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nd to cover the last three vintages sneaking in a slightly older wine because well i like to sneak in slightly older wines if all goes well and time and budget allow this intro course may lead on to more in depth burgundian explorations we shall see hope to see some of you there intro only posted by david mcduff 2 comments labels burgundy tria fermentation school friday february 11 2011 i clivi at the top of a hill in corno di rosazzo just steps across the border from the collio into the colli orientali del friuli zone lies the estate known as i clivi the slopes in ancient italian i clivi occupies one of the more privileged sites in the cof zone with vines rooted in a soil base rich in calcareous marl known locally as ponca or flysch an ideal environment for traditional friulano varieties and a terroir that lends an intensely mineral signature and compact focused acid structure to the wines grown on the property arriving at sunset on tuesday we were greeted on the front terrace of the winery by mario zanusso the current winegrower at i clivi mario is a handsome guy at once quiet intense and somewhat reserved not at all unlike the wines we would taste with him a short while later walking and talking with him i got the sense that he d be just as much at home taking in a ramones gig at cbgb if only we had a time machine as he seemed in the hills of rosazzo the vineyards at i clivi as are much of the high quality sites throughout colli orientali del friuli are laid out on terraces cut into the hillsides the slopes here though not exactly gentle are not insanely steep at least not when compared to more precipitous viticultural areas such as the mosel or northern rhône while i m sure that for some producers ease of mechanization plays into the maintenance of the terraces mario explained that their genesis sprang from a more primal need as the friable nature of the ponca rich soils make the landscape highly prone to erosion the terraces at a very practical level help to keep the vineyards in place in a landscape where heavy rainfall might otherwise over time lay bare the roots of the vines i was so intent on capturing the beautiful view of the sunset something for which my camera is not particularly well suited that i totally neglected to snap a few shots of the old vines on the steeper terraced vineyards at i clivi the zanusso family owns a total of twelve hectares of vineyards eight of them directly surrounding the winery and falling in the colli orientali del friuli zone and another four situated in the collio just over the next line of hills immediately adjacent to the border between the cof and collio doc areas farming at the estate is certified organic and nearly all of the wines are estate bottled though mario s keenness for ribolla gialla has led him to purchase some fruit from growers in nearby goriška brda slovenia while waiting for his own young vines of ribolla to come of age in both the vineyards and the cellar i think that the approach at i clivi can best be described as rational respect for nature is maintained farming is certified organic but no particular doctrine or credo is followed in mario s own words the first thing is that the wine is good we don t need to obey some set of rules some of his wines are fermented on their native yeasts others not depending on the needs and characteristics of the vintage and each cuvée mario uses a light hand with sulfur adding a bit at crush when the fruit is most susceptible to oxidation most of which is consumed during fermentation then adding just a dash at bottling for the sake of stability with one technical exception which i ll explain shortly all of the white wines at i clivi are fermented and aged solely in steel and without skin contact though the family does farm some modern varieties merlot chardonnay sauvignon mario holds a strong preference for local varieties they are also blessed with having a high proportion of old vines on their property as mario feels that the old vines draw greater minerality into their wines the white wines all undergo extended lees aging including a practice the zanussos adopted from burgundy and here s that exception to the steel only rule at the estate in which the lees immediately after fermentation are removed from the wine and aged in barriques for one month before being reintroduced to the wine leaving the cellar for the cozier confines of the family s tasting room we were joined by mario s father ferdinando zanusso who slowly but surely took the reins as we sat down to taste and discuss the wines one could quickly fathom from where mario inherited not just his looks but also his intensity as ferdinando is the kind of man who imparts as much information and intention with a quick look gesture or phrase as many people take minutes and paragraphs to convey in earlier phases of his life he spent time in africa with the united nations and also worked in the maritime transport field before