The 2010 Curtefranca Vigna Uccellanda is 100% Chardonnay aged in French oak barrels. It possesses notable energy and focus. Layers of expressive varietal fruit build to a finish layered with apricots, peaches, flowers and crushed rocks. The generous yet focused finish is highly attractive. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. Proprietor Vittorio Moretti embodies the spirit of Italian business. Franciacorta, which is not too far from the Lago d’Iseo and Brescia, is in the center of a strip of cities that spans Torino to Venice where a special breed of highly motivated entrepreneurs run the motor of Italian industry. Moretti started with a construction business that led to building wineries and finally to owning his own estates. Bellavista is the crown jewel of the Moretti empire. Under the leadership of Mattia Vezzola, the Bellavista wines have never been better. Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

Made in a Chablis-like style, the 1996 Chardonnay Uccellanda offers a steel/mineral, restrained, medium-bodied, tart personality. The acidity is high and the wine possesses little power. Nevertheless, it is elegant, long, and impressively constructed. Consume it over the next 2-3 years. This luxury priced wine is consistently well-made. In the past, Bellavista's sparkling wines have been among the finest produced in Italy. Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

The 1994 Chardonnay Ucclanda seems to be already dropping some fruit, but it remains an excellent example of a powerful, overtly oaky, dense, chewy style of Chardonnay that offers more mineral and wood in its glycerin-imbued, long finish. The oak is somewhat heavy-handed, but the wine manages to carry it reasonably well. It was bottled without filtration. One of the luxury showcase wineries of northern Italy, Bellavista is well-known for producing some of Italy's finest sparkling wines, and more recently, some of its more interesting and complex Chardonnays. Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900