I’m a member of the Dutch affiliation of wine connoisseurs (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland). As a member of the journey committee of the VVN, I manage wine journeys to Italy along with Fred Nijhuis. That is the fourth day of our tour of Friuli. Within the first three days we’ve visited Friuli Grave, Collio, and Brda.
Friuli Colli Orientali DOC is to the north-west of Collio. The map exhibits the complete DOC, with subzones for Refosco di Faedis (pink), Cialla (blue), Schioppettino di Prepotto (purple), and Ribolla Gialla e Pignolo di Rosazzo (yellow). The DOC contains three of the 4 DOCGs of Friuli: COF Picolit (all the DOC), Ramandolo (within the north of the DOC), and Rosazzo (within the south, marked yellow on the map). Each Picolit and Ramandolo are for candy wines from dried grapes; Picolit can also be the title of the variability, and Ramandolo is constructed from Verduzzo. Rosazzo is for white blends. The DOC has about 2000 ha (5000 acres) of vineyards. About two thirds of the manufacturing is white, with as the primary varieties Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay, Malvasia Istriana, Pinot Bianco, and Verduzzo. The primary varieties for pink wine are Merlot, Cabernet, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Schioppettino, and Pignolo. There are about 200 wine producers. Identical to the opposite areas in Friuli, the Bora wind and draining soil are the primary traits. 70% of the vines in FCO are 50 years or older, and numerous the vineyards are in terraces (known as ronco, plural ronchi, from Venetian).
Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo
We began our exploration of FCO with a go to to the Tasting Academy of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo. Matteo Bellotto gave us an attention-grabbing presentation in regards to the superb quantity of knowledge he has been gathering and analyzing collectively along with his colleagues. This contains grape varieties, harvest quantity, soil kind, sugar and acidity ranges of the grapes for every classic, and way more. You’ll be able to entry this information by utilizing the chatbot on the consorzio’s web site or by downloading the e book “Le Stagioni e le Uve” (Seasons and Grapes), which has been revealed yearly since 2008.
In fact we additionally tasted numerous wines from FCO. There have been machines across the room the place we may choose our personal shot of wine…
…however Matteo additionally opened 12 bottles for us:
- Flaibani Riviere FCO Friulano DOC 2022: mellow.
- Specogna Identita FCO Bianco DOC 2022 (discipline mix of 70% Friulano, 15% Ribolla Gialla, 15% Malvasia): salty.
- At Torre Bianco 2021 (50% Friulano, 50% Sauvignon Blanc): mineral, recent, earthy.
- Marinig FCO Schioppettino di Prepotto DOC 2021: tannins fairly current, however ripe.
- Speconga Oltre FCO Rosso 2021 (60% Refosco, 20% Pignolo, 20% Schioppettino): earthy, recent, astringent tannins.
- Visinitini FCO Pignolo 2012: regardless of the age nonetheless numerous tannin.
- Giovanni Dri Il Roncat Ramandolo DOCG 2022: candy and recent.
- Guerra Albano FCO Ribolla Gialla 2018: astringent.
- Butussi FCO Pinot Grigio Ramato (5-7 days pores and skin contact): structured rosé.
- Petrucco FCO Chardonnay 2017: balanced, construction, creamy, recent.
- Specogna Duality (Sauvignon Blanc): recent.
- Gori Ronc dal Gial FCO Pinot Nero 2021: gentle, recent, barely astringent.
Solder
We had lunch at Agriturismo Solder. We had one of the crucial well-known typical dishes of the realm, a (pan)cake of potato and Montasio cheese known as Frico (click on right here for my recipe) in a pleasant ‘blown’ form, adopted by typical dessert of the area: apple strudel (click on right here for my recipe). We loved this with a Rodaro Brut Nature 2017 (basic methodology, 65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 68 months on the lees) and Anticobroilo FCO Schioppettino di Prepotto Riserva.
Gigante
The primary vineyard we visited in FCO was Gigante. Winemaker Alberto Pelizzo first confirmed us the vineyards. Gigante is a household enterprise that was established in 1957. They now have 30 ha (75 acres) of winery. Their first winery, now 80 years outdated, has solely Friulano. The yields are low, lower than 1 kilo of grapes per vine. 50% of the manufacturing is in Friuli Colli Orientali DOC, the opposite 50% in Friuli Isonzo DOC. The soil is ponca. The winery is steep with a slope of 18%, with grass as a substitute of terrraces to stop erosion. The vineyards are licensed natural. 70% is white and 50% is indigenous varieties. 60% is harvested by hand, 40% by machine.
The Pignolo is aged for 3-4 years in second-hand barrels which were used as soon as for Château Lynch Bages (Bordeaux, France).
It was very good that at Gigante we tasted not solely the present classic but additionally aged vintages:
- FCO Friulano DOC Vigneto Storico 2022 (from the historic winery with outdated vines, 12 hour pores and skin maceration, then 10 months in metal with stirring of the lees): peach, white flowers, physique, creamy, recent, stability.