settling at i clivi where he and mario have been producing wines since the 1996 vintage collectively the wines at i clivi are among the most focused mineral intense and one could argue tightly wound of any i ve encountered during our week long exploration of colli orientali del friuli those descriptors carry even greater weight than usual given that we tasted all of the wines at room temperature where faults or imbalances if any are laid bare much more clearly than when chilled we tasted from the family s very last bottle of 2009 ribolla gialla all 11 3 alcohol of it produced from the fruit of 15 year old vines grown in brda a very clean light and vibrant style round in feel and lifted by its bright acidity and minerality the first of two examples of friulano came next the 2009 colli orientali del friuli friulano vecchia vigna al clivi which comes from 60 year old vines immediately adjacent to the house and spent a year on its lees before being bottled in october 2010 intensely salty with a gorgeous balance between fleshiness and racy acidity a 2009 friulano san lorenzo from the collio doc was richer less mineral more savory in its flavors with an attractive vegetal undertone and a classic signature of bitter almond flavor on the finish one of my favorite wines of the evening and in near final retrospect of the entire trip was the 2006 colli orientali del friuli clivi galea a blend dominated by tocai about 90 with small proportions of both verduzzo and chardonnay it spent two years on the lees in tank galea is a single vineyard on the home cof side of the property with dry marl rich soil a mix of chalk clay and limestone relative to the younger wines we d already tasted it boasted a higher alcohol level of 14 a level now much more typical of the region in this case a direct side effect of the hotter than average 2006 growing season the wine was nonetheless perfectly balanced redolent of fennel and loaded with stony flavors and textures it was downright fantastic a bottle of 2007 collio goriziano clivi brazan was richer darker and more evolved than the 06 galea a facet influenced more by the rainy 2007 growing season than by the wine s different place of origin over the hill and into the collio zone still the wine was far from without its own charms much more tropical and zesty on the nose with aromas of lychee and hothouse flowers along with a subtle peppermint scent neither mario nor ferdinando are particularly fond of sweet wines so they opt to produce a verduzzo one of the two autochthonous vines of the region along with picolit typically used for sweet appassimento wines in a dry style in the words of my traveling companion wayne verduzzo is a red wine grape with white skin while that character is generally masked in sweet expressions of verduzzo it came through clearly here with a tannic grippy somewhat aggressive texture that called out for food roast pork or veal come to mind arguably the most forward wine in the day s lineup was the 2009 colli orientali del friuli bianco degli arzillari a blend of chardonnay sauvignon and traminer not at all aromatically overbearing as the presence of sauvignon and traminer in the blend might suggest it was fleshy and quite pleasant if forced to pick one wine that didn t particularly call out to me it would be i clivi s 2008 collio malvasia a varietal expression of malvasia istriana it was fat on the palate from front to rear creating an initial impression of sweetness yet finishing dry and mineral with lingering flavors again it wasn t my fave but is was still a very good expression of malvasia as the evening progressed and our tasting wound down ferdinando offered us one last taste of the only red produced at the estate the colli orientali del friuli merlot clivi galea in this case from the 2003 vintage regardless of country and region the merlot vine loves clay and there s clay aplenty in the ponca soils of the galea vineyard classically red fruited and elegant at first taste it took on a smoky character on the finish where it showed quite a firm spine food came to mind once again this time roast beef with pesto bidding signore zanusso arrivederci under starry skies i was ready for dinner dreaming of sleep and most of all still savoring the intense lingering impressions left by the wines and the particular passions of a father and son growing wines in the friulano hills intro only posted by david mcduff 7 comments labels brda cof2011 colli orientali del friuli collio i clivi malvasia ribolla gialla tocai friulano verduzzo thursday february 10 2011 tempietto longobardo cividale del friuli intro only posted by david mcduff 1 comments labels cof2011 colli orientali del friuli tasting at the consorzio as i mentioned yesterday and as many of my colleagues have also reported each day of our trip thus far has begun at least in the official capacity with a thematic tasting organized by the staff of the consorzio dei colli orientali del friuli thus far we ve worked our way through fairly