Curtefranca Bianco DOC 2014 Ca’ del Bosco: wine or a vanilla and wood juice?
2014 Curtefranca Bianco DOC Ca ‘del Bosco is one of Italy’s most ambitious white wines, a pure Chardonnay that tries to follow the French style, an opulent, full wine built to last over the years and amaze with its strength and intensity.
How is 2014 Curtefranca Bianco DOC made?
The winery’s data on this wine: born from a careful selection of the best grapes, it is vinified in barriques, where it is then aged for 9 months and makes the malolactic.
The result is eloquent: it is not a crystalline Chardonnay. It does not focus on finesse but on muscles and an overwhelming spiciness that drastically limits its aromatic charm.
The aromas of vanilla and wood imprison the wine and force it into a too predictable stylistic binary, where the oakiness suffocates the varietal.
Of course, this is still a young vintage, 2014. Many White Burgundy whites become not great but drinkable at least after 10 years, but honestly, it is clear that the brand of the wood has undermined its expressive naturalness.
Not to mention that the beating heart of Curtefranca Bianco DOC 2014, the fruit, is already very ripe, pumped out by the barrique. Over time it will have a good evolution, there is acidity to go beyond 10 years, but at the moment, it is not a wine that could be defined as pleasant or harmonious. If you have the patience to let it rest in the cellar for a few years, it can bloom; otherwise, forget it.
The bouquet
Vibrant nose, swirling, marked hints of fruit and flowers, hazelnuts, marzipan, and aromatic herbs, but all this intensity crashes against an impenetrable wall of wood, tobacco, and vanillin, which is overly cloying. The background variety would also be good. In the background, you can hear all the intensity of this noble wine, but it is all ruined by the wood.
The taste
The palate expands with pulp and good freshness; it’s a little rigid in development but overall tasty. It lacks saline contrast, doesn’t thrill much after the first acid attack, and moves too soft and tame. A super fluffy mcFlurry dominates the finish dipped in a custard sea, with citrus fruits that try to emerge.
Why are there Chardonnays so technical and didactic that they don’t have the slightest contact with their terroir?
Because Chardonnay in Franciacorta is the undisputed king, it’s a flagship wine and a captivating business card… but frankly, we got tired of these fossils, especially when they are sold at such high prices.
They are stylized wines assembled in the winery like a bodybuilder and do not have a shred of spontaneity.
Not that it is an unjustified price: the quality, the pricy barrels used, and the production costs are there, but the game isn’t worth the candle. If Suckling gave him 92 points, we already understand what we are talking about.
Price
60-70 euros: not worth it.