Tag Archives: Friuli

April 7, 2013 · 2:22 pm

Ronco dei Tassi – 2/04/2012

Ribolla Gialla 2011
Recently sulphured so was quite reductive on the nose, but was very fresh and light on the palate, showing harmony and texture with pure green apple characters.

2011 Pinot Grigio
Showed the same freshness, but with more floral and nashi pear notes, more warmth and texture and some lees derived creaminess.

2011 Friulano
Looking quite funky and cheesy, having much more lees contact, and was ripe and powerful on the mid-palate with a clean mineralic finish.

2011 Malvasia
More crunchy tropical ripeness, and whilst being bold was haunting and smoky on the back of the palate.

2011 Collio Bianco
A blend of ribolla gialla, pinot bianco, friulano and malvasia, quite possibly the best Italian white wine I have tasted. It had lovely fresh apple and kiwi notes on the nose, coupled with a mineralic blue cheese complexity. It was subtle and expressive, elegant and rich, lofty and confident.

Enrico Coser in the Ronco dei Tassi winery

Enrico Coser in the Ronco dei Tassi winery

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April 7, 2013 · 2:19 pm

Livio Felluga – 2/04/2012

Pinot Grigio 2010
Great apple, kiwi and lime purity, subtle and balanced texture, and was great with the prosciutto and polenta we had with lunch.

Friulano 2011
A variety which I need to have more familiarity with as in my opinion is the most important variety in the region. The 2011 had a clean herbal green papaya and kiwi nose, but having been recently bottled was a little shocked. On the palate it also looked a little hot, but had balanced fruit and acid with full flavours and lees derived texture and richness.

Sauvignon 2011
Took me by surprise, as it was one of the most complete and complex I’d seen without any barrel influence.

Abbazia di Rosazzo 2009
Initially showed too creamy and buttery, with vanilla coconut and rich peach notes, a little too fat. After it had opened up it started to show its complexity, but was quite warm and textural.

Terre Alte 2009
The highlight of the tasting, a blend of pinot bianco, sauvignon blanc and friulano. It had very subtle lees derived complexity, and had a wide variety of fruit notes, was bold and rich in character but also gentle and balanced.

Refosco dal Peduncolo 2007
Showed quite rustic, but inspired me to discover more wines made from this variety.

The Terre Alte

The Terre Alte

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April 7, 2013 · 2:12 pm

Collavini – 3/04/2012

Ribolla Gialla Spumante 2008
A gentle apple and lychee fruit nose, vibrant and fresh yet full on the palate, dry and approachable, not serious but seriously good.

Broy Bianco 2009
A blend of friulano chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, had great floral and apricot concentration on the nose, rich and texturally viscous on the palate, but very well-balanced and lengthy.

Broy Bianco 2008
Much more powerful and toasty on the nose, showing more crunchy oak texture and was a little flabby and flat.

Turian Schioppetino 2005
Candied vanilla raspberry characters, quite soft and full on the palate with fruit-sweet tannins and richness.

Forresco Refosco 2005
Lovely and plump, combining dark fruits with some dried coconut and dark chocolate, mellow yet intense and dense, a real long-liver.

Collavini range of wines

Collavini range of wines

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April 7, 2013 · 2:06 pm

Bastianich – 3/04/2012

Adriatico Friulano 2010
Friulian, dry roasted honey notes with dusty melon and peach, depth and richness with some floral complexity.

Ribolla Gialla 2010
Slovenian, had a slightly grey tinge to it, steely minerality and peach skin on the nose, and was very salty and tight on the palate with some lees derived texture.

Malvasia 2010
Croatian, more oily saltiness, bold and slightly herbal with a delicate candied lime element.

Vespa Bianco 2009
A blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and picolit, had a bright rich colour, ripe mineralic orchard fruit, and was very ripe and full on the palate, showing powerful yet focused fruit.

Plus 2009
100% friulano wine, that showed roasted walnut and ripe tropical pear notes, had some serious fruity concentration and warmth on the palate, and is one of the most intense white wines I have ever tasted.

Vespa Rosso 2009
A blend of merlot, refosco, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, and had a very rustic earthy broodiness combining with tightly wound raspberry tannins and minerality.

Calabrone 2007
70% refosco, had bold blackcurrant spice, with both floral and roasted notes, very big fruit and yet balanced oak and alcohol.

The Vespa wines of Bastianich

The Vespa wines of Bastianich

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April 7, 2013 · 2:00 pm

Bortoluzzi – 3/04/2012

Pinot Grigio 2011
Classic Italian freshness and crispness, with citric and apple notes, but was far from simple having texture and balance.

