First taste: Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Rosé 2006

Ferrari, one of Italy’s most awarded metodo classico sparkling wine producers, has released a new prestige cuvee rosé to sit alongside its famed Giulio Ferrari Riserva Fondatore. John Stimpfig was one of the first to taste...

The Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Rosé 2006 was launched in Trento at a spectacular gala dinner at the Lunelli Group’s 16th century Villa Margon in September. The sparkling rosé wine’s official launch in the UK was in October.

See John Stimpfig’s tasting note below, exclusive to Decanter Premium members

The new wine is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir with 20% Chardonnay, with all the grapes hand-selected from Lunelli family vineyards on the higher slopes of the Trentino mountains. It was then aged for 11 years on its lees, prior to release.

Ferrari is known primarily as a Chardonnay house, founded by Giulio Ferrari in 1902. It has been owned and run by the Lunelli family since 1952.Under the Lunellis, Ferrari has been growing its increasingly impressive rosé portfolio to include NV and vintage categories.

According to Ferrari’s chairman, Matteo Lunelli, the new Riserva del Fondatore Rosé ‘represents the final fruition of our love story with Pinot Noir’.

Head winemaker Massimo Lunelli adds, ‘It has been an exciting challenge to conquer and it took a lot of work in our high altitude vineyards. We had been planning this for a long time and chose 2006 because it was an exceptional vintage which produced outstanding Pinot Noir fruit, capable of long ageing.’

The new wine is likely to become a collector’s item – Ferrari will only produce this new prestige cuvee in top-class vintages and in limited quantities. Just 5,000 bottles of the 2006 rosé have been produced for a global market, compared to average of 40,000-50,000 bottles of the Blanc de Blancs Giulio Ferrari.

It is believed to be Italy’s most expensive sparkling rose and will retail for around 180 euros per bottle; and £180 in the UK.

Giulio Ferrari, Riserva del Fondatore Rosé 2006:

See also:

Prosecco rosé wine moves closer to reality