“I Frati Privilegio di Famiglia” Lugana DOC 2020 late release · 0,75l in OWC

Cà dei Frati | Lombardy
Az. Agr. Ca' dei Frati | Vai Frati 22 | IT 25019 Lugana di Sirmione

03220820 · 0,75 l · 52,00 €/lavailable immediately

In 1782, a document recorded what the monks in Sirmione had long known: that this spot on the southern Garda was something special. "A house with a cellar in Lugana, known as the place of the monks" – says the sober note that now bears the name of the winery. Cà dei Frati, the house of the brothers. When Felice Dal Cero took over the estate in 1939, he recognised the same truth as the monks before him: the Turbiana grape, the white stubbornness of Lake Garda, feels at home here. His son Pietro brought out the first bottle under his own label – and helped to create the Lugana DOC in 1969. The house and the denomination: inseparable.

I Frati is the flagship. The Privilegio di Famiglia (from the treasury of the house) is its patient version – intended for those who can wait. The same Turbiana, the same clay-limestone soils around Sirmione, the same vinification in steel on the fine lees, no wood, no BSA. What makes this bottling different is that it only leaves the winery after five years in the bottle. Time itself is the cellar master here. The 2020 vintage brought balanced conditions – moderate temperatures, which led the Turbiana to a calm, linear maturity without sacrificing acidity.

Five years later, it is clear what Ca' dei Frati mean when they talk about "espressione nel tempo": The fresh, flowery profile of youth – white flowers, balsam, delicate apricot – has changed. The minerality now emerges with greater determination, iodine and spices shimmer through, joined by candied citrus fruits and a faint hint of almond. Present and flattering on the palate, carried by lively, exuberant acidity and that salinity so characteristic of Lugana, which keeps the finish long and clean. No wood, no tricks. Just one grape, one soil, and proof that perfect Lugana simply deserves time. SUPERIORE.DE