- FCO Friulano DOC Vigneto Storico 2002 (a cooler classic, however fairly outdated for a white wine): splendidly aged, creamy, recent, almond paste, stunning. The complete (small) remaining inventory of this wine was offered to members of our group after this tasting.
- FCO Sauvignon DOC 2023 (in two harvests, one at 12% potential alcohol and one at 13% potential alcohol, 24 hour chilly maceration, 8 months in chrome steel with stirring of the lees): recent, fragrant.
- FCO Sauvignon DOC 2015 (5 days chilly maceration): developed, astringent from the pores and skin contact.
- FCO Schioppettino Riserva DOC 2019 (3 years in 500 litre oak barrels, then 1 yr in chrome steel): gentle, strawberry, peppery notice (attributable to rotundone, a compound that’s greater in Schioppettino than different pink grapes)
- FCO Schioppettino Riserva 2007: developed, however acids and tannins are nonetheless there.
- FCO Picolit DOCG 2015 (harvest mid november, 2 years in French oak barriques, 160 grams/litre residual sugar; they’ve stopped manufacturing of this wine as it isn’t economically viable because of the very low yields): golden, butterscotch, recent, candy, construction, perceptible trace of acetic character within the aroma.
Moschioni
Our subsequent go to was to Moschioni. We had been obtained by Michele Moschioni himself, who has his very personal type of winemaking (in addition to very personal type normally). In 1989 he made the selection to concentrate on pink wines from autochthonous varieties, which was and may be very uncommon on this area dominated by whites. He’s the fifth technology within the household enterprise and believes that pink wine is extra tasty and extra wholesome than white. He has 13 hectares (32 acres) of vineyards, natural since 2009, licensed since 2017. The grapes are all harvested by hand and dropped at the cellar in bins of 4 kilos in a single layer, so the grapes arrive secure and sound. For Schioppettino he makes use of untoasted oak barrels to protect the class. All of the wines get at the very least 5 years of oak, of which 1 yr in barriques and the reminder in giant barrels of Slavonian oak.
The selection for reds shouldn’t be the one factor uncommon about Moschioni. He additionally ages his wines for a very long time earlier than bringing them to the markt; the present vintages are 2016, 2015, and 2013. And he collects Berkel meat slicing machines.
After this introduction it was no shock that the wines had been particular:
- FCO Bianco DOC 2022 (Friulano, made by Michele’s son Valentino who doesn’t observe in his father’s footsteps and wished to make a white, from outdated vines that had been planted in 1970, partly on ungrafted vines, 4 days pores and skin maceration, 2 years in giant oak barrels): honey, peach, physique, grippy, almond.
- FCO Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Riserva 2016 (1 yr barrique, 4 years giant barrel): tannin, acidity, developed aroma.
- FCO Rosso DOC Celtico 2015 (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, co-fermented): tannin, darkish fruit, sturdy, highly effective.
- FCO Rosso DOC Actual 2015 (25% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Tazzelenghe (tongue-cutter)): fruity, tannin, acidity that does certainly lower your tongue a bit.
- FCO Rosso DOC Actual 2006 (heat classic): good darkish shade, a bit much less astringent than the 2015, nonetheless fruity.
- FCO Schioppettino Riserva DOC 2013 (grapes dried for 7-10 days, so like Amarone, Moschioni was the primary to do that in Friuli): cherry, tannin, stunning.
- FCO Pignolo Riserva DOC 2013 (outdated ungrafted vines, selection has develop into uncommon due to the low yield of solely 12 hl/ha): very darkish, highly effective, tobacco, chocolate, 40 grams/litre of dry extract, 7000 mg/l phenolic content material, which is way greater than different pink wines. This wine wants one other 4-5 years of bottle growing old, and is troublesome to pair due to its energy.
Trattoria al Cacciatore
We had dinner at La Subida Trattoria al Cacciatore, with one Michelin star:
- Cured venison. Fennel salad and a sauce of sea buckthorn.
- Girini (crumbled of dropped pasta). The primary sprouts from the flowered fields, rabbit and edible flowers
- Delicate gnocchi crammed with duck foiegras. Morels and wild garlic.
- Guinea fowl “Porchettata”. The breast rolled with pork and grilled, salad of ‘sclopit’ and ‘urticions’ in honey and vinegar.
- The Vibrant Nest. White Chocolate, strawberries and poppy seeds.
With this dinner we loved these wines (two of which had been despatched to Butussi by the restaurant, as a result of our tasting at Butussi had been cancelled final minute):
- Bjana Brut Brda Metodo Classico (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, 10% in oak, 16-24 months on the lees)
- Vini Belluzzo Soleva Venezia Giulia Bianco IGT 2021 (100% Friulano)
- Butussi FCO Sauvignon Blanc DOC Genesis 2021
- Vie di Romans Bhogis 2017 (Chardonnay , aged 18 months in oak on the lees)
- Ronchi di Cialla FCO Schioppettino di Cialla DOC 2018
- Butussi FCO Pignolo Riserva DOC Dalpin 2017
- Sara & Sara FCO Picolit DOCG 2020
