Winemaker Notes
Fondatore means "founder," and the name of this wine name bears special significance for Cleto Chiarli. The Lambrusco del Fondatore is a modern version of the same wine Chiarli produced for the customers of his trattoria back in the early 1800s. It is made by the "ancestral" method, by which a still wine was fermented in the fall and left to rest through the winter. It was bottled in the early spring, with no filtration, and once temperatures began to rise, the yeast would continue the fermentation in the closed bottle, creating a fizzy wine. In accordance with the time-honored practices, the wine is not disgorged to remove the sediment. Lambrusco del Fondatore has become the benchmark of the Lambrusco di Sorbara variety.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This zippy sparkler opens with aromas of freshly squeezed cherries that envelop the senses as floral and herbal aromas slowly come into frame providing contrast to the bright fruit notes. Plump mixed berries jump on the palate as the creamy texture and soft bubbles transport the palate to the next level.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Extending from the Adriatic coast in the east, to the border of the Mediterranean Ligurian region in the west, Emilia Romagna is a large, central Italian region focused on a wide array of gastronomic specialties. The plains of Emilia host four well-defined subzones for its famous, lightly sparkling red, Lambrusco. The more coastal Romagna has the capacity to produce impressive wines from Sangiovese and Albana.