Fonte Canale Trebbiano d’Abruzzo – 2019

A dazzling bouquet of honeyed flowers, young mango, apricot, flinty stone and sweet smoke make the 2019 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Fonte Canale impossible to ignore. It’s savory and supremely soft textured, pushing its pure orchard fruits forward and allowing its minerality to play a supporting role, which creates a sense of undeniable elegance and balance. The 2019 lingers incredibly long, leaving a salty stain and tension that tugs at the palate; pretty inner florals and hints of ginger slowly fade. The production of the 2019 Fonte Canale was down by 20% due to the cold conditions during flowering. 2024 – 2031

Pale green-tinged yellow. Pure crushed rock, fresh citrus fruits and flinty minerality on the inviting nose, gaining noteworthy intensity with aeration. Fresh and juicy, complex and very refined, but manages the neat trick of being simultaneously thick and weightless. Best today on the mounting finish, which saturates the palate with iodiney minerality and repeating lemon and lime flavours; strikes me as rounder than usual (“rounder” with Fonte Canale is a very relative term) most likely because of the year’s low yields and cooler weather that increased hang time and in so doing, blessed the wine with greater complexity and a less angular personality. Even at this early age, the 2019 Fonte Canale still conveys the essential style of the vintage, a direct result of the area’s growing season character traits. Very different from the showier 2018, but each will have its fans. 2026 – 2035

Brilliant intense straw. Hazelnuts and cedro (citron) and orange pith. Crystal-like acidity, super-taut and linear. Lip-smacking finish. Stunning. 2023 – 2032