Browse Tag

friuli venezia giulia

In dreams

Jermann 2005 Venezia Giulia “Were Dreams…” (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Fig and peach. Nice acidity. Pure, sunny, clean, and short. It’s good, but it’s not all that interesting. (2/08)

Ferdinando’s hideaway

[galea]i Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso 1997 Galea Corno di Rosazzo Colli Orientali del Friuli (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Opens with a nearly-silent austerity, to the extent that I’m initially worried it might be corked. It grows with air and time, building paper-thin layers of straw and the palest yellow fruit atop a firm yet elusive foundation; the structure’s there, but it’s impossible to say exactly how. And yet, it never stops holding back, no matter how many times I go back to it later in the evening, or even the next day (it certainly doesn’t fall apart over that period). Supremely elegant, and if I knew the wine better I’d presume that it was still not at full maturity, but I doubt even the Zanussos know for sure. In any case, it has not undergone the transformation evident in its companion wine, Brazan. (3/08)

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)

Tributes to Paul Draper

[bottle]Le Vigne di Zamò 1999 Colli Orientali del Friuli Pignolo (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Striking, and unlike anything I’ve tasted before. A smoky nose gestures towards meatiness that’s not quite brett or the concentrated animalism of Rhône syrah, but this is in turn washed away by a crisp, boisterous surf of blackberries and plums. Dark and very purple-tasting, with seeds and peppercorns on the finish. Juicy, wet, and long. The acidity here is almost scraping, and yet the wine somehow manages to retain its balance and poise. I have no idea how this is aging, because my experience with pignolo is virtually nil – and because I can’t even imagine how to contextualize what I’m tasting – but in any case, it’s delicious right now. (10/07)

Levitra or Cialla?

[vineyard]Ronchi di Cialla 2006 Colli Orientali del Friuli Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Lightly waxy, chenin-like, and saline. Dry, despite a rich weightiness that usually only comes with residual sugar, and tannic (not to Gravner-esque levels, but definitely in the fashion of long-hanging ribolla). Intense. I like it, though Theresa thinks it tastes like a dry version of communion wine. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment. (10/07)

Take the Helm

[bottle]Livon 2003 Colli Orientali del Friuli Pignolo (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Outright nasty when first opened, as if it wants to punish me for having the audacity to remove its cork. After some soothing words and calming gestures, it recedes to the status of tannic monster, like so many of its 2003 brethren. There’s great concentration here, coalescing a wine that moves from the darkness to the light with relative ease despite the weighty oppression of its structure. Floral compost aromatics dominate. There may be a lot of potential here, but the wall of tannin is currently impenetrable, and so I guess one must – as with any 2003 for which there is hope – wait and see. Emphasis on “wait.” (10/07)

Nonino, Nanette

Nonino Friuli Sauvignon Blanc Grappa (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Obvious, boisterous fruit, good balance, and nice to drink. But it’s far less interesting than grappa from many other grapes, at least from this producer. A parallel to many wines made from the same grape? Maybe. (10/07)

Gangster’s Paradise

Radikon 1999 Collio “Oslavje Riserva” (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Even more than the ribolla, this is pure red wine in white form. Mixed chocolates and zillions of unidentifiable fruits coalesce into a huge, full-bodied, beautifully supple nectar. This is as rich as a wine can be without relying on either extreme residual sugar or oak (or both), but it’s far from heavy. Stunning. Stunning. (1/08)

Gialla fella

Radikon 2001 Venezia Giuli Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Big, full and ripe. I see almost no way to not view this as a red wine, except…well, it’s white. Rainier cherries come at you amidst a solid wall of complexity, and there’s an endless, fairly tannic finish to deal with as well. This wine is not yet unthreaded from its tangled youth, either. (1/08)

Oslavje, I hardly knew ye

Radikon 2001 Venezia Giulia “Oslavje” (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Hugely complex, showing waxed almonds and other nuts, mixed Indian spices, corn…well, this is the sort of thing where I could go on all day. I won’t. Massively intense and intensely interesting, but still so, so young. (1/08)