The 2008 Jale (Chardonnay) is quite beautiful in this vintage. Ripe, varietal fruit emerges with notable grace and precision. So many Sicilian Chardonnays can be overblown but the 2008 Jale strikes a beautiful balance in its restrained yet fully expressive fruit, flowers and minerals. This is a beautiful effort from Cusumano. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012. Cusumano makes a wide range of wines, but the estate seems to do best with their reds.Importer: Vin Divino, Ltd., Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

Jale is a soft and creamy wine that delivers intensity and power with deep layers of peach, apricot, honey and exotic fruit. The texture is thick and dense and those qualities make this wine an excellent candidate for shellfish and lobster. ——M.L.(7/1/2010)—— 89