Lugana 'Il Gruccione' Nunzio Ghiraldi 2021

Lugana ‘Il Gruccione’ from Nunzio Ghiraldi is a rich and elegant wine with citrus and ripe green fruit notes, touches of honey, lemongrass and exotic stone fruit on the palate. The palate further develops with beautiful spice notes of thyme, sage and almonds. It is a complex and fascinating white which always impresses. Il Gruccione is the species of bird which flies from North Africa each year to feed on bees in Nunzio’s vineyards.

The white wines of Lugana are produced to the south and south-west of Lake Garda in the Lombardia region of northern Italy. Rather confusingly, the grape variety used is called Trebbiano di Lugana or locally Turbiana which is in fact Verdicchio and not the light workhorse of Italian white wine that is Trebbiano. Nunzio has taken full advantage of this grape, along with the area’s flat glacial plain and warm climate, moderated by the cooling breezes of Lake Garda, to produce wines of richness and real interest.