Browse Tag

ribolla gialla

Gialla de Laurentiis

Radikon 2001 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – A bit shy (do these wines even have a closed period?), with a comparatively silky texture and a softer finish than has been the norm in other vintages. Lovely and balanced, but reticent. (10/07)

Radikon 2007 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Tight and yet as beautifully weird as expected; no reason not to jump in with both Dadaist feet and fight through the cobwebs. Tannin is the initial impression, followed by apricot and cream, then a sweet, brioche-like character. Very long and dense, but identifiable components are mere teases at the moment. The wine’s still hard, though its future character can be glimpsed. (10/07)

Radikon 2006 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Matchstick, chamomile, minerals, and the light bitterness of over-steeped tea leaves. (10/07)

Radikon 2005 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Fruit salad heavy on the pineapple, with tannin and spiky acidity. Citrusy and linear. Needs to settle down. (10/07)

Radikon 2004 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla (barrel sample) (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Golden. Apples and citrus, with clean tannin. (10/07)

Felluga caviar

Marco Felluga 2006 Collio Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – As ribolla goes, this is a medium-light version…which is to say, it would be somewhat leaden were it a different grape. There’s a decent amount of crispness, but the wine will never be light on its feet. Wax, candleflame, preserved lemon, green leaves, and the barest hint of a brown, gravelly minerality. But it’s also fairly short, and somewhat insubstantial. (2/09)

Rebula alliance

Blažič 2006 Rebula (Goriška Brda) – Useless at first sniff, but with air grows fuller and waxier, showing a good measure of dry honey. However, oak masks whatever “fruit” this wine possesses, and the underlying grapes aren’t ripe enough to support this level of wood layering (though I don’t know that I’d like the result of the alternative much more). I’d like this particular wine a lot more without the wood, I’d wager. (10/07)

Polo

Marco Felluga 2006 Collio Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Crisp but waxy, showing underripe cherries and a lot of a sort of textural, non-structural structure. I know, I know, that doesn’t make any sense. It’s got a physical presence, but not a lot of true structure (like, say, acidity), and finishes shortish. Still, it’s more interesting than chardonnay. (2/08)

Zamò of that, please

[bottle]Le Vigne di Zamò 2004 Colli Orientali del Friuli Rosazzo Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Our lightest ribolla yet, showing waxed melon on a dry bed of river gravel. Austere but pleasant, with a solid structure despite its light-bodied nature. The finish is surprisingly long, though it fails to reveal additional complexity. This could just be a little young, but while it appears to have the skeleton to age, it may lack the flesh. (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)

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)

Anfora next trick…

Gravner 2002 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla “Anfora” (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – So hard to describe, which is (to me) one of its most compelling features. Its brassy color precedes Rainier cherries, melon rind and rocks…a lot of rocks. And there’s significant and unmistakable tannin, more than one would ever expect in a white. In fact, I could easily see confusing this for a red wine, were the color hidden. The finish is long and…well, mysteriously complex. Regular wine descriptors are somewhat insufficient here…I don’t know if it’s my failing, or that the vocabulary doesn’t quite exist yet. What I do know is that I love it. What a fascinating wine! (10/07)

Radikal

[label]Radikon 2002 Venezia Giulia Ribolla Gialla (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) – Reddish-orange in color, blood orange and Rainer cherry on the nose, with plenty of tannin…this is, by all rights, a red wine that just happens to be made from white grapes. There’s big acidity throughout, with mineral soda elements abundant on the finish. Fascinating stuff. (10/07)

TN: Gravner robber

Gravner 2001 Ribolla Gialla “Amfora” (Venezia Giulia) – Tannic, showing black cherry, mineral salts, and grey-white, chalky earth. (Note for the unclear: this is a white wine.) It’s long, with great balanced and structure; full-bodied and wonderful. A complex masterwork, though I suppose it’s worth noting that it tastes pretty much only of itself. Stunning. (5/07)

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