I Wanna Go Backwards - The Beauty of Aged Collio Whites

9/14/16 -

(Nicola Manferrari takes Tocai Friuliano to majestic heights in Collio. Photo courtesy of Borgo del Tiglio)

It’s something of a curiosity that in considering the great wines of Italy and the great whites of the world, the wines of the Friuli's Collio are somehow overlooked. They combine structure, texture, aromatics, not to mention ageability, in compelling fashion.  The region is blessed by a moderate climate, distinctive terroir, and an abundance of gifted growers.

One of the finest of these growers is Nicola Manferrari of Borgo del Tiglio in Brazzano in Collio Gozino. A pharmacist by trade, he took over his father’s estate in 1981 and set about “to make aromatic wines of flavor and equilibrium that will age well.” (As quoted in Carla Capalbo’s splendid book Collio: Fine Wines and Foods from Italy’s North-east.) To achieve this, Nicola keeps yields low, ferments with native yeasts, and vinifies and ages the wines in 250 liter French oak barrels. The resulting wines are textured, mineral, and perfumed. Today we are fortunate to offer two aged examples of his wines. First is the 1996 Tocai Friuliano, still displaying lithe fruit underpinned by a taut minerality. Second is the 1994 Studio di Bianco, a blend of Friuliano, Riesling Italico, and Sauvignon Blanc from a hillside vineyard in Ruttars near the Slovenian border which offers greater texture and richness, as well as a beguiling interplay of fruit, earth, and spice on a long, layered, harmonious finish. Both wines benefit from decanting and time in the glass as we discovered when we tasted them recently, building on the nose and palate over an afternoon. -John McIlwain

(I’d like to thank Dr. Jeremy Parzen, Victor Hazan, Melissa Sutherland, Carla Capalbo, Fred Plotkin, and Edward Behr who’ve all written or spoken so eloquently about the beauty of this region and its wines.)