Friulano 2011
A similar intensity yet delicacy of acidity, but was more textural and rich in the mid-palate, showing salty minerality and some skin contact complexity.

Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Very elegant tropical fig and passionfruit aromas, with light touches of smoky, was bold and fresh on the palate but very approachable.

Traminer 2011
Challenging aromatically as it was very reductive under sulphur, but had a very wild character on the palate, dry and savoury with a character reminiscent of hot dog water.

Bottles of Bortoluzzi being filled

Bottles of Bortoluzzi being filled

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April 7, 2013 · 1:54 pm

Venica & Venica – 4/04/2012

Malvasia Collio 2010
Very brooding and subtle, showing asian berries, resonance, personality and depth.

Sauvignon 2011
Steely mineralic oily herbal notes, wonderful passionfruit clarity and freshness.

Ronco Delle Mele Sauvignon 2010
Showed very tight grassy aromatic tropical notes, very ripe and fresh with delicate passion fruit pith and complexity for an aromatic variety.

Venezia Giulia Refosco 2010
Funky feral meaty nose, interesting popcorn notes, but was quite hollow and clobbered on the palate.

Toblar Verduzzo 2009
Some pronounced bourbon barrel aromas combining with some intense honey lemon and peach, herbal marinade, good balance and plenty of viscosity to keep things interesting.

The Venica & Venica range

The Venica & Venica range

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April 7, 2012 · 8:29 pm

Changing plans (Friuli, Italy – Day Three)

It seems that no matter how much planning you do, fate has another plan in mind and thus you must stay flexible. In these situations I think it is important to remain philosophical and not allow things to drag you down, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I should try to get the most out of it. So for the fifth time since arriving in Europe I returned to the Dusseldorf area in the hopes of finally collecting my residency card/working holiday visa, that would not only allow me to continue travelling in Europe beyond my 90 day tourist visa (which expires on Sunday), but also have the opportunity to join two of the best wineries in Germany for the harvest later in the year. I had to do some shifting of my days, and had to leave Friuli early to make my flight from Milan, but at least now I can head back to Italy sooner and not miss any time in my next region. As long as I can get some appointments after Easter. For my final day in Friuli I only had one brief appointment, at Venica & Venica.

Venica & Venica in Friuli

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April 6, 2012 · 11:21 am

Once in a lifetime (Friuli, Italy – Day Two)

One of the guiding principles of my trip is to attempt to enjoy regional cuisine along with the regional wines as often as possible. My theory is that the cuisine of the region organically developed to match with the wines of the region (up until about 40 years ago), and if I can understand the food of the region I may better understand the wines, and the experience will strengthen the memory. The major difficulty I have with this principle is the restrictions of my budget, which is important I adhere to if I want to travel for as long as I intend. This isn’t much of a problem, except that the food I can afford is not always the best. For this reason I always relish any invitation I have for lunch or dinner with one of my winery hosts, not only because it is a free meal. The occasion has increased since arriving to Europe, particularly Italy where I have enjoyed lunch and dinner on numerous occasions. The food experience I had on my second day in Friuli however, was one of the most surreal and amazing, and will stay with me forever, as you will read below.
Does it get any better than this?

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April 5, 2012 · 4:17 pm

You’re welcome (Friuli, Italy – Day One)

If you close your eyes, ears, nose and brain, you can almost imagine what Venice must have been like centuries ago when it ruled a vast merchant empire the envy of the world, enough to inspire Shakespeare to set his famous “The Merchant of Venice” in. Shutting off the senses is vital, as the tightly packed streets are filled with either tourists from around the world, or those working to support the tourism industry. Venice is hardly a city that people live in, and for this reason after two days I was pretty sick of it. I shudder to think what it is like in summer, but if it is anything like Paris then it’s almost not worth it. Everything is a little bit more expensive and far from authentic. Thank goodness they at least have one youth hostel, which had possibly the worst breakfast so far on my trip, but in Venice 23 Euro is nothing to sneeze at. After a weekend wandering the alleys and canals I drove up into the other great white wine region of Italy, Friuli. It is similar in some ways to Alto Adige, in the sense that it shares history and culture with its neighbouring countries Austria and Slovenia, it is predominantly white wine focused and there are a range of both indigenous and introduced varieties. What it does not have in common is the micro-climates, as Friuli is a much more Mediterranean climate where they get a lot more rain and warmth, and thus the varieties and styles differ. In spite of the slight difference in culture (and language), the warmth and generosity is the same.

Yours truly with the Rosazzo Abbey behind me

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