Browse Tag

collio goriziano

Clivi wonder

[i clivi bottles]We’re sitting around a table, debating politics. Which we’ve been doing for…oh, about four hours now. Technically, we’re having lunch. But it’s quite dark outside, the dinner hour – even the late Italian one – has already arrived for many in the neighborhood, and neither the wine nor a regularly-replenished supply of hearty, crusty bread has stemmed. The crusty remains of a rich, Friulian style bean soup solidify along the interiors of our bowls, long since abandoned and forgotten amidst an occasionally heated conversation.

…continued here.

Gangsta’s paradise

[brazan]i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1997 Brazan Brazzano di Cormons Collio Goriziano (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Forward and eager to please, wrapping thick, gelatinous crystallizations of stone fruit around an obvious, iron-like minerality. Luscious, and completely dominating its restrained brother, the Galea. Yet for such immense appeal it sacrifices a certain intellectualism; I’m not quite ready to say this is Dionysus to Galea’s Apollo, but the suggestion is there. Also unlike the Galea, it shows minor signs of decay twenty-four hours later. This would appear to be mature…and rather deliciously so. (3/08)

Brazan it out

[bottles]i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 2002 Brazan Collio Goriziano (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Aromatically austere. When it finally opens – not an easy event to coax forth – it shows honeysuckle, dried mineral salts and hyssop. The balance is exquisite, the finish lingering and delicate, and the overall impression of the wine is beautiful and refined. Extremely impressive. (7/07)

i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 2001 Brazan Brazzano di Cormons Collio Goriziano (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Fuller than the 2002, with big, salty herbs, spice, tea, and ultra-ripe apple and a fuller, riper composition. And yet, there’s such amazing elegance retained. Long, with flawless balance even though it’s heftier. (7/07)

TN: Clivi together

[label]Clivi 2002 Collio Goriziano “Brazan” (Friuli) – Extremely austere and almost tasteless at first opening. As it airs, it develops (very slowly) a magisterial air, regal and refined, showing windblown mineral dust and a powerful crescendo of intensity. The basic error was mine: I should have decanted it for a half-day, at least. Possibly longer. But there’s every indication that this is a stunner, for anyone who can exhibit some patience. (5/07)