Friuli Emerges

[Craig Camp]

Last night I was sipping on a 1999 Le Due Terre Sacrisassi Rosso, a blend of refosco and schioppettino from Prepotto in Colli Orentali, and it was clear to me that not only was I drinking one of Italy's finest red wines, but one of the finest red wines in the world.

Earlier in the week I attended the "Super Whites' a tasting sponcered by Slow Food of the white wines of Friuli. Thirty-five producers where represented and the wines were spectacular. The Tocai of Borgo San Daniele, the Jermann Capo Martino, the Dorigo Girolamo Ronco di Juri and the Vie de Romans wines stood out as world class wines by any definition.

Has Friuli become the first Italian region to produce both red and white wines that can compete with the world's finest? No one can debate the greatness of the reds of Piemonte and Tuscany, but each area lacks in truly great white wines.

Friuli is a very exciting wine region today.

[Jean Fisch]

No.

Friuli sucks. Really.

Reds and whites.

Go and publicize something else. Like Nero d'Avola. Everybody likes Nero d'Avola. And you can also have a Chardonnay from Sicily. Usually harvested in July and probably bottled in August if it wasn't for the oak aging process. See, you could be sipping the 2003 vintage already in early September, beating all the Primeur wines, and without have to go as low as having to drink antipodean wines.

But please leave Friuli alone. Prices are already bad enough.

And I hate competition for my favorite wines. So you must have dreamt your tasting note of the Sacrisassi Rosso.

Jean

PS: Nice board. Until my first post (cf. Groucho Marx)

Edited June 14, 2003 by Jean Fisch (log)

[Craig Camp]

Please welcome Jean Fisch - also known at THE palate of the Netherlands and encyclopedia of Friuli wine knowledge - to eGullet!

[Jinmyo]

Welcome, Jean. Nice to have your knowledge and sense of humour here.

/Craig just thinks he's funny.

[Craig Camp]

Welcome, Jean. Nice to have your knowledge and sense of humour here.

/Craig just thinks he's funny.

I think therefore I am?

[Jinmyo]

"Wine Camp."

[Fat Guy]

Okay here's what I need cleared up, and by the way welcome Jean . . .

I've read so many times in various wine media outlets that, finally, Italian white wines are no longer overpriced crap.

How do I know it's true this time?

[Craig Camp]

What overpriced crap are you referring to?

The revolution in Italian white wine is relatively a recent phenomenon as it did not emerge until the early 80's. Like many, the first great Italian white wine I tasted was Jermann Vintage Tunina from Collio. This outstanding and deservedly famous wine still sells for about $50 even though it is in demand world wide. The finest Italian whites are almost all under $60 - so who is overpriced?

Just taste Tunina and Jermann's other great white Capo Martino, Borgo San Daniele Tocai, Miani Bianco, Vie di Romans Chardonnay, Villa Russiz Sauvignon de la Tour or Gravner Ribolla Gialla and tell me these are not great white wines.

Double dare.

[russ parsons]

i was lucky enough a couple of years ago to be visiting a friend in friuli when he was participating in the regional tre bicchieri tasting. i cadged an invitation and was really impressed by the whites. even "minor" grapes (ribolla gialla anyone?) had really crisp acidity and very nice minerality. compare, for example, felluga's pinot grigio to any from the rest of the veneto. there was a lot of good juice (and incredible prosciutti and affettati as well), but the wines that made the biggest impression on me were Jermann's Vintage Tunina and Felluga's Terre Alte. (i buy a half-case of terre alte every vintage and a full case of his pinot grigio, which is quite simply one of hte best food whites i've found).

let me also put in a plug for friuli as a place to visit. well off the beaten track (though only about 2 1/2 hours north of venice), it's really affordable with very friendly folks. historically it's in a bit of a strange place and it really seems more austrian than italian, if your image of italy is florence and rome. the food tends to be very rich with a distinctive sweet-sour pull.

[Craig Camp]

I will second that. It is a wonderful place to visit. The people are among the friendliest in Italy and there are reasonable agriturismi everywhere.

[Fat Guy]

In the $60-$70 range, which is I think where Morrell is pricing the top stuff from Friuli, you can get some really serious shit from Zind-Humbrecht. You can get Corton Charlemagne from Louis Latour. You can get Heidsieck Brut Rose '85. I'm going to need more convincing, especially since the Friuli wines I've tried in the $15-$20 range, like from Dorigo, have not been particularly competitive with the Alsatians et al. in that range. Before I'm willing to spend in excess of $50 on a wine from a given region, I need to be brought in at the lower end in order to become convinced that there is a quality ladder worth climbing. I'm still just your typical American consumer who says "$60 for an Italian white? Fuck that." This is $150+ territory when you put it in terms of restaurant wine lists.

[Craig Camp]

In the $60-$70 range, which is I think where Morrell is pricing the top stuff from Friuli, you can get some really serious shit from Zind-Humbrecht. You can get Corton Charlemagne from Louis Latour. You can get Heidsieck Brut Rose '85. I'm going to need more convincing, especially since the Friuli wines I've tried in the $15-$20 range, like from Dorigo, have not been particularly competitive with the Alsatians et al. in that range. Before I'm willing to spend in excess of $50 on a wine from a given region, I need to be brought in at the lower end in order to become convinced that there is a quality ladder worth climbing. I'm still just your typical American consumer who says "$60 for an Italian white? Fuck that." This is $150+ territory when you put it in terms of restaurant wine lists.

One of the wonderful things about the wines of Friuli is that they DON'T taste like those other wines. They have their own flavors, balance and complexity. Thank God.

Zind Humbrecht is about power not finesse. Try it with some delicate seafood which makes it taste like pure alcohol balanced with some sugar. Zind Humbrecht is classic Parker style rocket fuel. Great for tastings but not great for food. The Turley of white wine.

Louis Latour makes boring wine. Le Due Terre Sacrisassi Bianco will embarrass their Corton any day. Why do you think they are selling that Corton Charlemagne for only $69.95 anyway? Top Corton Charlemagne sells for much more. There are many Italian whites I would choose dollar for dollar before choosing a wine from Latour.

What does Rose Champagne have to do with this?

Now that is not to say that I do not like and respect the wines of Zind Humbrecht. My point is there are great wines made in Alsace and Friuli and they are different. They are supposed to be different. Those differences make each shine their brightest at different times with different foods. There are producers in both regions making delicate and powerful styles. Perhaps the best comparison for Zind Humbrecht would be the power whites of Miani.

FG you need to drink more wine. Do your homework tonight! We give tough assignments around here.

[Fat Guy]

Come to think of it, on Saturday night at Fiamma we had some Radikon and it was pretty damn good. I'm going to have to check the price -- our friends from out of town were treating. What does it go for retail?

[Craig Camp]

Radikon Ribolla should sell for around $35 -$40. It is about half the price of Gravner.

[russ parsons]

i'm not sure what fatguy means. are you talking wine list prices? at retail terre alte can usually be found at $35 to $40 (in socal), which makes it a great bargain as far as i'm concerned. quality wise i'd compare it to some of the dageneaus, which sell for a bit more.

[Craig Camp]

i'm not sure what fatguy means. are you talking wine list prices? at retail terre alte can usually be found at $35 to $40 (in socal), which makes it a great bargain as far as i'm concerned. quality wise i'd compare it to some of the dageneaus, which sell for a bit more.

I assume he means retail. However as far as I can see only the rarest micro-estates like Gravner and Miani go over the $70 mark with most of the other top wines going for $50 and less. Even Vintage Tunina is under $60.