Opens up to a touch of tangerine. Light floral and garrigue. Incredibly refined, classy. Ripe fruit hides the absence of sugar. Beautiful acidity, just enough concentration for balance. Elegant, classy, hint of phenolic weight on finish. It's not Champagne but it could be.

Pale gold. Subtly oxidative and nutty on the nose. White flowers. Orange citrus. Very pretty acidity. A very little bit faded, but still vibrant and exciting. A little sherried, acidity failing, but surprisingly fruity still. Red apples, quince. Walnuts. It's an 88, but it's still beautiful. Surprisingly dark, mineral, smoky liquorice on the finish.

Destemmed, whole berries in amphora. Spontaneous fermentation. 3-12 months on the skins.
Lots of honey. Dried fruit, dates. A little yeasty on the nose. Cidre-y, pithy apple skins. Lots of bruised apples. No obvious tannins despite maceration. Very pretty drinkable natural wine. Black tea, jasmine, floral. Not wholly unrecognisable as a Lugana. What a nice wine!

Bruised orchard fruit. Very Lugana. Almonds. Silky, pretty acidity. Soft, ripe. Much better than young.

Paler gold. Restrained o the nose. A little floral. Pretty white almonds. A touch of eucalyptus. Textural, gravelly. Much more acidity, more vibrant and searing than I might have expected from an annata. Nice concentration and beginnings of complexity. Very classy. Rfreshing, genuinely classy, modern, elegant, structured.

12ha single vineyard with lots of clay. Lots of small plots within - "L'Amagrona" is the best within Le Creete. Oldest vines are from 1969. Intense orchard fruit. Pretty white floral nos. Vibrant, electric acidity. Beautiful concentration with a long-lasting finish. Phenolic, concentrated, intense. Lots of quince and slightly browning apples and pears. Pretty white citrus. Light lemons, subtly saline minerality, barely-there gravelly texture. As put by one other taster - like a Sauvignon Blanc without the cat pee - even if there is lots of acidity.

Bruised orchard fruit. Richer, riper, sweeter than the 2023. Slightly herbal. Pretty, menthol, peppermint. A touch of liquorice. Beautiful balance - much better and more exciting than the 2023.

Softly caramelised fruit, baked bananas. Creamy and slightly set. Lightly oxidative. Very exciting acidity - zippy and juicy and crunchy. Wonderfully creamy (this must have malo!). It's a lovely wine and I'd love to finish the bottle - but I think it's a little pretentious, a little tired, not as brilliant as the newer vintage. I'm being a bit harsh, but this is a wine that will divide opinion.

Struck match, flint. Green apples and a touch of liquorice. Very fresh, zippy, pithy. More evident structural phenolics and tannins. Classy and complex. Ageing well.

24 months on the lees. Fairly recognisable as a sparkling Lugana, with classic bruised orchard fruit. Pretty white floral notes, bitter almonds. Lots of fresh acidity. Dosage keeping this very pretty, very approachable. Lovely phenolic pithiness and subtly peppery tannins. Really rather gorgeous and classy. The kind of sparkling that everyone at the table will find something to love.

Lots of spice and cream. Stem ginger and leesy brioche. A touch of quince and nashi pear. Quite ripe and opulent - wonderfully so. Lovely velvet texture. Alcohol very much on the high side. Classy and very concentrated - but not particularly refined.

20yo vines. 7 months on the lees, no battonnage. Supple bruised orchard fruit. Pretty white

Hints of lees. Spearmint. Pretty richness. Slightly pithy white grapefruit. Classy, concentrated northern Italia white. Pretty citrus. Pretty and nutty. Nice wine. Textural and dry despite the pretty acidity and lots of juicy fruit.

6 months on the lees. Charmat. Restrained on the nose. Subtle white flowers. A touch of green apples. Pretty creamy fruit. Lots of crunchy acidity and soft bubbles. Not an unpleasant wine at all. Fresh, zippy, crunchy, lightly textured. Very pleasant and a cut above your standard reception glass-upon-arrival wine while still being recognisably Lugana.

Zero dosage, 60 months on the lees.
Lots of lees and autolysis. Intense honey and flinty lees. Lots of spice and liquorice. A hint of grassy reduction. Elderflower cordial. Intensely sapid and mineral. Very classy. Eucalyptus. Slightly steely and astringent on the finish which detracts from what is otherwise a really pretty win.

"Looking for elgance", via 18 months in 20% barriques. Lots of creamy, rich and ripe (white) stone fruit and orchard fruit. Some spice - almost horseradishy and gingery piquant. Lots of soft, juicy white fruit. Floral. Lots of acidity. A bit more serious and taciturn than the Le Creete. Slightly darker fruit, a bit more elderflower. Oak providing slightly darker, toastier, smokier fruit. Serious and rather classy - a but a bit acidulated and youthful on the finish. Take my score with a pinch of salt - if this mellow out in a year or two, it's a point higher at least.

Lots of oak. Lots of citrus. Very pretty acidity jostling with vanilla and sweetness of the oak. A bit over-oaked, but totally delicious.

2 years of battonnage! Gold. Cream. Honey, mineral. Rather opulent. A bit odd actually. Very honeyed, very very creamy. A curiosity wine. Its not an oak bomb, it's a lees bomb. Underwhelming, if I'm honest. Soft.

Bruised orchard fruit. Lightly floral. Crunchy acidity. Not the most complex or concentrated, but pretty enough and with good fruit. Pretty, balanced acidity. A step above your standard Italian white but still in the same mindset as a Pinot Grigio - just a bit more concetrated.