Italiano
Bianca Regina, the queen of Malvasia
Bianca Regina from Lusenti is unique for of its kind in that it is made with Malvasia di Candia harvested late and matures in wood.
It was a beautiful and sunny spring day when I visited the Lusenti winey, in Ziano Piacentino, where I was met by Ludovica and the whole technical staff, first among them the picturesque, charming and fun Aji Anderson, the historic cellar master at this small but magnificent winemaking reality in the Colli Piacentini. In the estate’s tasting hall we were treated to an historic vertical tasting of the feather in the winery’s hat, the aromatic Bianca Regina, a small masterpiece made from Malvasia di Candia that is unique for a wine of its kind.
The care the grapes receive in the vineyards is already maniacal as is the late harvest (never before the end of September) when the grapes are picked and placed in small boxes. A rigorous selection of grapes then follows and they are made it wine according to an expert craftsmanship honed over the years. After pressing, the must remains on the skins for another week and then, after fermentation, the wine matures in barrels for three-four months. For me, this is one of the best aromatic Malvasia di Candia wines in existence because it is bold yet elegant, complex and with a structure that maintains all the balances in a way that is above suspicion and despite the grandiose texture.
This is not an easy wine to pair with food because of its unique characteristics but I love it with soft cheese and chicken curry when the vintage is older.
The bottles of Malvasia Bianca Regina were arranged by vintage and were practically a full representation of the wine’s history (the first vintage was 1999), which may not be that long but has already shown how this wine has an extraordinary propensity to age. In fact, it is still too early to determine the wines full lifespan because even the older bottles still had an impressive expressive boldness and showed no signs of decline, an indication that they still have a long and magnificent future ahead of them.
The vintages you can find retail cost around 12 euros a bottle but the older ones are not easy to come across and so they are difficult to price.
