FRIULI

 

FRANCO TOROS (Cormons/Collio)

Franco Toros makes the most intense examples of Pinot Grigio, Tocai Fruilano and Pinot Bianco we have come across in Friuli. Here is his top-class, top-shelf, top-quality Pinot Bianco from the sweetest sweet-spot in Friuli, not the ÒCollio OrientaliÓ, the ÒCollioÓ. La-di-dah! Treated to a spell in some new oak, the Pinot Bianco is very vinous, serious, almost Burgundian in its finesse. A refreshing change from all that Meursault we drink!

FrancoÕs Tocai Fruilano is magnificently complex, packed with nuts, delicate flowers, a hint of mandarine oil. Do not ask our colleague (half-Hungarian) Kristian what he thinks of the Friulian use of the word ÒTocaiÓ, unless you are ready for a ten minute tirade.

 

white

 

 

 

 

PINOT GRIGIO

2005

19.99

 

TOCAI FRIULANO

2006

19.99

 

PINOT BIANCO

2005

19.99

 

PINOT BIANCO

2006

19.99

 

ALESSANDRO VICENTINI ORGNANI (Valeriano/Grave)

There was a massive earthquake in 1976 which reduced the Orgnani home to rubble. The family moved their home into the winery and the winery into the barn. Alessandro studied architecture in Venice before changing direction, returning to the family winery which his mathematician father had set-up in the 1950Õs in Valeriano, a tiny village 200m above sea-level in the foothills of the Alps, just as they rise out of the Friuli-Grave plain. Whereas his father sold all his wine to the local co-op, Alessandro has gradually overhauled and modernised, now bottling his entire output himself. He has 20ha of vines all around the house, ÒBraide CjaseÓ as they call it in Friuli.

ÒWhatÕs the point of making another Chardonnay?Ó says Alessandro when we ask him about the gnarled old Chardonnay vines. It is good Chardonnay, we tell him, but you can see his point. ÒWe should concentrate on what we do wellÓ – Friuli is best known for its fabulous whites – Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, unique Sauvignon, but most of all for its Tocai Friulano. No relation to Hungarian Tokay or Alsatian Tokay Pinot Gris, it has a beautiful honeysuckle nose and, when made at low yields, a creamy rich texture. Beautiful with many foods, it is often drunk in Friuli with San Danieli ham, the local highly-prized variation of Parma, and with creamy locally made cheeses.

 

white

 

 

 

 

PINOT GRIGIO

2006

8.50

 

TOCAI FRIULANO

2006

8.50