2023 Batàr Toscana Bianco, Querciabella

The White Super Tuscan in Silk

Batàr is one of Tuscany’s great white wines: luminous, layered and quietly magnificent. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco from the hills of Ruffoli, it opens with lemon zest, tangerine, pear and white peach, followed by almond, saffron, ginger spice, cream, blossom and a fine thread of saline minerality. It has richness, but not weight. Everything feels polished, lifted and exact.

The palate is silky and textural, with ripe orchard fruit, citrus brightness and a beautifully savoury, mineral line running through the middle. There is oak, but it behaves impeccably, giving breadth and quiet luxury rather than show. The finish is long, fragrant and poised, with pear, almond, spice and a little Tuscan sunlight lingering at the edges. This is white wine with the presence of grand Burgundy, but the accent is unmistakably Chianti Classico.

For when you want a white wine that makes the reds on the table sit up straighter.
Pairs with seared scallops, Dover sole with lemon and capers, lobster, white truffle tagliolini, risotto alla Milanese, pumpkin ravioli with sage butter, or aged Comté.
If this wine were… a fabric, it would be ivory silk lined with gold thread.

Querciabella is one of Tuscany’s benchmark estates, founded in 1974 and renowned for wines that combine Super Tuscan ambition with purity, precision and a deeply progressive approach to farming. Batàr is its legendary white, first produced in 1988 and now widely recognised as the original white Super Tuscan, made from Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco grown around Ruffoli, Greve in Chianti. The vineyards sit between 350 and 600 metres above sea level, with galestro, sandstone, clay and schist helping shape the wine’s flinty minerality, tension and signature texture. Barrel fermentation, nine months in French oak and extended lees work give Batàr its depth, while the estate’s organic, vegan-certified philosophy keeps the wine focused, vibrant and unmistakably refined.