Altitude, time and mastery: these are the ingredients with which Cesarini Sforza builds Aquila Reale, its Trentodoc Riserva. A project born in the vineyard and that combines altitude, production rigor and very long aging, to tell the story of the mountain with elegance and precision. Sissi Baratella tells us about it.
Wine Reserve is a very Italian concept, we really care about this mention on the label.
For the average consumer it takes on in common speech the connotation of “good wine,” indeed the best. So indeed it should be. The Riserva should represent the best or at least the most important wine. Wine of waiting, the one selected already from the grapes. The one that may not be there every year and is made in a limited number of bottles.
Reserve also often corresponds to what costs more, which translates into what is worth spending a little more on And it is worth the wait. We are used to talking about important wines, the company’s spearheads. But how these wines are born and why, we often don’t get a chance to narrate.
I asked Andrea Buccella, winemaker in charge of production at Cesarini Sforza, to tell me about it.
This is how, with the very aim of producing the company’s most important wine, starting with a selection of grapes from a specific vineyard, the following was born Trentodoc Riserva Aquila Reale of Cesarini Sforza.
The project
By the company itself, it is defined as the product of the dialogue between altitude, time and mastery.
Everything is born in the vineyard. Maso Seven Fountains, a vocated cru in the Cembra Valley at 500 meters above sea level and organically managed (not certified). A west-facing vineyard that overlooks Paganella and sees the end of the Valle dei Laghi. Here are interwoven soils of a different nature, where the dolomite matrix, also rich in pebbles, dominates.
We are at the beginning of Val di Cembra, a valley that is among the coldest in Trentino because it forms a continuum with Val di Fiemme, located further north. Between the two valleys there are no natural boundaries, the Cold winds from the north descend unimpeded and combined with the altitude and different exposures mean that the grapes of the Cembra Valley always ripen in a special way, maintaining freshness and delaying the harvest by a few weeks.
Aquila Reale Wine
100% Chardonnay that comes from very careful selection. Only the best grapes and only in the best vintages. There is no lack of choice, which makes for precise cellar operations and focused targeting. Healthy grapes, with a degree of ripeness that is not overly advanced.
Whole clusters are gently pressed with Marmonier presses to avert release of vegetal notes.
The goal, vintage permitting, is to produce about 7,000 bottles per year, which rest on the lees for 90 months and which following disgorgement is assigned a dosage of about 2.5 g/l. The result is an important wine without sacrificing excellent drinking ability. Slender and vertical, as a mountain wine should be.
The first vintage was 1996. To date, Aquila Reale has a brilliant golden yellow color and a very intense vertical perlage. It smells of ripe fruit, but preserves the character of the mountains and those cold climates, where the hours of sunshine are warm yes but precious few.
The Chardonnay
Chardonnay, which in Trentino, including Val di Cembra, is becoming the most represented grape variety precisely for the production of sparkling wine bases confirms itself as an extraordinary variety. Versatile and generous.
With refermentations in the bottle, it knows how to leave just the right amount of room for the method to express itself by slowly conceding notes of bakery and pastry. Aquila Reale also smells of honey and ripe yellow fruit, at times tropical. On the palate, on the other hand, it tells of the freshness of the winds and the savoriness of the rocks in the vineyards. Pleasantly persistent its is a composed tale, without ever overdoing it or going off the rails.
In the The Essential Guide to the Wines of Italy 2026 we awarded it with a score worthy of such an important wine. Score confirmed for typicality and consistency with territory and type of wine. Note of merit: the price, affordable.
Trentodoc Riserva Aquila Reale 2015 Cesarini Sforza
Score: 97/100
Average price in wine shop: € 60,00
100% Chardonnay. Classic method, 90 months on the lees, 2.5 g/l sugar. Very bright golden yellow with lively perlage. Intense and recognizable notes related to the stay on yeasts emerge on the nose, which then give way to yellow and tropical fruit. Fresh more vegetal hints and notes of lemon zest. Full-bodied and creamy on the palate, it finishes salty. Leaves sensations of bergamot and an acidity reminiscent of raspberry and small fruits.
