2023 Cantine di Ora Il Casato Chardonnay Valdadige 750 ml

We were stunned when one of our favorite NYC somms uncorked a $15 bottle for us. And we were absolutely shocked by how the beauty and incredible value of the Il Casato wines stopped us in our tracks. 

Now, they’ve done the same with our members. Our last Il Casato offer has earned an excellent 4.1 score from the Wine Access crowd, way outperforming its price point. One of Italy's top wine authorities, Luca Maroni, lifted this 2023 Chardonnay to the heights of the vintage by giving it a 97-point score that puts it alongside some pretty impressive bottles. 

Our New York friend runs one of Manhattan's best wine programs, curating a collection that's beloved by both the Médoc-drinking uptown set and the natural-wine downtown sophisticates. We'd put his finely tuned palate up against any critic's.

When on his honeymoon in Italy, he and his wife had a Michelin-starred culinary gadabout that made us salivate with jealousy. When they weren't toasting their nuptials over a bottle of 1993 Taittinger, they were lying low at a sun-soaked poolside resort. That was where he discovered Cantine di Ora.

"The owner poured it with abandon," our friend told us. "He knew a bottle on ice next to a lounge chair in the daytime heat was all he needed to keep guests happy—and spending their money on the premises."

The grapes emerged from deep, rich soils and warm microclimates that stretch between Roveré della Luna and Vallagarina. Vinified in stainless steel, it's fresh and invigorating with snappy, crisp edges—the perfect choice to complement a hunk of Bela Badia or pan-seared fish.