After La Giuva we had an hour's drive leaving the wine region of Veneto behind and crossing the border into Lombardia and the province of Lugana, bordering Lake Garda. We were there for a winery visit to Ca dei Frati, whose wines Whitmore and White have stocked for some time and are some of our favourite wines.

Ca dei Frati

This winery is owned by the Dal Cero family and is an ever expanding estate. The winery and family home, together with some of the vineyards are situated on site, but in the past 20 years the estate vineyard holdings have increased from 12 ha to over 160 ha and the family now own some vineyards in Veneto where they produce an Amarone. I first visited the winery in 2009 and then they had increased production from 600,000 bottles in 2007 to around 1 million bottles. The estate now produces 3 million bottles, seven years later. The most important thing is that the quality has not suffered a bot and in fact the wines are probably better now than they ever have been. We were afforded a tour of the winery and cellars by Steffano Fioranzato before we tried some of their outstanding wines. Cuvee dei Frati A blend of Turbiana and Chardonnay and fermented in the traditional Champagne method, this is a wine of poise and balance with a creamy depth. I Frati 100% Turbiana and as fresh as the morning dew. Has depth due to 6 months spent on lees before bottling. Brolettino 100% Turbiana and both stainless steel and barrel fermentation give a wine of great class, roundness and balance with honeysuckle notes. Pratto A blend of Turbiana, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. A blend of barrel fermentation for the Turbiana and Chardonnay and stainless steel for the Sauvignon leads to a super ripe and complex wine with multiple layers of aromas and flavours. Rosa di Frati A blend of Gropello, Marzemino, Sangiovese and Barbera leads to a salmon-pink coloured wine, dry with soft redcurrant and raspberry fruit. We by-passed the Ronchedone red wine, which we stock at W&W and went straight to the Amarone. Pietro dal Cero Amarone An incredibly rich and super-complex Amarone. Not for the faint of heart. The blend of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Croatina grapes are in perfect harmony. After a delightful lunch at the winery's delicatessen/restaurant/hotel (Hotel Parco a Lago) with Stefano we headed off for a three hour journey from Lugana to Barbaresco in Piedmont. There we were to visit the Bruno Rocca winery for a tour with Elena Oberto. See my next post for more about Bruno Rocca, or have a look at our Ca dei Frati wines! Graham