Adrien Stevens Erbacanta Chardonnay Malcantone, Ticino – 2025

Barrel-fermented using wild yeasts in used Burgundy barrels. This has a golden yellow colour; a refined nose, with notes of aromatic herbs and hints of citrus.  An elegant, medium-bodied Chardonnay with excellent complexity and depth. Only 75 cases were produced.

Adrien Stevens is a rising star on the Ticino wine scene who was awarded “Swiss wine rookie of the year for 2024” by Gault Millau. He is 40 years old and has had fantastic previous winemaking experience at Domaine Nicolas Joly in the Loire Valley, and more recently with Christian Zündel in Ticino. Perhaps no surprise then that he produces his wines biodynamically and vinifies them with as little intervention as possible.

His recently-purchased winery sits on top of a sunny hill in Monteggio, Malcantone, where his fabulous Pensieri Senza Pensatore Merlot is grown. His Erbacanta Chardonnay comes from vines planted on limestone and clay soils in Castel San Pietro, further south in the Mendrisiotto region of Ticino.