extensive lineups of friulano day one sauvignon day two as well as schioppettino and pignolo on day three the 2006 pignolo from conte d attimis maniago was one of the standouts for me of yesterday s lineup of pignolo from its savory nose of moist earth plus an inviting whiff of the barnyard to its dark loamy fruit on the palate and on to its seriously tannic finish it s the wine i most wanted to sit down to a glass of once our degustazione was complete today we re in for a change of pace switching gears from local wine to a representative triad of the local food culture prosciutto di san daniele formaggio montasio and gubana i m posting this while the rest of the group is already in the midst of the introductory presentation so i d better be on my way intro only posted by david mcduff 0 comments labels cof2011 colli orientali del friuli conte d attimis maniago pignolo wednesday february 9 2011 two dogs and a shining sauvignon at ronco del gnemiz the highlight of yesterday s itinerary for me was an all too brief visit at ronco del gnemiz more on that later this morning i ll have to let the pictures do most of the talking as i ve just enough time for a quick post before heading off to the consorzio to taste a lineup of schioppettino and pignolo the dogs were cute the 2009 sauvignon peri was gorgeous intro only posted by david mcduff 3 comments labels cof2011 colli orientali del friuli ronco del gnemiz sauvignon blanc tuesday february 8 2011 learning and lunching at villa butussi in corno di rosazzo our first official winery visit of the cof2011 this was on monday mind you took us to azienda agricola valentino butussi in the hamlet of corno di rosazzo neat the southern boundaries of the colli orientali del friuli it should come as no surprise that we tasted many a wine over the course of lunch a welcome surprise equally as pleasant came in the form of a lesson on the history of the region that wove its way through the conversations during our midday repast the river judrio which flows through the cut in the landscape that you can see just beyond the vineyards in the photo above which was taken from the back steps of the villa butussi once served as the natural border between italy and the austrian empire corno di rosazzo was an early focal point of the first world war and the area is rich with monuments to and memories of that period of modern history just as the area is rife with historical references to the days of julius caesar and the roman empire when the village served as a primary gateway between rome and northeastern europe angelo butussi left current patriarch of the valentino butussi estate and francesco degano technical director of the consorzio dei colli orientali del friuli warming up around the focolare open hearth fireplaces called focolare like this one in the dining room at villa butussi are typical to friuli and are in fact considered symbolic of the region many major cities in the world now have local branches of the focolare friulano a worldwide network of associations devoted to preserving the friulano language and the cultural history of the area all four of angelo s children are involved in one aspect or another of work at the family estate his son filippo at right above with dottore parzen at left took the lead in presenting the wines during our home cooked lunch a 1999 valentino butussi tocai friulano the name tocai friulano had not yet been truncated out of legal necessity to friulano was one of the stand outs of the day still fresh vibrant and mineral with a lovely acid profile though the bottle above is from a more recent vintage and there s no question that mama butussi is a fantastic cook her salsiccia e cipolle served over polenta bianca was out of this world delicious one of those dishes i will absolutely have to attempt to replicate back home for me it paired just as nicely with the friulano as it did with the refosco that angelo chose to accompany it intro only posted by david mcduff 4 comments labels cof2011 colli orientali del friuli refosco tocai friulano valentino butussi sunday february 6 2011 easing into cof2011 at il roncal after a long flight from philly to paris what seemed like twenty laps around charles de gaulle airport in a terminal transport bus and another short flight which happened to feature some truly stunning views of the vosges and the alps as my jet passed over strasbourg and grenoble before taking the slight bend down toward italy i finally got to greet my patiently waiting cast of fellow wine warriors with a big hug for each as we united in the venice airport another ninety minutes later i m pretty sure we were all more than a little happy to jump out of our team van and stretch our legs in the courtyard of our home base for the week a winery and agriturismo called il roncal located on the outskirts of cividale del friuli i ve yet to ask how old this olive tree is but it s got to have some serious time on those roots as its canopy attests it s still very much alive in ...