Deep gold color; Meyer lemon, yellow apple, citrus, pear, apricot, graham cracker, cinnamon, oak spice, butter, vanilla, caramel on the nose and palate.
Dry to off-dry; minimal tannin; bright acidity (3.45 pH; 5.6 g/L TA). Full body; creamy texture. Delicious fruit; becomes rounder with some air in glass; fills the mouth with pleasure; delivers long finish. Exceptionally good, layered, deep effort from well-respected winery. 14.1% ABV
The 2020-2021 winter had minimal rainfall and mild temperatures. Budbreak two weeks ahead of normal. Summer warm and dry, leading to beautifully ripened fruit and the earliest red grape harvest in Ferrari-Carano history. White grapes hand-harvested six weeks later from three estate vineyards. Whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented with native and cultured yeast. Wine undergoes 75% malolactic conversion and sue lee aged and stirred for five months. Individual lots then blended and barreled again. Aged total of 15.5 months in French oak, 20% new, 35% one year, 45% neutral.
Don and Rhonda Carano were second-generation Italian-Americans and natives of Reno, Nevada, where Don practiced law after serving in the U.S. Army. The Caranos founded Ferrari-Carano in 1981. The fell in love with northern Sonoma County in 1979 while searching for wines to add to the wine list at The Eldorado, the Carano’s hotel-casino in Reno. They first purchased 60 acres in the Alexander Valley, then began acquiring additional acreage, finally totaling 24 sustainably-farmed estate ranches comprising more than 1,900 vineyard acres. They broke ground for the Ferrari-Carano Winery in Dry Creek Valley in 1985. Their first wines under their label—a fumé blanc and an Alexander Valley chardonnay—were released in 1987.
Don Carano passed in 2017. Since 2019, the winery has been owned by Bill and Carol Foley, owners of Foley Family Wines. Foley Food and Wines is major producer, marketer, and distributor of quality wines. Every brand in the company’s portfolio is distinct and autonomous with its own identity, style, techniques, and personnel. Labels include Banshee, Chalk Hill, Chalone Vineyard, Chateau St. Jean, Firestone, Silverado Vineyards, Sebastiani, Foley Estates, and Ferrari-Carano.
Today, Ferrari-Carano still produces fumé blanc and Alexander Valley chardonnay, as well as 20 other white and red wines. Their 21 vineyards earned certification from the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. The wines are consistent and consistently excellent, a hallmark of Foley Family Wines in general.
Ferrari-Carano Tré Terre Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County 2021 is superb chard with deliciousness, complexity, and length. Flagship effort from highly respected winery now part of Foley Family Wines. The wine strikes impressive, tasty balance between flinty sharpness of Chablis and buttery, blousy excess. Pricey, worth it. $37-45
Pairing—Rich, creamy shellfish; lobster with butter sauce, Dungeness crab with drawn butter, creamy Dungeness crab tagliatelle; pan-seared scallops with butter, herbs; grilled salmon; shrimp scampi. Roast chicken with creamy sauces or her butter; turkey with rosemary and sage. Veal in cream-based preparations; pork tenderloin with fruit-based glazes. Mushroom risotto, butternut squash risotto; roasted carrots, potatoes, squash; pasta dishes with cream-based or pesto sauces; grilled asparagus with lemon and herbs. Cheese—Brie, camembert, triple-cream (Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam), fresh goat cheese. Aged gouda, aged comté, gruyère, manchego. Havarti, Point Reyes Toma, mild cheddar with apples, pickled mustard seed and honey.